Coaching Achievements - overall/at WSU
443/296 Individual Conference Titles • 130/61 NCAA Championship Qualifiers • 113/80 NCAA All-American awards • 36/35 Conference Championship Teams • 29/28x Conference Indoor/Outdoor Coach of the Year • 7/6x Mondo/USTCA/USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year
after 2024 outdoor season
Coaching Experience
• Wichita State: Director of cross country/track and field (2000-Present) • Kent State: Head Coach (1995-2000) • Nebraska: Assistant Coach (1983-84, 1989-95) • 2017 Thorpe Cup Men's Decathlon Assistant Coach • 2016 Thorpe Cup Men's Decathlon Head Coach • 2014 USATF Pan American Cup Decathlon Team Coach •
Athletic Achievements
• 1980 NCAA All-American (Decathlon) • 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifier (Decathlon) • 1977 Big Eight Conference Indoor High Jump Champion • NCAA National Championship record-setter in decathlon high jump 2.15m/7-0.75 •
Rainbolt's Personal Statement
“Being a member of the WSU Track and Field program is an honor. Young men and women can make a dream come true by carrying out their athletic endeavors in a uniform with ‘Wichita State University’ on their chest. For me it is extremely meaningful life work to serve as the coach of this wonderful program.”
Steve Rainbolt, Wichita State’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, will be in his 25th season at the helm entering the 2024-25 season. During his time at Wichita State, the Shockers have won 35 conference team titles, claimed 296 individual conference titles, produced 153 NCAA qualifiers and earned 80 All-American awards. Rainbolt has been named Midwest Region Coach of the Year eight times while at Wichita State and is a 28-time conference coach of the year for the Shockers.
2023-24: Destiny Masters added four All-America honors to her repertoire, earning First Team recognition in the pentathlon and Second Team honors in the indoor and outdoor high jump and the heptathlon. Brady Palen was named First Team All-American with an eighth-place finish in the outdoor high jump, and Lucy Ndungu qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000 meters. Masters and Palen swept the AAC indoor high jump titles, and Palen went on to win the outdoor title. Adria Navajon swept the AAC multi-event competitions, winning the indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon titles. Both Shocker teams finished fifth at the AAC Indoor Championships and fourth at the AAC Outdoor Championships.
2022-23: The men's team repeated as AAC Outdoor Champions, upsetting Houston for the second-consecutive year. Brady Palen qualified to both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, earning first team All-American honors indoor (7th) and honorable mention All-America status outdoor (18th). Destiny Masters was named second team All-American in the high jump with her 16-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and won the AAC heptathlon title.
2021-22: Yazmine Wright kept the women's cross country individual title at Wichita State, and the men's cross country team placed the most runners (four) on the all-conference team since 1975. Wright was named AAC Runner of the Year and earned all-region honors. Michael Bryan added two All-America honors to his resume, placing 14th in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships and fifth in the hammer at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Taran Taylor joined Bryan on the podium at the outdoor championships, placing fourth in the javelin. Both men set new school records, recorded the highest-ever NCAA finishes by Shockers in their events and became First Team All-Americans.
The men's team took down Houston at the AAC Outdoor Championships to claim the program's first men's team title since joining the conference. Michael Bryan (hammer), Taran Taylor (javelin), Matt Everett (discus), Adria Navajon (decathlon) and Clayton Duchatschek (3k steeplechase) all won individual titles to contribute to the team's success. Navajon was named AAC Freshman of the Year after scoring 15 points for the Shockers, and Taylor was named Most Outstanding Field Performer. Bryan (weight) and Navajon (heptathlon) also won indoor titles this season with Bryan being named the indoor Most Outstanding Field Performer after breaking his own school record.
Entering the 2020-21 season, his program has produced 72 All-American honors, 115 NCAA national qualifiers, and 251 conference champions during his time at Wichita State. Student athletes in the program have also set 160 school records.
Before the 2019-20 year was cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak, Rainbolt’s Shockers had bright spots during the cross country and indoor track seasons. Overall, the Shockers saw four individual conference championships. At the AAC Indoor Championships, Rainbolt’s athletes grabbed seven all-conference honors.
Winny Koskei defended her individual cross country title, winning the conference with teammate Rebekah Topham behind her as the runner-up. Topham took home her second consecutive AAC Indoor MVP award, scoring 21 team points and winning two individual titles (Mile, 3,000 Meters). The men’s Distance Medley Relay team of Jace Coppoc, Jed Helker, Adam Moore and Josh Cable won their own individual title at the AAC Indoor Championships.
