Shippensburg University Athletics

Dave Osanitsch ’96 begins his 11th season as the primary assistant to head cross country coach Steve Spence ’85. Osanitsch will begin his 17th season as a track and field coach at the collegiate level with the start of the 2014-15 campaign. He is entering his 10th season at the helm of the Raider track and field programs.

In nine years as the head coach of the SU men's and women's track & field programs, Osanitsch has guided the Raiders to 23 PSAC Championships (12 outdoors, 11 indoors). The rest of the PSAC has combined to win just 13 league titles in the same span.

Since 2006, Osanitsch has earned 22 PSAC Coach of the Year awards and nine USTFCCA Division II Region Coach of the Year awards. He has won both of the PSAC Outdoor Coach of the Year awards for five consecutive years.
 
Shippensburg University Track and Field has achieved profound levels of success during Osanitsch’s tenure. Along with the help of his dedicated and knowledgeable coaching staff, Shippensburg has won 23 PSAC Championships and has finished second on five occasions. Along with the team success, Shippensburg University track & field has had four NCAA championship relays, 87 NCAA All-Americans and seven NCAA All-American relay squads during his tenure. In addition, nearly every school records have been broken while hundreds of Automatic or Provisional NCAA qualifiers have been achieved along with 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 44 individual PSAC championships and a multitude of All-PSAC honors. Additionally, Osanitsch has produced 18 NCAA All-Americans in the jumping and multi’s events while breaking 19 school records since 2002.

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.

Following his graduation, Osanitsch gained new success as an assistant coach 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.