Jordan Bartolazzi, a four-time College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Track and Field Coach of the Year, has been named Hope College’s next head coach in the sport.

Bartolazzi will succeed Kevin Cole, who is stepping down as Hope’s men’s and women’s track and field coach following the 2025 outdoor season but will continue to teach and mentor students through his role as a full-time member of the college’s kinesiology faculty. 

Bartolazzi, who has served at Elmhurst University (Illinois) as the director of track and field and cross country since 2017, will finish the outdoor season with the Blue Jays. He guided the Elmhurst women to their first CCIW indoor and outdoor titles in 2025, earning CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year accolades in both seasons.

Director of Athletics Tim Schoonveld said Bartolazzi fits the Hope Athletics mission of academic success, competitive excellence and transformational experiences.

“We are thrilled to have Jordan, his wife, Steph, and their family — Amelia, Mabel, Arlo, and Lester — joining our team. They are amazing people who will only make our team stronger and more impactful,” Schoonveld said. “Jordan has demonstrated competitive excellence as he has built his team from small numbers into league champions. His love for building transformational relationships and caring for his student athletes was evident throughout the search process. We cannot wait for him to join our team and to enhance all that we do at Hope College and in the athletic department.”

Bartolazzi said he is thrilled to continue his coaching career at Hope and join the college’s mission to help student-athletes achieve academic success, competitive excellence and transformational experiences.

“I am honored to be joining the Hope College community and can’t wait to get started. Coaching provides an outstanding opportunity to impact the lives of student-athletes, something I feel very passionate about,” Bartolazzi said. “Hope’s mission to provide transformational experiences for students in a Christian context appeals deeply to me and will be a great fit for me and my family. I look forward to building on the success that Hope has seen under Coach Cole’s guidance. We intend to build a program with sustained success at the conference and national level, all while prioritizing the growth and personal development of our student-athletes.”

Bartolazzi oversaw tremendous growth in Elmhurst track and field during his tenure, with participation increasing from fewer than 15 student-athletes in 2017 to 90 this season. He coached 11 Elmhurst student-athletes to United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All America honors in 20 events, including 15 since 2023. He was chosen as CCIW Track and Field Coach of the Year during the 2025 indoor and outdoor seasons, and once in both 2023 and 2022. 

In March, Bartolazzi guided the Elmhurst women’s track and field team to a Top 10 finish at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. He was chosen as the USTFCCCA Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year for the Midwest Region.

In 2021, Bartolazzi led Elmhurst women’s cross country to the program’s first CCIW crown in 18 years. He was named the CCIW Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year that season.

Bartolazzi served as a USTFCCA Midwest Regional Representative and a mission trip facilitator to Haiti, Jamaica and Kenya while at Elmhurst.

From 2014 to 2017, Bartolazzi served as a senior admissions representative at Elmhurst, overseeing recruiting for all Elmhurst sports.

As a student-athlete, Bartolazzi competed on both the men’s cross country and men’s track and field teams at Elmhurst before graduating in 2015 with degrees in theological studies and Christian ministry, and organizational communication. 

Fishers will host Sectional 8 in the IHSAA’s inaugural boys volleyball state
tournament next week. The Tigers will play Hamilton Southeastern in a rematch of last Thursday’s Mudsock match. Fishers won in straight sets.
Pictured for the Tigers is JT Guler. Pictured for the Royals is Sean Smart. (Julie Brown)

Posted By: Richie Hall
May 7, 2025

Searchable APR Database
 
Bronx, N.Y. – Ten Fordham University athletic teams were publicly recognized by the NCAA for their latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, posting a perfect 1,000 in the multi-year APR rating ending in 2023-2024. The Rams led all Atlantic 10 schools with ten teams honored with a perfect APR score.
 

The Fordham water polo squad was recognized for the ninth straight year, while women’s swimming and diving was honored for the seventh consecutive year, the eighth overall. Joining those two teams was men’s basketball, which was recognized for the third straight season and was the lone Atlantic 10 men’s basketball program to record a 1,000 APR, women’s cross country, honored for the second straight season, along with men’s cross country, men’s soccer, men’s track & field, softball, women’s tennis, and women’s track & field.
 
