Track and Field Coaching Staff

 

Steyer has been the Lane Head Cross Country and Assistant Track and Field Coach since 2017 before being named the new Head Track and Field Coach.  In his first year as the Head Coach in Cross Country, Steyer led the Men’s team to their 3^rd NWAC Cross Country Championship.  He also produced four Cross Country All-Americans and the NWAC Men’s Individual Champion.  In Track and Field, Steyer’s athletes earned seven All-American recognitions in the 800m through 10,000m running events.

 

Prior to coming to Lane, Steyer resided in Homer, Alaska, where he served as the high school head coach for cross-country and track and field. During his seven-year tenure in that role, Steyer helped produce five state championship team titles and six state runner-up team awards. In his last year as head coach, 2016-17, both the boys and girls cross country teams won state titles. This was the third consecutive championship for the girls and the first time ever for the boys. Last spring, the Homer girl’s track and field team also won their first state championship. Despite being a small school, Steyer’s high school became a recognized running powerhouse. Steyer was named Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015 and 2016 by the U.S. Track, Field, and Cross Country Coaches Association (USATFCCCA), among other awards.

 

Steyer is a former competitive distance runner and triathlete. During his 22 years in Alaska, he competed in numerous mid/long distance road and trail races with many strong finishes. He was also a former competitive long distance dog musher having completed five one-thousand-mile long sled dog races including the Iditarod. His highest finish was in fifth place.

Steyer has a USATF Level 1 Certification and USATFCCCA Technical Certification for the sprint, jumping, and distance events. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree of arts in geography/natural resource management from the University of Washington.

 

Dan West
Pole Vault Coach

Coach West was a four-year track letterman at Montana State University, vaulting 14’8” and running on both the 4x100m and 4 X 400m relays. At MSU he also acquired his B.S. in Fish and Wildlife Management.

Following his undergraduate time, he returned to MSU to work on his master’s degree and coach all the jumping events from 1979 until 1987.  He improved his own vaulting at that time, clearing a PR 15’5”. He coached multiple Big Sky Champions and school record holders at MSU.

Coach West is in his second stint with the Titan program, having coached at the University of Oregon from 1990 – 1996, and is now entering his 42^nd year of coaching.

Dan is undoubtedly one of the most respected coaches in the Northwest for the pole vault.  He has the skill and expertise to coach both beginner and international caliber athletes.  Dan coached Britain’s top vaulter during the 1991 World Championships to a 13^th place finish and again for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. 

Coach West has coached his Lane women vaulters to 13 school records, by 8 different athletes, 8 NWAC champions (2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) and 21 All-Americans.  His Lane men vaulters have set 9 school records by 7 different athletes, 14 NWAC champions (1990, 1992, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018) and 30 All Americans.

Through Dan’s efforts, Lane CC has the best indoor and outdoor vault training facilities and vaulting pole inventory in the Northwest.  Dan is still an active vaulter (53 consecutive years clearing a height) who continues to vault on the Masters circuit.  He has worked at camps and clinics and was formerly the Northwest Pole Vault Coordinator for the Olympic Developmental Committee.

He is currently a founding member of Raising The Bar PV club that puts on a Pole Vault Symposium every February to help up-coming vaulters learn to pole vault correctly. 

Dan is the Northwest team salesperson for On Track.

 

 

Travis Thompson
Sprints/Relay Coach

Travis Thompson oversees the sprints and relays groups for the program. His coaching resume includes stints at both the Division I and Junior College Levels. The 2018-2019 season will mark his 6^th season with Lane Community College. At the Division I level, Thompson has coaching experience at Oregon State University overseeing sprints/relays in 2015, and The University of San Francisco during the 2016-2017 season also overseeing sprints/relays.

During his time at Lane, Thompson has helped the men's program to 4 NWAC Team Championships (2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) and 2 Women’s titles (2013, 2014.)  He has coached 44 junior college All-Americans, 34 all-time top 10 marks in school history, 4 school records, 19 individual NWAC champions, and 2 USA Junior Championships qualifiers. Many of his former sprinters have went on to compete and earn scholarships at the NCAA level.
 

Along with a solid track record as a coach, Thompson enjoyed an illustrious collegiate running career at track & field powerhouse, Oregon. He was tapped as a two-time NCAA All-American, and earned the 2010 national championship title in the indoor distance medley relay where he ran the 800m leg.

