John Wise is in his 10th season with the Wichita State University track and field program, and in 2011, he was promoted to Assistant Director of Track and Field to go with his coaching and Recruiting Coordinator duties.
He is responsible as coach of the sprint and hurdle student-athletes, as well as assisting with the multi-event athletes, and handling the program's recruiting.
"Coach Wise has been a wonderful leader in our track and field operation on a number of different levels," said head coach Steve Rainbolt. "Wichita State University track and field is a better program every year because of his innovative thinking and contributions. I am very pleased that the administration agreed with me that we should promote him to a position of greater responsibility at this time. I hope that he will remain an integral part of our team for many years to come."
Since coming to WSU in the fall of 2006, Wise has helped build the Shocker sprinters/hurdlers into one of the best groups in the Midwest. He has coached student-athletes to 61 Individual Missouri Valley Conference titles and 15 to All-America honors. Under his tutelage, student-athletes have also earned 171 All-MVC honors.
In 2015 he coached the women's 4x100 meter relay team to Second Team All-America honors and the school record. In addition, Nikki Larch-Miller won three sprint and hurdles MVC titles and athletes advanced in four srpint events to the West Preliminaries.
In 2012, three of his Shocker athletes (Todd McKown, Lawson Montgomery, and Natalie Morerod) earned All-American honors.
Those three, as well as Fernada Blakely, who he was coaching as a post-collegiate athlete in the 200m, all qualified for the US Olympic Trials. Wichita State was the only school to have two or more athletes in the 110m hurdles.
He has assisted in recruiting several student-athletes at WSU who are Junior National qualifiers, including the 2012-13 class that had 14 qualifiers.
In addition to his duties as a coach and recruiting coordinator, Wise serves as the meet director for all home events, including the annual Shocker Pre-State/KT Woodman Classic, one of the largest track and field meets held in the Midwest each year.
He is also head coach of the Shocker Track Club, which allows him to work with several outstanding post-collegiate athletes, many who have had success in the world class ranks.
Prior to coming to Wichita, Wise spent three seasons as the head coach of his alma mater Eastern Brown High School and won the conference coach of the year award five times in track and twice in cross country for the Warriors. As a high school athlete, he was the 1992 400m state champion in the State of Ohio.
As a graduate of Kent State University, Wise competed for the Golden Flashes from 1994-98. While at Kent State, Wise was named to the all-Mid-American Conference team as a sprinter in 1997-98 and was also a part of the MAC Champion, NCAA provisional-qualifying and school-record 4x100m relay team.
After graduation in 1998, Wise joined the Kent State track and field staff, serving under current Shocker track and field coach Steve Rainbolt for five seasons. Wise worked specifically with the sprint and hurdle groups, coaching three NCAA qualifiers and athletes who won 12 MAC championships.
During his tenure at Kent State, the Golden Flashes won three MAC championship team titles.
Wise graduated in 1998 from Kent State with a degree in business management and information systems with an emphasis in psychology.