Women’s tennis achieved the 1,000 APR score for the 18^th time in 19 years, while water polo was recognized for the 13^th time. Women’s track and field recorded a perfect APR for the 14^th time while women’s swimming has accomplished the feat for the eleventh time. Men’s soccer (10), men’s track & field (9), and softball (6) also have multiple seasons with a 1,000 APR score.
 
The national four-year Academic Progress Rate for Division I teams remained steady at 984 for a fourth consecutive year. National sport averages either increased or held steady, as well. Men’s basketball remained at 968, with baseball (979), football (964) and women’s basketball (982) all increasing by one point from last year’s reported APR scores. 
 
Five other Fordham programs earned an APR score of 990 or higher: baseball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, rowing, and volleyball. Additionally the football program posted a score above the national average.
 
“These results are a testimony to the tremendous job done by Fordham student-athletes in the classroom,” said Fordham Athletic Director Charles Guthrie. “To have ten programs with a perfect APR score and to have 16 of the 17 scoring at or above the national APR average for that sport shows that the Fordham student-athlete is able to handle the rigors of Division one athletics with a demanding class load. Helping our student-athletes graduate has always been one of our priorities. But this wouldn’t be possible without help from our academic advisors and coaching staffs.”
 
The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams.
 
Among conferences, the Atlantic 10 was tied for fourth-highest score among all 32 Division I Conferences, posting a rate of 991. The A-10 also had 165 teams at or above the national average in their sport, representing 69 percent of the leagues’ total teams. Additionally, there were 58 programs recorded a perfect rate of 1,000, which ranks sixth among the 31 full conferences.
 
Fordham recorded the highest number of teams that posted perfect multi-year APR scores with 10. Saint Joseph’s had eight and Davidson had seven team post perfect scores.  Richmond and Dayton each had six. In total, the 58 teams with perfect scores represents 24.6 percent of all A-10 teams, an increase of four points over 2023-24.

The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2022-23, and 2023-24 academic years.

 

BOONE, N.C. – The App State men’s and women’s track & field team will compete at the Sun Belt Track & Field Championships, hosted by James Madison at Sentara Park in Harrisonburg, Va. on May 8-11. 
 
Thursday’s action will start at 10:30 a.m. with the multi-events, followed by field events at noon, and track events at 6:30 p.m. Multis will resume at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, with field events slated for 2:30 p.m. and track events scheduled for 5 p.m. On Saturday, field events will start at noon and track events are scheduled to start 4 p.m. The meet will be available to stream on ESPN+. 
 
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers split for the Penn Relays (April 24-26) and LR Open (April 26) to close out the regular season. The Black and Gold crowned a Penn Relays Champion, reset a trio of school records in Philadelphia, and notched 16 first-place finishes between the two meets. 
 
Senior Patrick Freeman clinched the Penn Relays title in the championship section of the men’s pole vault with a clearance of 5.26m (17′ 3″). Freeman and sophomore Matthew Gray hold the men’s pole vault school record with a clearance of 3.35m (17′ 6.5″), which they set at this season’s App State Open (April 18-19). On the track, redshirt senior Calbert Guest shattered the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase program record with a time of 8:41.01. The previous program record was 8:51.28, set in 2022. Guest placed sixth in the race and earned SBC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honors for his efforts. The women’s 4×800-meter relay quartet of junior Addison Ollendick-Smith, senior Regan Hodge, sophomore Rhys Ammon, and freshman Savannah Moore stopped the clock at 8:59.68 to place eighth overall. The previous App State record was 9:06.90, which was set in 2019. Moore, Ollendick-Smith, and Ammon, in addition to sophomore Nicole Wells, also broke the women’s distance medley relay (DMR) program record with a time of 11:46.94. The previous record was 11:59.12, set in 2017, and the Mountaineers rounded out the top-15 in the race. While in Philadelphia, the Black and Gold tallied 15 top-15 finishes. 
 
