Eric Nehlsen
Graduate Assistant Coach | Fourth Season
Eric Nehlson is in his fourth season with the UCM Track and Field Program and his first as a volunteer assistant coach.
Nehlsen will work primarily with the throwers in 2022-23.
During the 2021-22 season, Nehlsen primarily worked with the sprinters and javelin throwers. Both teams saw several changes in the top-10 performance list. In the sprints, Antonio Lay shattered the school record in both the 60m (6.65) and 100m (10.10) dash while Cam Hesker and Lenetta Lee also posted top-10 times in the 60m, 100m and 200m dashes. In javelin, Paige VanBlarcum moved up the top-10 list to second all-time at UCM with a throw of 154'-3", and the Mules saw both Trenton Flug (3rd all-time) and Michael Waldron (6th all-time) crack the top-10 list as well. The Mules finished fifth in NCAA Division II at the 2022 Indoor National Championships and the Jennies were 14th. Outdoors, the Mules were 10th and the Jennies 16th at the NCAA-II Outdoor Championships.
During the 2020-21 Season, Nehlsen worked primarily with the javelin throwers and helped with other events as needed. In the javelin, the Jennies saw both Paige and Brandi VanBlarcum (5th) enter the UCM top-10 list. That season, The Jennies were the 2021 Indoor Conference Champions and finished 4th in the 2021 Indoor Division II Championship, while the Mules finished 12th. Both the Mules and the Jennies posted top-15 finishes at the 2021 Outdoor National Championships as well.
In 2019, Coach Nehlsen was hired as an Assistant Coach at William Jewell College where he was responsible for the horizontal jumps, high jump, pole vault, javelin, and the multi events.
Nehlsen started his coaching career as a strength and conditioning intern at Yale University, where he worked with various sports including football, track, soccer, hockey, field hockey, sailing, and squash. From there, he was a volunteer coach for The Mules and Jennies Track and Field team during the 2018-19 season, in which the Mules were both the Indoor and Outdoor season champions. That season, Nehlsen worked primarily with the Javelin throwers and helped with strength training for the team. Cain Fowles (7th) broke the top-10 that season with a throw of 196'-4".
Nehlsen is an NSCA Certified Strength Coach and has a bachelor's degree in exercise science and a master's degree in Kinesiology. Nehlsen was also a member of the Mules track and field team from 2015 to 2018, including the 2017 Outdoor Conference Championship Team.
Nehlsen is married to his wife, Rebecca, a former Jenny, who pole vaulted for UCM from 2015-2017. They live together with their three dogs in Lexington, Missouri.
