Tyler Wingard

Tyler Wingard -- Head Track & Field/Cross Country Coach

(Ninth year)

Head Track & Field/Cross Country Coach Tyler Wingard took the helm of CNU’s Track & Field/Cross Country program in the fall of 2006. In his first eight years, Wingard’s student-athletes have claimed 3 Individual National Titles, and a total of 35 All-American honors. The Captains have earned 68 entries at the Division III Championships during his tenure and 6 have qualified for the USATF Junior National Championships. ’08 grad and High Jump School Record Holder Joseph Owens competed at the 2009 USATF Senior National Championships. ’11 grad Matthew Winkler, School Record Holder in the 800m, made multiple appearances at the Canadian National Championships. Wingard has been recognized by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as the South/Southeast Region Coach of the Year 5 times. The CNU Coaching Staff has earned an additional 5 Assistant Coach of the Year Awards. Four Captains have earned nine Region Athlete of the Year honors and one National Athlete of the Year award.

The Captains have won 35 Cross Country, Indoor, and Outdoor Track & Field Titles in the last eight years on the strength of 222 Individual and Relay Champions. The teams have been recognized 14 times by the USTFCCCA as All-Academic Teams and 13 Captains have earned 21 individual All-Academic Team honors. The Track & Field All-Time Lists show 41 School Records among 304 entries from Wingard’s tenure.

Prior to arriving at Christopher Newport University, Wingard served a six year tenure at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Competing in the NCAA Division I Mid Continent Conference, Wingard's athletes earned 14 individual conference titles and two relay titles among 87 All-Conference honors. He coached one Conference Athlete of the Year, three Newcomers of the Year, seven NCAA Regional Qualifiers, and one USATF Junior National Qualifier. The team set 44 School Records and posted 241 All-Time marks and excelled in the classroom, too, as team members were named to the CoSIDA Regional All-Academic Team three times and earned 151 Academic All-Conference honors.

Coach Wingard started his collegiate coaching career at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. During his three years there he served as the Recruiting Coordinator and coached the javelin, pole vault, shot put, and worked with the decathletes and heptathletes. During that time, Wingard's athletes earned two All-America honors in the javelin and eight in the decathlon/heptathlon, seventeen entries to the National Championships, and twenty-six All-Conference honors.

Wingard brings with him a focus on the technical aspects of Track & Field events and training. He is a USATF Level 2 Coach in all event areas and a Level 2 Biomechanics Instructor. He is also a Level 1 Instructor and serves on USATF's Coaching Education Executive Committee. Wingard's program emphasizes technical, physiological, and psychological development, taking advantage of the full career and resources of each athlete. Each season has a specific focus determined by the individual's skill level and experience --the end goal being the greatest possible performance gains during the athlete's tenure at Christopher Newport University.

Wingard competed at the collegiate level for Occidental College in Los Angeles. Originally a long and triple jumper, he added the javelin through his training as a decathlete. The addition proved fruitful as he twice qualified for the National Championships in his new event. Wingard continued to compete in the javelin while a graduate student in mathematics at SUNY-Stony Brook, medalling twice at the Empire State Games. He continued competing for seven more years before retiring from active competition in 2000.

Outside of coaching and competing, Wingard taught mathematics and physics at the high school and at the community college level.