In Hickory, freshman Kendred Walker placed first in the men’s long jump (6.88m (22′ 6.75″)) and men’s triple jump (13.86m (45′ 5.75″), PR). Fellow freshman Ella Battel also registered a pair of first-place finishes in the women’s 1,500 meters (4:58.57, PR) and women’s 800 meters (2:22.32). The Mountaineers saw first-place finishes from freshmen Brittany Ellis, Emily Edwards, and Christopher Stewart in the women’s shot put (12.23m (40′ 1.5″)), women’s hammer throw (44.96m (147′ 6″), PR), and men’s shot put (16.64m (54′ 7″)), respectively. With a toss of 44.00m (144′ 4″), junior Jeremiah Burch Jr. clinched first in the men’s discus. On the track, App State saw first-place finishes from freshman Brandon Parker (men’s 200 meters, 21.17), junior Parker Kinney (men’s 400 meters, 47.93), freshman Ja’Naya Linder (women’s 400 meters, 56.81), senior Corlasia Scott (women’s 400-meter hurdles, 1:07.31), freshman Zach Makemson (men’s 800 meters, 1:56.22), and junior Maddie Quinn (women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, 11:59.98, PR).
 
Last Time at the Sun Belt Championships

At the 2024 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Mountaineers set a program record in the women’s 4×400-meter relay and totaled 10 podium finishes. In the team standings, the men’s squad placed fourth with 98 points, marking its highest finish at the championship meet since joining the Sun Belt in 2014. The women’s squad placed sixth with 53.2 points. 
 
Ashlee Osaji, Garrett Bivens and Ethan Lipham clinched gold in the women’s long jump (6.26m (20′ 6.5″), facility record), men’s 5,000 meters (14:27.41) and men’s 1,500 meters (3:52.30), respectively. The women’s 4×400-meter team of Wells, Sierra Smith, Daye Talley, and Jayla Adams placed second with a program record of 3:40.01, surpassing the previous school record of 3:42.17. Individually, Gray, Oliver Wilson-Cook, and Ollendick-Smith secured silver in the men’s pole vault (5.27m (17′ 3.5″)), men’s 10,000 meters (30:59.54), and women’s 800 meters (2:09.48), respectively. Additionally, the Mountaineers saw bronze finishes from Niejel Wilkins (men’s triple jump, 15.55m (51′ 0.25″)), Harrison Robinson (men’s 110-meter hurdles (14.00)), Jonah Bird (men’s 10,000 meters (31:09.51)).

App State to Host the 2027 Sun Belt Championships

On Monday, the Sun Belt announced that App State would host the 2027 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Boone at the Randy Marion Track & Field Facility. It will mark the Mountaineers’ first time hosting the Sun Belt outdoor championship meet as well as the first conference championship meet held in Boone since 2010, when the Black and Gold hosted the SoCon Outdoor Championships. 

 

Ranked Mountaineers

Senior Emma Russum remains the Sun Belt’s leader in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, women’s 5,000 meters, and women’s 10,000 meters. Guest also continues to lead the league in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase category, and is followed by Lipham, who stands third, and freshman Thomas Wlazlowski, who rounds out the top-five in the category. Guest and Wilson-Cook also remain third and fourth, respectively, in the men’s 10,000 meters. In the men’s pole vault category, Freeman and Gray both stand second in the league, while freshman Lilly Nichols and junior Ava Studney both rank third in the women’s pole vault category. Wells stands third in the women’s 400 meters, while sophomore Kendall Johnson ranks fifth in the women’s 200 meters. The duo of graduate student Ethan Turner and freshman Henry Stark round out the top-five in the men’s 5,000 meters, while the duo of Lipham and freshman Rowan Gwin round out the league’s top-five in the men’s 1,500 meters. The men’s 4×100-meter relay team of Parker, sophomore Armonté Ferguson, junior Ray Lee, and freshman Johnathan Wilson rank fifth in the Sun Belt.

 

Up Next 

The Mountaineers will host the Sunday Night Qualifier at the Randy Marion Track & Field Facility in Boone on May 18 before gearing up for the NCAA East Preliminary Round.

The NCAA East Preliminary Round is slated for May 28-31 and will be hosted by the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. The top-48 declared student-athletes in each individual event and the top-24 declared relay teams will advance to the East Prelim meet. 

 

Freeman, Gray, and Guest currently rank among the top-48 on the NCAA East Preliminary Round Qualifying List. In the men’s pole vault category, Freeman and Gray stand tied for 14th, while Guest ranks 16th in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase category. Freeman and Gray check in at 32nd nationally in the men’s pole vault, and Guest stands 41st in the NCAA in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.