NORMAL, Ill.– Illinois State Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee announced the hiring of Amanda Youngblood as the assistant coach in charge of the throwing events for the Redbirds on Wednesday afternoon. Youngblood joins the Redbird staff after spending time at both the University of Alabama and Lehigh University. She replaces former throws coach Jeff Rebholz.
"I am very excited to welcome Amanda to our coaching staff and to the Redbird family," Bovee said. "During the search, she quickly drew interest from our staff because of her energy and enthusiasm along with her coaching experiences at Lehigh and at the University of Alabama where she assisted with some of the top throwers in the SEC and the NCAA, as well as with Olympic medalists at the post-collegiate level. Amanda has worked alongside some of the best coaching minds in the country and is ready to take the baton with our throws squad and lead them to the next level. Amanda's interpersonal and organizational skills will make her a highly effective in developing relationships with coaches in the Midwest and across the country to find talented student-athletes that are a great fit here at Illinois State and that also can compete with the best in NCAA Division 1."
At the University of Alabama, Youngblood worked alongside throws coach Derek Yush. In her two years with the program, Youngblood helped guide multiple athletes to success at the national level, coaching three athletes to All-America honors, as well as guiding six athletes to the NCAA Championships. In addition, 12 athletes qualified for the NCAA Preliminary Championships under Youngblood's instruction.
At the conference level, Youngblood's athletes have garnered two SEC titles in the shot put.
"I am grateful to Coach Bovee and the rest of the coaching staff for the opportunity to continue the history of successful throwers at Illinois State University," Youngblood said. "The throwers are a talented group, and I am looking forward to hitting the ground running with them."
From 2018-19, Youngblood served as an assistant coach at Lehigh University. In her one-year stint at her alma mater, Youngblood led two athletes to Patriot League Championships in the discus and weight throw, as well as leading one athlete to a school record in the discus.
Prior to her time as a coach, Youngblood spent four years at Lehigh University as a student-athlete, where she served as a leader on the track & field team. During her time at Lehigh, Youngblood was an eight-time Patriot League Championship qualifier and earned second team All-Patriot League honors for her second-place finishes in the discus in the 2016 and 2017 outdoor seasons, as well as earning All-East honors in the discus in 2016.
Youngblood graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Management. She is a USA Track & Field Level I certified coach and has also earned the USTFCCCA throwing event specialist certification, as well as a strength and conditioning certification.
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