Sidney Sapp (High Jump), Joseph Holthusen (60-Meter Hurdles), Winny Koskei (5,000 Meters) and Weston Lewis (High Jump) also earned all-conference honors at the AAC Indoor Championships.
In its second year in the American Athletic Conference, Rainbolt's program began to make its presence felt in the AAC. His program recorded 27 all-conference honors, 10 individual conference champions all while winning women's team titles in cross country and women's outdoor track and field. Rainbolt and his staff was named The American's Women's Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year Award, his 31st of his career and first in The American.
Rainbolt's athletes earned four All-American honors, Winny Koskei in cross country, Ben Johnson in indoor and outdoor track and field, Rebekah Topham and Aaron True in outdoor track and field.
Working closely with the multi-event athletes, Johnson became the fourth All-American decathlete in the program's history, all coming under Rainbolt. Rainbolt coached Johnson to an American Athletic Conference title in the indoor heptathlon setting a conference meet record with 5,705 points. During the outdoor season Rainbolt's multi-athletes dominated scoring 45 points, 24 points on the women's side and 21 on the men's, including a sweep in the women's heptathlon. As Kendra Henry defended her American Athletic Conference title winning for a second consecutive season, while Ben Johnson won the men's decathlon title.
The 2018 season was a transition year for the Shockers as Wichita State joined The American Athletic Conference after competing in the Missouri Valley Conference for 73 years.
In his first year coaching in The American Athletic Conference, Rainbolt's athletes compiled 23 all-conference honors, seven individual conference championships, four athlete-of-the week awards, three All-American honors and two conference most outstanding awards.
Nationally he led the men's team to a No. 21 ranking in the USTFCCCA poll, the highest in the program's history. Rainbolt's decathlon group was awarded the 2018 Webb Cup in recognition for both decathlon quality and quantity, the decathlon group was ranked No.1 in the nation for six consecutive weeks in the USTFCCCA event squad rankings.
Rainbolt coached Hunter Veith, the Shockers' most-decorated decathlete, to four All-American honors, including a second place finish in the heptathlon at 2018 NCAA Indoor National Championships. Veith finished his career under Rainbolt as an eight-time All-Conference athlete, including five individual conference titles in the Missouri Valley and as the school's record holder in the heptathlon (6,090) and decathlon (8,046).
Since Rainbolt’s arrival at Wichita State, he has been named the Missouri Valley Conference’s men’s and women’s Indoor and/or Outdoor Coach of the Year 30 times, and his teams have won 31 MVC Championships, most recently the men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor titles in 2017.
In 2017, a year the Shockers won the Men’s and Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Missouri Valley Conference championship, the program also matched a school record qualifying 25 athletes to the NCAA West Preliminaries.
He coached four multi-athletes to the 2017 NCAA Outdoor National Championships and three to the 2017 NCAA Indoor National Championships, including Hunter Veith to a sixth place finish in the decathlon at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor National Championship meet.
Rainbolt ended Wichita State’s Missouri Valley Conference era with a modern era MVC record 16-year streak winning at least one men’s or women’s cross country title, men’s or women’s indoor title or men’s or women’s outdoor title. His program amassed a total 25 championships during the 16-year streak.
In 2013, the WSU Women’s Outdoor Track & Field team had a school-record 16th place finish.
2005-06: Rainbolt’s women’s track and field program hit a high note in 2006, winning the program’s first-ever Triple Crown by capturing the MVC cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field championships. The women’s indoor title was also a first for the program. Rainbolt earned his first MVC Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year award and claimed his third-straight MVC Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year award. All-American Desiraye Osburn led the way for the women, running away with three MVC indoor titles and three MVC outdoor titles. Osburn, along with Jackie Brown and Linda Feldberga, qualified to the NCAA Indoor Championships, where Osburn earned All-America recognition in the mile with an eighth-place finish. Five Shocker women, Feldberga, Osburn, Tasha Gallegos, Sarah Becker and Brown, qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Brown took third in the pole vault, and Osburn finished fourth in the 5,000 meters to claim All-America honors, and the women placed 23rd as a team.
