NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee announced the addition of assistant coach Jeffrey Rebholz to the Redbird Track and Field staff Wednesday. Rebholz, who will serve as the throws coach, joins the ISU coaching staff after working as an assistant coach at Towson for the past three years.
"Jeff comes to us with a varied coaching background in Division I and Division III, where he has been very successful coaching both men and women," said Bovee. "He built a Division III powerhouse at Carthage College and has recruiting ties in the state of Illinois and the Midwest. The fact that he is an Illinois native has allowed him to establish deep roots with the throwing community. We're excited to welcome Jeff to the ISU family and to continue the tradition of excellence in Redbird throws."
During his time with the Tigers, Rebholz coached one NCAA Honorable Mention All-American, five NCAA Preliminary Round qualifiers, and three individual Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) individual champions. In addition, Rebholz guided three student-athletes to Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) titles.
In 2018, Rebholz helped Lauren Coleman to her second-consecutive CAA shot put title, as she went on to be named the CAA's Most Outstanding Field Performer of the Meet. Coleman was also deemed the ECAC's Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet, after claiming the ECAC shot put title for the second-straight year as well.
Over the past three seasons, Rebholz's student-athletes broke four of Towson's six school records in the throwing events, including the women's hammer throw, which was set in 2018 by NCAA Honorable Mention All-American Ksenia Safonova. Rebholz's throws group was a major catalyst for the Tigers' success, helping Towson win their first CAA title in school history in 2017.
Prior to Towson, Rebholz served as the associate head coach for the men's and women's track and field programs at Division III Carthage College from June 2015 – October 2016. Before assuming the associate head coach role, he also acted as an interim head coach and assistant coach, joining Carthage's staff in July 2010.
While at Carthage, Rebholz worked with both the throws and multi-event groups. In 2016, he was named the Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year after coaching 62 NCAA Division III national qualifiers, 19 NCAA First Team All-Americans, 43 conference champions, and nine College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Outstanding Field Performers during his tenure. He helped student-athletes set school records in nine of the 12 throwing events while at Carthage.
Before Carthage, Rebholz spent time as an assistant coach at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, for the 2009-10 season and had also been an assistant coach at Macomb High School in Macomb, Illinois, during the 2008-09 campaign.
"I'd like to thank Coach Bovee and the entire Illinois State athletic department for this opportunity," said Rebholz. "I'm very excited to return to my home state and build the Redbird throws program into one that is even stronger than it is now. I'm really looking forward to helping the team continue to compete for conference championships."
Rebholz competed in college for Monmouth, where he was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American in the shot put and a seven-time national qualifier in various throwing events. During his four years, he claimed seven individual Midwest Conference titles and helped his team to eight team championships. He was also named the Midwest Conference's Most Outstanding Field Performer of the Year three times.
Rebholz graduated from Monmouth College in 2007 with a bachelor of arts in physical education. He would go on to receive a master's of science in kinesiology from Western Illinois University in 2009.
With the addition of Rebholz, who will replace Shawn Williams, the Redbirds complete their coaching staff for the 2018-19 campaign in preparation for the upcoming season. For more information on the Redbird track and field program, follow @Redbird_TrackXC or visit GoRedbirds.com.
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