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Office: (937) 327-6493
| Postal Address: Wittenberg University P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501 |
Package Shipping Address: Wittenberg University 225 Fountain Ave. Springfield, Ohio 45504 |
Craig Penney brought a wealth of experience to the Wittenberg men's and women's cross country and track & field programs when he arrived in August 2006.
Penney has led cross country and track teams at six colleges in the past 32 years. One of his stops included Wittenberg rival and fellow North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) member College of Wooster. Prior to coming to Wittenberg, Penney was the head cross country coach and an administrative assistant for media relations at Shenandoah University. During his two years at Shenandoah, Penney guided five runners to all-conference honors and led three of those individuals to strong finishes in the NCAA Division III South Region Meet.
Penney has earned conference coach of the year awards 12 times in his career. In 2000, he was named the United States of America Track and Field Mid-East Regional Track and Field Coach of the Year. Beyond Penney's individual accolades, his teams have won 15 conference titles. He has also produced more than 250 all-conference performers, 20 most valuable player awards, 52 National Qualifiers and 32 All-Americans. He has also helped athletes set more than 70 new college records.
Not only has Penney led his individuals to high levels of competition, his teams have also held their own in the classroom. In 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008, his cross country teams earned Coaches Association Academic All-America recognition. In 2005 at Shenandoah, Penney's women's cross country team was one of 108 Division III schools to earn the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Academic Award with a 3.39 grade point average.
Penney has also been involved in other activities beyond coaching. From April 2003 through July 2004, Penney was the assistant conference planner and programmer for Penn State University Conferences & Institutes. He also has gained experience as a director of seven conference championship events and three NCAA Regional Cross Country Championships. During his time at Shenandoah as an administrative assistant, Penney helped to process media guide advertising and handled media relations responsibilities for postgame interviews Penney, who was a double major at Edinboro State University, earned his master's degree in sports administration from Ashland University.
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Office: (937) 327-6493
Ralph Bergdoll became part of the Wittenberg coaching staff in 2000 after more than 40 years of coaching in the Dayton area. A graduate of West Virginia Weslyan and Xavier University, Bergdoll is also certified in Level I and II with the USTAF and is Level I instructor.
As a scholastic coach Bergdoll has experience with both cross-country and track programs. For ten consecutive years (1990-1999), he has had competitors qualify for the OHSAA State track meet. In 1988 Bergdoll was inducted in the Ohio Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame. He has served many years as a meet manager and has conducted four Level I schools for USATF.
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Dennis Robinson joined the Tiger coaching staff in 2004 after working in the Dayton Public School District the last 17 years. Robinson taught physical education, health and driver's education at MacFarlane Middle School and Meadowdale High School, and he also served as head coach for the boy's and girl's cross country and track and field teams.
During his career at Meadowdale, Robinson led dozens of athletes to high finishes in the annual Ohio High School Athletic Association championship meet. His team's best finish was third in the 2001 boys state championship, and in 2002 Robinson coaches the second-fastest high school 110-meter high hurdler in the nation. In addition, Robinson served as head coach of the All-Ohio Boys' Track and Field team in 2001, earned recognition in Who's Who Among America's Teachers in 2000 and was a recipient of the OHSAA's Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award in 2002.
A graduate of Central State University and a native of Dayton, Robinson's first head coaching assignment was in the Jefferson Township School District as head coach of the boys' and girls' track and field and cross country teams. He earned Coach of the Year in the Southwestern Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches in 1977, and he guided the boys team to the AA State Championship that same year.
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Assistant Coach: Andy Waddle
Andy Waddle returned to his alma mater in 2005 to take over coaching the football team's defensive backs and serve as an assistant with the Tiger track and field program.
Waddle played for two North Coast Athletic Conference championship teams in his three years at Wittenberg after transferring from the University of Findlay in 1999. At Findlay, Waddle was red-shirted during an NAIA national championship season in 1997 and was a starter for the Oilers the following year. In 2000, he tied an NCAA record for blocked punts in a game in his first appearance in the Red & White, turning away three Urbana attempts in the season opener.
Waddle earned first-team All-NCAC honors in football and track and field during his collegiate career. After graduating from Wittenberg in 2003 with a degree in sociology, Waddle spent one season at Mansfield University (Pa.), as the defensive backs coach for former Tiger defensive coordinator Chris Woods. He acted as a staff liaison to the university's athletic trainers and also learned the recruiting ropes while helping the Mountaineers to an 8-3 record, the program's first winning mark in nearly 30 years.
In 2004, Waddle was the defensive backs coach at Maryville College (Tenn.), and once again the program and its defensive unit made a dramatic improvement. Maryville won as many games in 2004 as it had won the previous three seasons combined, and the defense made a 17-point, 140-yard per game improvement. Waddle served as Maryville's video coordinator.
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Ben Bradley joined the track & field coaching staff as a volunteer in 2008, and in 2009 becomes an assistant coach. In addition to those duties, Bradley serves as a broadcaster on the Tiger Sports Network, and in conjunction with the "Voice of the Tigers," Scott Leo, covers a wide range of Tiger athletic events on the student radio station 89.1 FM WUSO and on the Internet through the Wittenberg athletics website.
A 2007 graduate of Denison University, Bradley served as assistant sports information director in 2008-09 before moving to his current duties for the 2009-10 academic year. He currently resides in Springfield.
Assistant Coach: Melissa Jensen
Melissa Jensen, a residence hall coordinator at Wittenberg, joined the track and field coaching staff working with the throwers in 2005.
Jensen was a successful track and field athlete for 11 years at Woodmore High School and the University of Findlay, including one year competing in collegiate events unattached. She has guided numerous Wittenberg athletes to personal best performances, including Andy Karcher, who won the hammer with a meet-record throw at the 2006 North Coast Athletic Conference championships after earlier setting a school record. In addition, Clyde Mayer won the discus at the conference meet.
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