Assistant coach Dave Osanitsch ‘96 begins his fifth season as an assistant to head cross country coach Steve Spence. Osanitsch will begin his 11th season as a track & field coach at the collegiate level with the start of the 2008-2009 campaign. In his three seasons at the helm of the Shippensburg track and field programs, Osanitsch has already become the only coach in school history win a men’s and women’s conference championship.
Osanitsch is a three-time conference coach of the year and a three-time United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Division II East Region Coach of the Year. Under his guidance, Shippensburg has amassed one national champion, 13 All-Americans, two All-American relay squads.
In his first season as head coach of the track and field programs, he led the Red Raiders to a second consecutive PSAC Indoor Championship and a fourth-straight PSAC Outdoor Championship. In just one season as head coach, Osanitsch earned four coach of the year awards - including the PSAC Indoor and PSAC Outdoor Coach of the Year as well as indoor and outdoor United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II Men’s East Region Coach of the Year.
He began coaching at his alma mater in 2002 as an assistant coach in track & field, primarily working with the jumpers and multi-event athletes, a role he continues as the head coach. Since his arrival at Shippensburg, the jumps squad has garnered 20 individual PSAC championships and numerous All-Conference honors. Additionally, Osanitsch has produced 21 NCAA provisional qualifiers and five All-Americans as the jumps coach. His jumpers have broken nine school records under his tutelage.
As a collegiate competitor, Osanitsch was a seven-time NCAA Division II provisional qualifier and a five-time NCAA Qualifier in the 55-meter and 110-meter high hurdles. He was a two-time PSAC Champion in the 110-meter high hurdles as well as a two-time ECAC Champion in the 55-meter high hurdles. Osanitsch was a member of the 1993 and 1995 PSAC championship squads. At the national level, he was a four-time Top-10 finisher in hurdle events and achieved NCAA Division II All-American status. Osanitsch still holds the school record in the 55-meter high hurdles with a time of 7.49 that is one of the fastest times in conference history.
Following his graduation with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice, Osanitsch gained new success as an assistant at nearby Dickinson College. Osanitsch was instrumental in producing numerous Centennial Conference qualifiers, place-winners and champions as well as a NCAA Division III All-American in the high jump. The Devils became a Centennial Conference powerhouse during his four seasons, winning four women’s championships (two indoor and two outdoor).
Osanitsch, along with his wife Julie and children, Madison and Brayden, reside in Shippensburg.