2004-05: Rainbolt’s Shockers won their second-straight MVC Women’s Outdoor Championship, and the Wichita State women finished the season ranked 12th in the USTCA team power rankings, an all-time high finish for a Wichita State team and the highest finish among mid-major teams in 2005. Rainbolt won another MVC Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year award, and the Shockers had 14 conference champions, six NCAA qualifiers and one All-American. Desiraye Osburn finished seventh in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn All-America recognition after winning the MVC indoor mile and outdoor 1500 meters.
2003-04: The men’s outdoor team continued its dominance of the MVC, winning its third-straight team title, and Rainbolt was named the MVC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year for the third time. The women’s team gave the Shockers the sweep, winning its first-ever MVC Outdoor Championships team title earning Rainbolt his first MVC Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year award as well as the Mondo/USTCA Midwest District Women’s Coach of the Year award. During the 2003-04 season, the men’s and women’s teams combined to produce one All-American, seven national qualifiers and 16 conference champions. Shannon Armstrong led the men’s team with five conference titles, winning the indoor 60 meters and outdoor 100 meters, 200 meters, 110-meter hurdles and 4x100-meter relay. He was named the MVC Men’s Outdoor Championship Most Outstanding Track Athlete, while Paul Speer claimed the MVC Men’s Outdoor Most Outstanding Field Athlete award with a decathlon win and a new conference record. Armstrong went on to claim All-America recognition with a seventh-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
2002-03: Rainbolt’s men’s team claimed their second-straight MVC Outdoor Championship making Rainbolt the back-to-back MVC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year. The Shocker men and women combined for 13 MVC individual titles between the indoor and outdoor seasons, and seven athletes and one relay qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Three claimed All-America honors with Randy Lewis snagging his third with a fifth-place performance in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Jens Lukoschat becoming Rainbolt’s first decathlon All-American, finishing seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and Allison Berry taking ninth in the javelin at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
2001-02: In just his second season at the helm, Rainbolt was named the 2002 Mondo/USTCA Midwest Regional Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year and the MVC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year after his men’s team won its first title since 1994 and fourth-ever in program history. At the end of the outdoor season, the men were ranked 27th in the USTCA power rankings, and the women were ranked 41st. The women were the MVC Outdoor Runners-Up and took third indoor, while the men finished fourth indoor. The Shockers swept the horizontal jumps at the indoor championships with future Olympian Ineta Radevica winning the women’s long jump and triple jump and future Olympian Randy Lewis winning the men’s long jump and triple jump, and Radevica went on to sweep the outdoor titles as well, two of 11 outdoor event crowns for Wichita State. The Shockers swept the MVC Championship Most Outstanding Field Athlete awards with Lewis and Radevica winning the indoor accolades and Casey Smith and Heidi Yost claiming the outdoor awards. Radevica became a three-time NCAA All-American as the 2002 outdoor long jump runner-up and placing fourth in the indoor triple jump and sixth in the indoor long jump. She also qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the long jump, taking 10th. Lewis became a two-time All-American taking seventh in the NCAA indoor long jump and finishing as the runner-up at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
2000-01: During his first season at Wichita State, the program produced one All-American, two MVC Most Outstanding Performers and 11 MVC scholar-athletes. Rainbolt’s men’s and women’s teams both placed fifth at the 2001 MVC Indoor Championships and the Shockers took home four event titles as Heidi Yost swept the horizontal jumps, Mellanee Welty won the pole vault, future Olympian Viktors Lacis won the 800 meters, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Bruce Swan, Derrick Powell, Lacis, and Solomon Birir claimed the gold. At the 2001 MVC Outdoor Championships, the men’s team placed third, and the women’s team took sixth, winning five event titles. Again, Yost swept the horizontal jumps, and Viktors Lacis won the 400 meters and 440-yard hurdles, while Allison Berry won the javelin. Yost was named the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Championships Most Outstanding Field Athlete, and Lacis was named the MVC Outdoor Championships Most Outstanding Track Athlete. Lacis went on to finish third in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, become Rainbolt’s first Wichita State All-American.
Prior to Wichita State: Hired on Aug. 22, 2000, Rainbolt came to Wichita State after five years as the director of Kent State’s men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams and seven years prior as an assistant coach at Nebraska where he was responsible for the men’s and women’s sprints, hurdles, relays and multi-events from 1989-95 and also coached the jumpers in 1984.. The Golden Flashes won 64 individual conference titles and earned 20 All-America certificates during his five-year tenure at Kent State. During his time at Nebraska, the men’s and women’s teams won a total of 20 Big Eight team titles, one NCAA women’s indoor championship, one women’s national dual-meet championship, and two men’s national dual-meet championships. Cornhuskers under his supervision earned 75 NCAA All-American awards, two NCAA women’s 400-meter titles, one NCAA women’s 4x400-meter relay championship, and three NCAA runner-up finishes. At the 1994 NCAA Indoor Championships, Rainbolt’s athletes collected 13 All-America certificates. Rainbolt also served as a staff member at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. for the junior Elite Decathlon Training staff from 1991-93 and again in 1998.
