Quackenbush Named Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach

NEW PALTZ, NY – — Former SUNY New Paltz Track & Field standout Cassandra Quackenbush has been named the head coach of the Cross Country and Track & Field programs at her alma mater.

Quackenbush will take over for Brett Willmott who was recently named the head track & field coach at Plattsburgh. She spent the 2002-03 year as the assistant coach for the cross country and track & field teams at New Paltz and played a significant role in the overall improvement of both programs.

In track & field, Quackenbush coached State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champions in the shot put, javelin, and pole vault, and helped eight athletes attain school records. Both the men’s and women’s track & field teams climbed to sixth place in the league standings and for her efforts Quackenbush was recognized as the 2003 AFLAC Track & Field National Assistant Coach of the Year.

In cross country, Quackenbush played a part in the development of two All-SUNYAC performers and helped direct the men’s team to a fourth place finish at the SUNYAC Championship.

She is the holder of five track & field records at New Paltz and was the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Champion in the Heptathlon in 2000. That same year she was a SUNYAC Outdoor Champion in the javelin and the 400-meter high hurdles.

Prior to her athletic career at New Paltz, Quackenbush was a member of the track & field program at Mohwak Valley Community College and helped lead the program to the Junior College National Championship in 1998.

She earned a degree in fine arts from Mohawk Valley Community College in 1999 and a bachelor’s degree in art education from New Paltz in 2001.