Track and Field

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Coaching Staff

To contact any of the Track Coaches please call (541) 463-5550, or email us at o'connorg@lanecc.edu

Grady O'Connor, Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field/Cross Country, 1998- Grady has been the Director of both Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field since 1998. During his tenure, he has consistently fielded one of the most competitive teams in the Northwest. His programs have won fourteen Regional Titles and counting. He has produced over 100 Junior College All-Americans, set thirteen school records, and garnered several Coach of the Year honors (01,03,05,06,07). Prior to Lane, Grady coached at Cottage Grove High School (1995-96). He had an immediate impact, coaching the 4A State 100m Hurdle Champion, Katie Rowlett (14.1). He was then hired as the multi-event coach at Lane (1997), where he began establishing an impressive tradition of decathletes and heptathletes. Lane has had six different multi-event champions in the last eight years. Under Grady's direction, seven decathletes currently hold scores that place in the All-Time Top 10 list at Lane. His heptathletes hold five of the top ten positions, including the school record. Many of these multi-event athletes have continued on to Division I schools including: University of Oregon, University of Alabama, Michigan State University, UCLA, Boise State University, Long Beach State, and Portland State University. Another testament of Grady’s dedication to the multi-events, is the fact that several of his former decathletes are now in the coaching profession. Former decathletes coaching and generating new interest in the multis include: Josh Priester (02)- George Fox University, Gabe LeMay (03) - Kent State University, Keith Baker (04) - University of California at Santa Barbara, and Cody Fleming (05) - Lane CC. Grady attended the University of Oregon (1989-94). He was a two-sport athlete, competing and lettering in both track and football. As a freshman hurdler, he placed 5th at Junior Nationals (1990) in the 400IH (52.52). He qualified for the Pac-10 Championships four consecutive years and placed 4th in the conference (1992) in the 400IH (51.49). He was also a member of both 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads that posted season bests of 40.60 and 3:09.03. Following his competitive days as a Duck, he joined the Oregon International Athletics Team, and continued to train and compete as a decathlete. Grady then went on to earn a Master of Science degree from Oregon State University (1998). He is USATF certified Level I and II (Multi Events).
Cody Fleming, Assistant Director of Track and Field/Throws Coach, 2007- Flash Floods Sweep Athlete Into Track Career -By By Daniel Moret Sometimes the path that a person should take in life becomes clear in a flash. For Cody Fleming, it came in a flash flood. After his senior year of high school in Sparks, Nevada, Cody was set to play quarterback in an all-star football game when three days of rain and flash floods canceled the game. The next day, a disappointed Cody received a call from Lane Community College track and field coach Grady O’Connor. Grady invited Cody to visit Lane and consider track. “I was all set to attend the University of Nevada-Reno and play football up until that day,” recalls Cody, but the rainout felt like “a sign to pursue something else.” During Cody’s visit to Eugene, Grady “pulled out articles and photos of past decathletes and explained how they had gone on to bigger schools and great careers. Then we went up to the campus, and he showed me around. I felt instantly at home.” Cody chose to pursue track at Lane. “He immediately became a team leader who contributed beyond the athletic playing field,” says Coach O’Connor. After placing second in the decathlon in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges conference, Cody graduated from Lane and transferred to the University of Oregon where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and advertising and competed for two years in track. “The transition from Lane to the U of O could not have been any more smooth in the classroom or on the track,” says Cody. In 2005, he finished fourth in the decathlon at the Pac-10 championships and helped the team win the Pac-10 title. Now Cody is back at Lane as an assistant coach for track and field, and he’s still training hard. His goal is to compete at the Olympic Track and Field Trials starting in Eugene on June 27. “I think with Grady’s help, that goal can be met. Lane is giving me every advantage. I have access to everything I need.” Another Lane alumni, Tom Pappas, is a former world champion in the decathlon and will be attempting to make the Olympic team for the third time. “I want to one day be the head coach for a major track and field collegiate program,” says Cody. “Lane has given me a great start toward achieving that goal.” For information about track and field at Lane, see www.lanecc.edu/healthpe/athletic/track.htm
Dan West, Assistant Track and Field Coach (Pole Vault), 1988-1992, 1999- Dan West is in his second stint with the Titan program, having coached at the University of Oregon from 1990-1996. He is undoubtedly one of the most respected coaches in the Northwest for the Pole Vault. He has the skill and expertise to coach both beginner and international caliber athletes. Dan coached Britain's top vaulter during the 1991 World Championships and again for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. His Lane athletes currently hold both the men's and women's pole vault records. He has coached several NWAACC Champions, and has consistently produced All-Americans in the event. Dan is still an active vaulter who continues to vault on the master's circuit.
Tiffany Gibson, Assistant Cross Country Coach 2006- Tiffany is a first year assistant coach at Lane Community College. She is a native of Oregon and a product of Thurston High School, where she earned all league honors in track and cross country and was a two year team captain. After High school, She competed for two years (2004-2006) as a Lane Titan, running both track and cross country. In those years she was a point contributor at NWAACC track championships and a part of the 2005 Women's NWAACC Cross Country Champion squad. She is majoring is Health & Physical Education.
Travis Floeck, Head Cross Country/Distance Coach 2008- Travis is stepping in the 2008 track and field season to oversee the distance runners after four seasons of success under Coach Ross Krempley. Travis was an assistant coach this cross-country season under Krempley and also served as an assistant coach at Southern Oregon University for Marnie Binney in 2006. Travis also competed at Southern Oregon University in both cross-country and track and field. He was a two-time national qualifier in the 800m for the Raiders and also contributed points in the 1500, 400, 4x100 and 4x400 on three Cascade Conference Championships teams. He was also a member of the 2005 SOU men's Track and Field team that finished sixth at NAIA National Championships. Travis was a key member of Southern Oregon's 2004 Conference and Regional Champion cross-country teams that finished 12th at Nationals. Travis ran for South Umpqua High School and was the 2000 3A State Champion in the 800m. Over his high school career, he qualified for state in the 200, 400, 800, and 1500 as well as being a consistent all-state performer in cross-country. Travis has had the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best coaches in the country through his work at Steens Mountain Running Camp (for the last eight summers) and for Nike's running department (for two cross-country seasons driving the Nike XC Truck). Travis continues to work closely with Krempley on the newly developed RunnerSpace.com and as an athlete for Team XO. He carries a  USATF Level I certification.