SAN FRANCSICO – After three dedicated years with Academy of Art University, Torrey Olson has been named Director of Track & Field/Cross Country as officially announced by Director of Athletics Colin Preston. Along with the promotion of Olson, the program will welcome University of New Haven's Kevin LaSure as head coach of track & field.

"Although our program is still considered young, we have had the opportunity to have a tremendous amount of success on the track with our past leadership," said Preston. "I am excited for both Coach Olson and Coach LaSure to continue to build on the achievements of ART U track & field. I am more than confident that they will not only have artist-athletes succeeding on track, but also in the classroom and community."

Entering his fourth season with Academy of Art, Olson has helped the Urban Knights achieve unprecedented success. He has coached three NCAA Nationals qualifiers in cross country including the program's first All-American Jenny Bergren in 2012. On the track & field side, he helped ART U produce over 50 All-Americans including Bergren (1 mile) and Nicolas Rifflard (1500m).

"I want to thank Colin Preston for giving me the opportunity to lead this program, and for sharing the belief that we have something special here at ART U," said Olson. "I have come to care deeply for this program in my years here and I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to guide it forward from this new position."

Most recently in 2014-15, Olson coached the men's cross country team to a second place finish and the women's team to a record fourth place finish earned at the Pacific West Conference Championships, the men's first NCAA DII West Regionals team appearance in program history, and Valentin Pepiot, the Urban Knights' third NCAA Nationals individual qualifier, was the top finisher from the PacWest in the postseason finale. Under Olson, Academy of Art earned a program-record 10 PacWest postseason honors including Pepiot as PacWest Newcomer of the Year along with Mack Marbas and McKaela Christenson both PacWest Freshman of the Year (all three were also USTFCCCA All-Region). Pepiot and Christenson also each earned USTFCCCA All-Academic awards and Christenson went on to be named PacWest Scholar-Athlete for women's cross country at the year's end.

The 2015 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons saw a total of seven All-Americans honors and one NCAA individual champion (Jordan Edwards in the indoor 400m). While setting a total of 19 school records (nine indoor, 10 outdoor), Academy of Art would also earn 43 USTFCCCA All-Region honors (27 indoor, 26 outdoor) and Pepiot claimed his second USTFCCCA All-Academic honor.

As associate head cross country coach in the fall of 2013-14, Olson guided a trio of All-PacWest finishers including Nicolas Rifflard who would go on to become the first male cross country runner to reach Nationals and the success continued into track & field season with an Individual National Champion (Jordan Edwards once again), 12 All-Americans, and 24 new school records (9 indoor, 15 outdoor).

The 2012-13 season, Olson's first year with Academy of Art, was particularly historic. Not only did Bergren earn NCAA All-American and PacWest Conference Runner of the Year honors for cross country, but the track & field team captured both an Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Division II National Championship, an unprecedented feat for a program in its first year eligible for the post-season. En route, ART U produced 32 All-Americans across the indoor and outdoor campaigns and the Knights achieved a total of 44 new program records (15 indoor, 29 outdoor) that season.

A graduate of Pomona College, Olson also holds a Master's degree from St. Mary's College. He was a decorated student-athlete himself as well, serving as team captain for the Sagehens two years in cross country and one in track & field. Olson earned All-Academic honors in both sports while also becoming an individual NCAA qualifier in cross country during the 2008 season.
 
"I want to see this program be one that every talented artist-athlete would be proud to be a part of," said Olson. "That means baking consistent success into our culture, as students, athletes, and future graduates."

Kevin LaSure joins Academy of Art following his eighth year with the University of New Haven's cross country and track & field teams. LaSure served his first four seasons as the head coach for both the men and women's programs. As a head coach, LaSure mentored 50 NCAA National qualifiers, 42 NCAA All-Americans, and five Individual National Champions. Additionally, the Chargers set more than 50 school records in the sprints, jumps, hurdles, mid-distance, and relays under LaSure's tenure.

 "I would first like to thank Colin Preston and Torrey Olson for this opportunity and for believing that I am the right person to help lead this program to continued and greater success," said LaSure. "I am very excited about the opportunity to work with the great staff we have in place to continue to make ART U track & field one of the best programs in the country each year. Torrey, Brandit Campbell, and Brandon Campbell have done a great job bringing in, as well as developing some great talent on the current roster and I look forward to helping continue, as well as build on the recent recruiting success."

In just his second season at UNH, LaSure coached arguably the most successful student-athlete in the history of Charger athletics. Shannon Gagne won five NCAA Division II Individual National Championships during the year, three during the indoor season and two at the outdoor championships. She was the first student-athlete in NCAA track and field history to win three national championships at one meet across both track and field events when she won the 200m dash, 400m dash and long jump at the 2011 Indoor National Championships. Gagne was named the Division II National Track Athlete of the Year after the indoor and outdoor season, while being named Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for the College Division, an award which encompassed all NCAA sports.

"I am so thrilled that we are able to bring Kevin LaSure on board with us," said Olson. "Kevin has proven himself to be an incredible coach and program builder in his time at New Haven and he has a true passion for both the sport and the student-athlete. Kevin is going to be an immediate asset to the Urban Knight family."

 

During his UNH tenure, LaSure also mentored 2012 graduate David Thomas to All-America honors in the long jump in both the indoor and outdoor track seasons. Thomas was the USTFCCCA East Region Track Athlete of the Year in the indoor season and claimed NE-10 Championship Most Valuable Athlete honors during both seasons. Overall throughout the 2012-13 year, Thomas was a five-time conference champion, five-time All-New England performer, and eight-time USTFCCCA All-East Region recipient.

A 2004 graduate of University of New Haven with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice - Investigative Services, LaSure also completed a Master's degree in Labor Relations at UNH in 2006. As an undergraduate, Kevin was a wide receiver on UNH's football team from 2000-2003 and ran on the Charger track & field team from 2001-2005. He won the track team's Sportsmanship Award in both 2004 and 2005, and was an All-New England performer in the 200m and 400m dashes as well as on the 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

"I want to continue to develop a program and system that will allow ART U track & field to be in contention for a PacWest and NCAA Division II Championship each year," said LaSure. "I believe we have a great staff in place that will help lead the young men and women in the program in a positive manner both on and off the track."