The two-year captain for the Ducks was a part of two PAC-12 champion teams, and enjoyed three top-five individual performances at the conference meet (4x400m relay: 3rd – '09, 5th – '10; 800 m – 5th – '10). The Oregon squad finished third at the 2010 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with Thompson providing key individual and relay performances.

Thompson holds the second-fastest mark in the indoor 600m at Oregon, and the eight-fastest outdoor mark in the 800m with a time of 1:47.6. Starting his collegiate career at Lane, he won the 2007 NWAACC Championship in the 400m.

After graduating from the Ducks' program with a degree in sociology, Thompson went on to earn his masters in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University-Irvine. Athletically, he continued to round the track, earning a spot at the 2014 USF Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 800m.

Outside of the world of Track & Field, Thompson is the founder of the digital media company Elevation 0m. The company specializes in professional photography, cinematography, marketing strategies, and documentary filmmaking. He currently serves as the creative director of the agency, working with clients such as Nike, The Diamond League, Local and regional business, institutions, and political figures.

 

Colin McArthur
Jumps Coach

2009-2016, 2019-present

Coach McArthur is in his 9^th season as the jumps coach at Lane CC.  He coached the jumpers from 2009-2016 and returns to the staff for the 2019 season.  Under his direction, the jumps program has produced 9 individual NWAC champions, 35 Junior College All-American’s, and a school-record in the women’s Triple Jump.  McArthur’s triple jumpers have captured the NWAC individual women’s title in 6 of the past 9 years. 

 

McArthur is a graduate of the University of Oregon and has a Bachelor’s in Landscape Architecture (B.L.A.) and Master’s in Community and Regional Planning 

 

(M.C.R.P).  McArthur was a jumper/sprinter on the UO track and field team from 1997-2000 and was a three-year letterman.  Highlights include a 6^th place finish in the Long Jump at the 2000 Pac-10 Championships (24’-0.5”) and anchoring the Ducks 4x100 meter relay team at the 1997 Pac-10 Championships.  A long jump specialist, he has a PR of 24’-9” in the event.  Following the end of his intercollegiate career, McArthur continued to train and compete for a local Eugene club for several years prior to joining Lane’s staff. 

 

McArthur originally hails from Wasco, OR and is a graduate of Sherman County H.S.  While competing in the Columbia Basin Conference, he was District champion in the Long Jump and Triple Jump (1995).  He also played tailback on an undefeated 13-0 Sherman County H.S. state champion football team (1994-1995) and was a guard on Sherman’s district champion basketball team (1995).  McArthur’s prior coaching experience includes stints as a Jumps Coach at Oregon Track and Field Camps (1998-2001) and a Volunteer Jumps Coach at South Eugene H.S. (2004).  McArthur has USATF Level 1 certification. 

 

Sky Short
Throws Coach

Sky Short is in his seventh year as a throws coach for Lane Community College. Prior to his time at Lane, he coached for 16 years at Central Linn High School. Sky was a multiple state high school champion in the shot and disc, and a Junior College All-American for Lane. 

During his time at Lane, the throws have become a well-rounded and perennial power in the NWAC conference, not only in the individual events but the multi-events as well. His coaching ability extends to athletes who have never touched the implement to advanced throwers. This is evident with the success of the program with several throwers earning All-American honors every year of his tenure. When Sky is not coaching at Lane, he works on a family farm and is still an active discus thrower himself.

 

Benjamin Thiel
Hurdles

Former two-sport student-athlete at the University of Oregon from 2013 to 2017 and likewise at Angelo State University from 2017 to 2018. At the University of Oregon, Thiel was a member of four separate National Championship Track and Field Teams(2014 Outdoor, 2015 Indoor, 2015 Outdoor, and 2016 Indoor). While a Duck Thiel achieved accolades in multiple disciplines as he was the 2015 PAC 12 Champion in the 400 meter hurdles as well as a member of the winning 4x400m relay team. In 2016 Thiel ran the 400 meter leg of the National Championship winning Distance Medley Relay team and was also a second team All-American in the 400 Hurdles during the outdoor season. Thiel was also a member of the Oregon Ducks football team in 2016-17 while playing Wide Receiver before transferring to Angelo State University for his final year of eligibility. At Angelo State Thiel played football alongside his younger brother and also competed in several events on the Track and Field Team. During the 2018 Track and Field season, Thiel was named a First team All-American both indoors and outdoors for the 4x400 meter relay and was also able to become a Conference Champion and Second team All-American in the 400 meter hurdles.

Thiel is originally from Celina Texas where he holds 8 state championship gold medals in track and field for Celina High School. Lettered in football for the Celina High School football team for three years.