Reece Vega will enter his first full season as the head track and field, and cross country coach at The College of Saint Rose in 2017.
After being hired in January 2017, Vega guided the Golden Knights track programs to numerous individual and team successes.
The women's 4x100 meter relay team of senior Alicia Bousa, junior Amanda Harrington and freshmen Angel Barkley and Alyson Lizotte set the school record at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships with a time of 49.29.
The program records also fell in the pole vault at NE10s. Sophomore Cara Kelly, an USTFCCCA All-Region pick, won the event with a school-record 3.31m. On the men's side, senior Dennis Turner cleared 4.16m to set the mark.
Kelly and freshman Valerie Hinds were chosen USTFCCA All-Region for their performances indoors. Kelly holds the school-record in the pole vault, while Hinds holds program-best marks in the shot put and weight throw.
Vega brought an abundance of experience to Western Avenue. He spent the past four years as the head track and field coach at Graceland University in Lamoni, IA. He was promoted to the head coach of the cross country program as well in 2015. Vega previously served as an assistant coach at Minot State University in North Dakota from 2007-2013 and at Minot High School for two years prior to that.
“We are excited to have Reece join our staff and take on the leadership role for our men’s and women’s track and field programs. He has shown proven success as a recruiter and also in developing potential in his team members, while stressing academic success as a core value,” said Cathy Haker, Director of Athletics and Recreation, at the time of his appointment.
Vega was responsible for all aspects of the program including recruiting, team management, budgeting, fundraising, alumni relations, and meet management at Graceland.
He led both the Yellowjackets men’s and women’s teams to their highest national rankings in school history a year ago when the men climbed to 19th and the women to 24th.
“Vega furthermore spurred program growth with those rosters expanding from 23 student-athletes at the time of his appointment to 100 in 2016. At Graceland he also had; 64 all-conference scholar athletes, 47 national qualifiers, 14 All-Americans, and nine scholar teams.
Additionally, he implemented study hall, study groups, and tutoring sessions that helped increase the program’s grade-point-average, along with its retention and graduation rates.
A 2007 graduate of North Dakota State, Vega was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American and a USATF Indoor Championships qualifier in the 400 meter run. He is also the North Dakota State 600m school record holder and is part of the record-holding 4x400m indoor and outdoor relay teams. He was furthermore a six-time North Central Conference All-League performer.
Vega holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from North Dakota State and a master’s in business management from Minot State. He is currently pursuing a master’s in sports science and rehabilitation at Logan University.