1999-2000 at Kent State: Rainbolt’s men and women finished first and second, respectively, at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Outdoor Championships. For his efforts, he was named MAC Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year and Great Lakes Region Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year.
1998-99 at Kent State: During the 1000 outdoor season, Kent State finished 19th (women) and 21st (men) in the national United States Track Coaches Association power ran kings. He coached Bobby Cruse to two MAC Championship records, the Most Valuable Performer award at the MAC outdoor meet and the fastest collegiate 200-meter time of the year (19.83).
1997-98 at Kent State: In 1998, Rainbolt led the men’s and women’s squads to runner-up finishes at both the MAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Kent State athletes won 15 MAC titles and were named All-American nine times. One of Rainbolt’s student-athletes (Cruse) was the top freshman in the country over 200 meters while another (Brendon Falconer) was the highest-finishing American in the decathlon (third) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
1996-97 at Kent State: Rainbolt directed the Golden Flash men’s and women’s teams to second-place finishes at the 1997 MAC Indoor Championships. The women also captured second at the MAC Outdoor Championships, while the men finished fourth.
As a student-athlete at Kansas: A decathlete at the University of Kansas, Rainbolt was the NCAA Championships record setter in the decathlon high jump (7’0.75”) and held a personal best of 7’2” in the event. He was the 1977 Big Eight indoor high jump champion, a 1980 NCAA All-American in the decathlon, and he competed at the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials in the decathlon.
Education: Rainbolt earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in coaching from Kansas and a master’s degree in educational administration from Nebraska.
Personal: Rainbolt and his wife, Kelly, reside in Wichita. Rainbolt has four children: Christopher, Anna and Alyssa (twins), and late son Kyle; a daughter-in-law, Reagan, and two grandchildren, Channing and Cullen.
Rainbolt’s Year-by-Year:
2023 AAC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year
2022 AAC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year
2019 AAC Outdoor Women's COY
2017 MVC Indoor Men’s and Women’s, Outdoor Men’s and Women’s COY
2017 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Women's COY
2016 MVC Indoor Men's, Outdoor Men's and Women's COY
2015 MVC Outdoor Women's COY
2014 MVC Outdoor Women's COY
2013 MVC Indoor Women's COY
2012 MVC Outdoor Women's COY
2012 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Outdoor Men’s COY
2011 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Outdoor Women’s COY
2011 MVC Indoor & Outdoor Women’s COY
2010 MVC Indoor & Outdoor Men’s, Indoor Women's COY
2007 MVC Indoor & Outdoor Women's COY
2006 MVC Indoor & Outdoor Women's COY
2006 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Women's COY
2005 MVC Outdoor Women’s COY
2004 MVC Outdoor Men’s and Women's COY
2004 Mondo/USTCA Midwest Region COY
2003 MVC Outdoor Men’s COY
2002 MVC Outdoor Men’s COY
2002 Mondo/USTCA Midwest Region COY
Greater Wichita Area "Gene Stephenson Coach-of-the-Year" Award
2000 MAC Outdoor Men’s COY (at Kent St.)
2000 Great Lakes Region Men’s Outdoor COY (at Kent St.)
Summarized:
7x Regional Coach of the Year
4x USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year - 2006, 17 Indoor Women's, 2011 Outdoor Women's, 2012 Outdoor Men's
2x Mondo/USTCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year - 2002, 04
Great Lakes Region Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year (at Kent St.) - 2000
29x Conference Coach of the Year
AAC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year - 2022, 23
AAC Outdoor Women's Coach of the Year - 2019
3x MVC Indoor Men's Coach of the Year - 2010, 16, 17,
6x MVC Indoor Women's Coach of the Year -2006, 07, 10, 11, 13, 17
6x MVC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year - 2002, 03, 04, 10, 16, 17
10x MVC Outdoor Women's Coach of the Year - 2004, 05, 06, 07, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17
MAC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year (at Kent St.) - 2000
after 2024 outdoor season
