Dave Osanitsch ’96 is in his 17th season as an assistant to head cross country coach Steve Spence ’85.
Osanitsch is entering his 14th season as the head coach of the SU Track & Field teams in 2018-19. He will begin his 21st season as a track and field coach at the collegiate level with the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
In 13 years as the head coach of the SU men’s and women’s track & field programs, Osanitsch has guided the Raiders to 38 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships (20 outdoors, 18 indoors). The rest of the PSAC has combined to win just 14 league titles in the same span.
Since 2006, Osanitsch has earned a record 36 PSAC Coach of the Year awards and 16 USTFCCA Division II Region Coach of the Year awards. He has won both of the PSAC Outdoor Coach of the Year awards for nine consecutive years.
Shippensburg University Track and Field has achieved profound levels of success during Osanitsch’s tenure. His 38 conference championships make him the most decorated coach in any sport in PSAC history, surpassing the mark previously held by West Chester swim coach Jamie Rudisill (34 titles from 1988-89 – 2016-17).
Along with the help of his dedicated and knowledgeable coaching staff, Shippensburg has finished first or second at 44 of the 52 PSAC Track & Field Championship meets contested during Osanitsch’s tenure.
Overall, Shippensburg University Track & Field has had four NCAA Championship relays, 149 NCAA All-Americans and nine NCAA All-American relay squads during Osanitsch’s tenure. In addition, nearly every school record has been broken to complement hundreds of NCAA automatic or provisional NCAA qualifiers and a multitude of PSAC champions.
Osanitsch began coaching at his alma mater in 2002 as an assistant coach in track and field, primarily working with the jumpers and multi-event athletes – a role he maintains as the head coach. Since his arrival at Shippensburg, the jumps squad has garnered 66 individual PSAC championships and a multitude of All-PSAC honors. Additionally, Osanitsch has produced 37 NCAA All-Americans in the jumping and multi events. Of the 20 events for which Osanitsch is the primary overseer, his athletes have captured 17 of the 20 school records at SU.
A 1996 graduate of Shippensburg with a bachelor of science in criminal justice, Osanitsch was a five-time NCAA Division II Championship qualifier in the 55-meter and 110-meter hurdles. He was a two-time PSAC indoor champion in the 110-meter hurdles in 1993 and 1995 as well as a two-time ECAC indoor champion in the 55-meter hurdles. In 1993 and 1995, Osanitsch was a member of both the PSAC and ECAC outdoor track and field championship teams.
Osanitsch was also an NCAA All-American in the 55-meter hurdles in indoor track. In 1994, he finished sixth at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships before placing seventh as a senior in 1996. Osanitsch currently holds the school record in the indoor 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.49 seconds (8.06 60HH), a mark that is one of the fastest times in PSAC history. For his college athletic efforts, Osanitsch was inducted into the Shippensburg University Athletic Hall Of Fame in 2010.
For four years, Osanitsch served as the Chairman of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)’s NCAA Division II Executive Council. Osanitsch, a longtime member of the USTFCCCA council, functioned as Division II’s highest-ranking officer on the national USTFCCCA board. His post lasted from 2014-2017.
Osanitsch, along with his wife Julie and children, Madison and Brayden, reside in Shippensburg.
