Dr. Ted Bulling Director of Track and Field/Cross Country E-mail: tab@nebrwesleyan.edu

Six-time National Coach of the Year Dr. Ted Bulling, Nebraska Wesleyan University’s Director of Cross Country/Track & Field, is recognized as one of the best college coaches in the country, and his reputation grows each year. Under his guidance, the Prairie Wolves have won nine NCAA team trophies, and been awarded four top-four finishes, since 2001.
            Under Bulling, Nebraska Wesleyan finished the 2005 outdoor season ranked No. 1 in the Men’s Track and Field Power Rankings for NCAA Division III for the first time in school history. The power rankings are based on the performances of every team’s top two athletes in each event and finishing the season No. 1 is also commonly referred to as being “dual meet national champions.”
            In 2000, Bulling became the first coach in history to be named as the National Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year at both the Div. III and NAIA levels. That same year, he was also honored as the Omaha World-Herald’s Coach of the Year and as the winner of the Roy G. Story Award, given to a Nebraska Wesleyan faculty member or student who has “significantly enhanced the national stature and reputation of Nebraska Wesleyan University.”
            During his tenure at Nebraska Wesleyan, Bulling has guided the Prairie Wolves to national prominence. He has coached 36 national champions, and 126 of his athletes have earned a total of 559 All-American awards. In addition, the Lincoln Journal Star has selected one of Bulling’s athletes for its State College Athlete-of-the-Year award seven times.
            In 19 of the last 24 years, the NWU men have finished in the Top 10 at the indoor and/or outdoor NCAA Div. III Track & Field Championships. His teams have dominated at the conference level as the Nebraska Wesleyan men have won 19 of the past 20 conference outdoor team titles and 16 of the past 20 conference indoor crowns.
            The Nebraska Wesleyan women’s track and field program has also grown under Bulling’s direction. As a team, it has recorded Top 10 finishes in 10 of the last 19 years at the indoor and/or outdoor NCAA Div. III Track & Field Championships.
            In 1996, Bulling received national Coach-of-the-Year honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) during both the indoor and outdoor seasons for NCAA Div. III, as the NWU men placed fifth and third, respectively. He was also named the Lincoln Journal Star’s State College Coach of the Year.
            “I look at these awards as recognition of our whole program,” Bulling said. “Our coaching staff has been together for a number of years and truly understands our philosophy. And it’s not just the coaches. Our current athletes are our best ambassadors, and they are what our program is based upon.”
            In addition, his track teams have been recognized for academic excellence by the USTFCCCA during each of the past 11 years. In 2006, Erin Powell, was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year in the college division. Three members of the men’s track and field team were also named to the Academic All-America team in 2006, which was more than any other school in the country.
            Bulling graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Nebraska Wesleyan in 1980. He held the school’s discus record for 10 years and was also a four-year letter winner and three-year starter on the defensive line and lettered four years in football.
            Bulling completed his Ph.D. in educational psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1992, and is an assistant professor of education in Nebraska Wesleyan’s department of education. Bulling and his wife, Denise, have two children, Emily and Elliott.

Chris Baum
Vertical Jumps
and Multi-Events Coach

            Chris Baum is in his 19th season as an assistant coach, working with Nebraska Wesleyan’s high jumpers, pole vaulters and multi-event athletes. Baum has personally coached 27 national qualifiers, 16 of whom earned a combined total of 32 All-America awards and four national titles. He was also recognized as a winner of the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year Award on Jan. 31, 2004.
            A three-time Conference Champion and All-American himself, Baum is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health (K-12). He has earned his masters in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studied post secondary athletic administration.
            Baum also currently works as a physical education instructor at Kahoa Elementary School. He and his wife, Stephanie, have a son Jacob.

Ann Ringlein
Distance Coach

Ann Ringlein is in her 15th season as an assistant coach for Nebraska Wesleyan’s distance runners. Also an assistant coach for the NWU cross country teams, she has been instrumental in the development of the Prairie Wolves as a national power in track and cross country.
            In 2008, Ringlein was recognized as the Central Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year.
            Ringlein, a native of Red Cloud, Neb., has been running competitively in the Midwest for more than 20 years. She won the Kansas City Marathon in 1990 and was the champion in the 1991 Lincoln Half-Marathon. Ringlein also won the Master’s Division 8K road race at the 1999 and 2000 Drake Relays.
            In 2000, she received the prestigious Ambassador Award from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Women’s Commission presented at the annual Girls & Women in Sports & Fitness recognition luncheon. During her career, Ringlein has made coaching stops at three Nebraska high schools, including St. Paul, Lincoln Northeast and Lincoln Pius X. Ann and her husband, Ray, have two daughters, Tessie and Mo.

