Eastern Connecticut State University Alumni Hall of Famer and former All-America athlete David Nicholson '06 has been appointed as the fifth fulltime women's and men's head track & field and cross country coach at his alma mater, it has been announced by Director of Athletics Lori Runksmeier. Chosen from an applicant pool of 82, Nicholson officially begins his duties Aug. 22.
Nicholson, 37, replaces Kathy Manizza, who recently retired after serving the last ten years as women's and men's head track & field and cross country coach in her second head coaching stint at Eastern.
"Dave is a seasoned, veteran head coach, and I am truly happy to welcome him back to the Warrior family," noted Runksmeier of Nicholson, who was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Alumni Hall of Fame this past fall. "Dave was a decorated athlete here and impressed the search committee with his energy, the results he has shown throughout his career, and his commitment to the student-athlete experience."
Nicholson returns to Eastern after serving the last four years at Lindenwood University (MO), a Division II institution which competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Nicholson joined the Lindenwood staff as Director of Cross Country/Track & Field in the fall of 2018 after beginning his head coaching career at Barton College (NC) where he served two years as head track & field and cross country coach.
"You think about where you want to be in ten, 20 years, and there's no place that I'd rather be than here," said Nicholson. "I thought that the smartest move right now was to head back and be home and be at Eastern. I decided that if I make the move (from Lindenwood) and I go to Eastern, I'm not going to be there for just ten years… this is going to be home. I'm not going anywhere."
In all, Nicholson brings a dozen years of collegiate coaching experience to Eastern. A native of Windsor and a graduate of Northwest Catholic High School, Nicholson began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for two years at Division I Wagner College (NY) in 2006 before later moving on to Division II Queens College (NY) for two years, and Divison II American International College (MA) for two years (serving as associate head coach in his second year) before accepting his first head coaching position at Barton, where he spent two years before accepting the Lindenwood position in 2018.
Nicholson says that he hopes to build upon the solid foundation that has been put in place by his predecessors, pointing out that "the cupboard's not bare. Because of the coaches that we've had, we've had some really bright spots," says Nicholson, pointing to the top team finishes produced by Manizza in the Little East Conference for both the men and women in cross country, indoor and outdoor track over her ten-year tenure. "I think that if we can take just a little more of a step, we can put together some big performances across the board and be consistently at the top of the league, and hopefully start to get on the national stage, as well."
Nicholson points to two priorities as he settles into his new position. First, "we need to establish a mindset among the team as we continue to aim our trajectory up, being disciplined and staying hungry, and to create an Eastern track & field and cross country culture that we're all going to be proud of, because that's what's going to carry us the furthest," he says. "If we can all buy into doing this, we're going to have an Eastern track and field and cross country culture that we know and love." Secondly, "getting to work, buying into the work, and buying into each other. If we do that, we'll be OK. Everything after that falls into place. As long as we're dedicated to the task and we're dedicated to being disciplined and establishing the culture of working hard and working together, then the results will come."
Sixteen years after earning All-America honors at 400 meters,
David Nicholson has returned to direct the track & field
and cross country programs at his alma mater.At Lindenwood, Nicholson was named GLVC indoor track & field Men's Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Lions to the team title this past winter. At AIC, he was named USTFCCCA East Region indoor Assistant Coach-of-the-Year in 2016, and his team won the NCAA Division II Distance Medley Relay national championship that year.
At Lindenwood this past year, in addition to winning the men's indoor conference title, the men were third in the conference outdoor championship while the women's team placed fourth outdoors. Outdoors at the NCAA Division II national championships, the men were tied for 21st among 84 teams and the women tied for 38th in a field of 95.
In both of his seasons at AIC, the men's cross country team won the NCAA Division II East Regional championship. In all, the AIC cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams claimed a total of five Northeast 10 championships, with the 2015 men's cross country team winning the first leg of the Northeast 10 triple crown which included the indoor and outdoor conference championships that year.
In his first year at Queens, the men's outdoor track & field team won the 2013 East Coast Conference championship.
"Even though Dave has had numerous All-Americas, national championships qualifiers and individual conference champions (as a collegiate coach), it is not the athletic accolades that defines his success," points out Leo Mayo, under whom Dave coached at AIC and who currently serves as head cross country and assistant track & field coach at Wesleyan University. "It is the relationships that he is built with his student-athletes that define him. If anyone knows him, they know that he will be by your side in the good times and bad. His positivity, his encouragement, and his ability to motivate is what separates him apart from most."
In a four-year athletic career at Eastern, Nicholson helped the Warriors to four straight Little East Conference outdoor titles and one indoor championship. He was among the premier 400 meter runners in Division III, earning All-New England recognition a total of 38 times indoors and outdoors at 200 and 400 meters and with the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays at the Division III, Open and ECAC championships.
Indoors as a senior, he became the program's first male to earn NCAA Division III All-America honors in a running event with a sixth-place finish of 48.90 at 400 meters at the national meet at St. Olaf College. That year, Nicholson won New England Division III championships at 400 meters both indoors and outdoors en route to being named New England Division III outdoor track & field Athlete-of-the-Year.
Nicholson earned All-New England recognition (top eight finishers) both indoor and outdoor every year at 400 meters. He was a 27-time Little East Conference and New England Alliance champion indoors and outdoors in the 200 and as anchor on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. His 400 meter time of 49.63 set in 2006 remains an LEC and NEA indoor championship record. Fourteen years after his final season, Nicholson still holds program records indoors in the 400 and 600 and with the 4x400 relay and outdoors with the 4x400 and Distance Medley Relay. As both a junior and senior, he shared the department's Male Athlete-of-the-Year Award.
Under Manizza in 2021-22, the men's and women's cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track & field programs finished third or higher at the Little East Conference championships. Both cross country teams, the men's indoor and women's outdoor teams taking second and the women's indoor and men's outdoor teams placing third.
Nicholson becomes the third Eastern alumnus serving as a current Eastern head coach, joining 21-year head coach Diana Pepin '92 and two-year men's golf coach Chris Wojick '11, each of whom led their respective teams to conference titles this past year.
Nicholson holds USATF Level I and II certification and USTFCCA Academy Strength and Conditioning certification. He earned his B.S. in Sport Management from Eastern and his MBA in International Business from Wagner in 2008.
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