Coach O By The Numbers
• 38 PSAC Team Championships
• 6 PSAC Team Runner-Up Finishes
Men’s Track & Field
2018- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2018- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2017- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2017- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2016- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2016- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2015- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2015- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2014- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2014- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2013- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2013- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2012- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2012- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2011- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2011- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2010- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2010- PSAC Indoor Track- 3rd place
2009- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2009- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2008- PSAC Outdoor Track- 3rd place
2008- PSAC Indoor Track- 2nd place
2007- PSAC Outdoor Track- 2nd place
2007- PSAC Indoor Track- 2nd place
2006- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2006- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
Women’s Track & Field
2018- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2018- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2017- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2017- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2016- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2016- PSAC Indoor Track- 2nd place
2015- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2015- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2014- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2014- PSAC Indoor Track- 3rd Place
2013- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2013- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2012- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2012- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2011- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2011- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2010- PSAC Outdoor Track- Champions
2010- PSAC Indoor Track- Champions
2009- PSAC Outdoor Track- 2nd place
2009- PSAC Indoor Track- 2nd place
2008- PSAC Outdoor Track- 3rd place
2008- PSAC Indoor Track- Co-Champions
2007- PSAC Outdoor Track- 4th place
2007- PSAC Indoor Track- 5th place
2006- PSAC Outdoor Track- 4th place
2006- PSAC Indoor Track- 5th place
Coaching Honors
36-time PSAC Coach of the Year
2006: Men’s Indoor, Men’s Outdoor
2008: Women’s Indoor
2009: Men’s Indoor
2010: Women’s Indoor, Men’s Outdoor, Women’s Outdoor
2011: Women’s Indoor, Men’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor, Men’s Outdoor
2012: Women’s Indoor, Men’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor, Men’s Outdoor
2013: Women’s Indoor, Men’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor, Men’s Outdoor
2014: Men’s Indoor, Men’s Outdoor, Women’s Outdoor
2015: Women’s Indoor, Men’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor, Men’s Outdoor
2016: Women’s Outdoor, Men’s Indoor, Men’s Outdoor
2017: Women’s Outdoor, Men’s Indoor, Men’s Outdoor
2018: Women’s Indoor, Men’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor, Men’s Outdoor
16-time USTFCCA Regional Coach of the Year
2006: Men’s Indoor, Men’s Outdoor
2008: Women’s Indoor
2010: Women’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor
2011: Men’s Indoor, Women’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor
2012: Women’s Indoor
2015: Women’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor, Men’s Outdoor
2016: Men’s Indoor
2017: Men’s Indoor, Women’s Outdoor
2018: Women’s Indoor
School Record Holders at SHIP during Coach O’s tenure as Jumps/Multis Coach:
Men’s Outdoor
Long Jump- Herman Kirkland- 25’ ¾”
Triple Jump- Steve Waithe- 51’ 6 ½”
High Jump- Leander Toney/Jalen Ramsey- 7’ 1 ¾”
Decathlon- Austin Strine- 6575 points
Men’s Indoor
Long Jump- Herman Kirkland- 25’ 3 ¼”
Triple Jump- Steve Waithe- 50’ 5 ½”
High Jump- Tra-C Davis- 7’ 1”
Heptathlon- Donnie Graybill- 5092 Points
Women’s Outdoor
Long Jump- Sarah Hunt- 20’ 9 ¾”
Triple Jump- Tunisia Lacy- 42’ 5”
Pole Vault- Kali Hepner- 12’ 11 ¾”
Heptathlon- Sam Beckerleg- 4670 Points
Women’s Indoor
Long Jump- Sarah Hunt- 20’ 0 ½”
Triple Jump- Sarah Hunt- 39’ 11 ½”
Pole Vault- Kali Hepner- 12’ 10”
High Jump- Rebekah Newhart- 5’ 7 ¾”
Pentathlon- Sam Beckerleg- 3356 Points
NCAA All-Americans during Coach O’s Tenure as Jumps/Multis Coach:
Sarah Hunt - 6-Time NCAA All-American (Long Jump & Triple Jump)
LeQuan Chapman - 6-Time NCAA All-American (Long Jump/Triple Jump)
Tunisia Lacy - 5-Time NCAA All-American (Triple Jump)
Herman Kirkland - 4-Time NCAA All-American (Long Jump/60)
Steve Waithe - 3-Time NCAA All-American (Triple Jump)
Tra-C Davis – 3-Time NCAA All-American (High Jump)
Jalen Ramsey - 2 Time NCAA All-American (High Jump)
Abby Wagner – 2-Time NCAA All-American (Triple Jump)
Kali Hepner – 2-Time NCAA All-American (Pole Vault)
Megan Breski - NCAA All-American (Pole Vault)
Andrew Batula - NCAA All-American (High Jump)
Donnie Graybill - NCAA All-American (Heptathlon)
Cody DeBoer - NCAA All- American (Long Jump)