Kurt Nielsen
Horizontal Jumps Coach

Kurt Nielsen is in his seventh season at Nebraska Wesleyan as the horizontal jumps coach. During his first year with the Prairie Wolves, he coached triple jumper Lee Seberger to a NCAA Div. III indoor national championship, and under Nielsen’s guidance, Erin Powell has earned All-America status in the long jump and triple jump in five of her seven national meet appearances. In the past six years Nielsen has coached four athletes to a total of 14 All-America awards.  Also, in 2008, he was named as the Central Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year.
            Nielsen received a physical education degree from NWU in 1975 and had a stellar track and field career. As an athlete at Nebraska Wesleyan, Nielsen was a 10-time Conference Champion, winning eight high jump titles and two long jump titles. He still holds the both the indoor and outdoor school records in the high jump. In fact, his high jump of 7-2 3/4 in 1973 was the third best in any collegiate division that year and remains the conference outdoor meet record. For his efforts, the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald named Nielsen State College Athlete of the Year. Then, in 1974, he won the NCAA Division III crown in the high jump.
            Nielsen served three years as an assistant track and field coach at Gering High School before returning to Lincoln. He then served 10 years as an assistant and 14 years as the head track and field coach at Northeast High School. Nielsen currently teaches at Pound Middle School. He and his wife, Becky, have two sons, Justin and Jared.

Dan Bulling
Javelin

Dan Bulling coaches Nebraska Wesleyan in the javelin. He was first a member of the NWU coaching staff from 1987 to 1994 and returned to the program in 1997. He served as throws coach through 2001 and has since been specializing in the javelin.
            A 1985 Nebraska Wesleyan graduate, Bulling has coached 12 All-American athletes who received a total of 24 All-American awards, including 2000 NCAA Division III discus champion Josh Beaver. Bulling is currently a physical education instructor at Lincoln Northeast High School. He and his wife, Karen, have two sons, Zach and Nathan.

Derek Frese
Throws

            Derek Frese is in his second season at Nebraska Wesleyan as a throws coach.  Frese came to NWU from Northwest Missouri State University where he served as a graduate assistant track and field coach for two seasons.  He earned a master’s degree in athletic administration from NWMSU in 2007.
            Frese earned a bachelor’s degree in sports administration from University of Nebraska-Kearney in 2005.  While at UNK he was a four-year member of the track team.  Frese was a four-time NCAA II All-American in the throws and earned All-RMAC recognition in seven of the eight seasons he competed.  He was also a team captain during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
            Frese, a Bancroft, Neb., native lives with his wife Karla in Lincoln.

Gordie Coffin
Sprints

Gordie Coffin is in his first season at Nebraska Wesleyan as a sprints coach.  Coffin graduated in 2007 from Nebraska Wesleyan with degrees in Communication Studies and English.  He is currently working at Nebraska Wesleyan as an admission’s councilor.
            Coffin, an Osceola, Neb., native, had a stellar track career at Nebraska Wesleyan, as he was a four year letter winner.  Over his career, he was a four-time GPAC Champion in the 100 and 4x100 meter races, and earned 15 All-GPAC honors ranging from the 55 meter to 200 meter race.  He also received national honors, as he was a part of the NCAA Division III national champion 4x100 relay team in 2005 and earned four NCAA Division III All-American awards in the 4x100 meter relay.  He is still currently on seven of Nebraska Wesleyan’s All-Time charts.

Ashley Styskal
Graduate Assistant

Ashley Styskal is in her second season as a graduate assistant coach.  She graduated in 2007 from Nebraska Wesleyan with a degree in Exercise Science.  She is currently continuing her education in the Cardiac Sonography Program at the Bryan LGH College of Health Sciences.
            Styskal, a Lincoln, Neb., native, had a great track career at Nebraska Wesleyan, becoming a four year letter winner. In 2007, she became a GPAC Champion and also set a new school record with a time of 1:36.29 in the indoor 600 meter race.  She also was a NCAA All-American in the 4x400 meter relay in 2005.  As her career came to a close, she totaled 14 All-GPAC performances ranging from the 55 meter to the 600 meter race.

Lindsey Israelson
Graduate Assistant
           
           
Lindsey Israelson is in her first season as a graduate assistant coach.  She graduated in 2008 from Nebraska Wesleyan with degrees in Elementary Education and Coaching.  While at Nebraska Wesleyan, she was a member of the National Guard.
            Israelson, a Niobrara, Neb., native, was a member of the volleyball and track teams during her career at NWU.  In track she became an All-American athlete in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division III Championships in 2008.  During her track career she earned nine All-GPAC performances ranging from many different events.  She currently sits second on the All-Time charts in the heptathlon at NWU.