Penn State’s Gondak Named Big Ten Track and Field Coach of the Year

In his third season as head coach of the Nittany Lions, John Gondak was named Big Ten Women’s Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year on Tuesday after leading the program to the first conference championship of his tenure.

Gondak’s team finished the indoor conference stretch No. 17 in the USTFCCCA rankings. At the Big Ten Championships, the Nittany Lions edged Purdue by 2.5 points — a result helped out by wins from Dannielle Gibson in the triple jump, Danae Rivers in the 800 meters, and the medley relay team, all of which garnered 10 points for their top of the podium finishes.

This was Penn State’s first conference indoor title since 2014 when Gondak was an assistant coach. He is the first Penn State coach to garner the Coach of the Year honor since Beth Alford-Sullivan led the Nittany Lions to a conference championship during the 2014 season.

Gondak, also the coach of men’s track and field as well as the cross country teams, earned Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year honors in 2015 with Penn State for women’s cross country and men’s indoor track and field.