Men's Track and Field
Coaches
Mike Garger, head coach
“I was pleased,” Prechtl said, “that our search produced such a talented pool of qualified applicants and that Mike Garger emerged as the top choice of the selection committee. Mike’s commitment to track and field, his willingness to work long hours, and his ability to inspire young athletes to excel certainly came through loud and clear in his interview and in the testimonials provided by those for whom he has worked. We are excited to see Mike join our staff.”
Garger is coming to Fredonia State from Geneseo High School, where he has built a cross country and girls’ track and field dynasty. His boys’ and girls’ cross country teams were each 42-0 last season, including Section V championships for each, and are 381-95 over the last 13 seasons. His 2007 girls’ team won the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D championships, the first state team title in Geneseo High School history.
Meanwhile, the Geneseo girls’ track and field team won 13 straight Section V crowns, ending with the Class C championship Saturday, May 29. His boys’ team also took the Class C crown at the same meet.
“I never really set out to create a dynasty, but I did know that coaching is a passion of mine,” Garger told the Livingston County News in a story published May 27. “I have told people that I am not sure if I have ever had a bad day coaching. I knew I would out-work a lot of people because what others considered work I considered fun. I love crunching numbers and tweaking practice plans to fit each athlete. The scouting has always been a fun motivator for me.”
A native of Westchester County, Garger attended John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers, N.Y., where he excelled in distance running. He finished 12th as a sophomore, fifth as a junior, and eighth as a senior in the state Class B cross country championship meet. He moved on to SUNY Geneseo to study History and Secondary Education. Again, he made his mark as a distance runner for the Blue Knights. He broke the SUNY Geneseo indoor track 5,000-meter record and earned a place in the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame.
His first taste of coaching came in 1992 when he began a three-year stint as SUNY Geneseo assistant cross country coach. He landed a teaching job as a Secondary School Social Studies teacher in 1995 with the Geneseo Central School District. He was named head coach of the Geneseo High School cross country teams in 1996 and of the track and field teams in 1998. He also coached girls’ track and field for one season (1995) at Mount Morris High School.
In addition to the 2007 state title, Garger’s girls’ cross country teams at Geneseo have been Livingston/Genesee County League champs and Section V Class D champs from 2004 through 2009. His boys’ cross country teams have won the Livingston/Genesee County League title in 2004, 2007, and 2009 and the Section V title in 2004, 2005, and 2009. Both teams have been recognized annually as NYSPHAA Scholar-Athletes and he has numerous individuals win county, sectional, and state cross country medals.
In addition to the 13 straight girls’ track and field sectional team titles, Garger’s boys’ teams won sectional crowns in 1999, 2001, 2005, and 2010. Both teams are undefeated in league meets for over a decade. Like the cross country teams, his track teams have claimed NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete awards through his tenure. Altogether, Garger has guided 151 individuals and 20 relay teams to Section V championships since 1996. He also won a Section V girls’ team title during his one year at Mount Morris.
Garger and his wife, Carolyn, have three daughters -- Kennedy, MacKenzie, and Paige.
(E-mail Coach Garger)
Deshaya Williams, assistant coach
Deshaya Williams has joined the Blue Devil family for her first season as assistant cross country and track and field coach in the summer 2010 after a successful collegiate career at Penn State University.
Williams specialized in the throws, especially the discus. In that event, she was a junior national champion, a junior Pan American champ, and made the NACAC-Under 25 National Team. She was Penn State’s first women’s NCAA Division I individual champion in 2003 (discus), a three-time NCAA All-American, three-time Big Ten champion, 2002 Penn Relays discus champion, and ECAC champion. She has also competed at the U.S. Senior Nationals (1999-2005) and the U.S. Olympic Trials (2000, 2004).
Williams has served as a graduate assistant at Penn State University, volunteer assistant at Clemson University, and has coached several athletes in the private sector in the throws. She has assisted in working with Nagle CHAMPS/Life Skills Program, High Level Recruiting, and many other facets in the athletic sector. Williams’s primary focus at Fredonia State will be the 20-pound and 35-pound weight throws, the shot put, the discus, and the hammer.
She graduated from Penn State University in 2002 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Human Development and Family Services with a Minor in Psychology. She has continued in further studies including a Masters of Education at PSU and a Masters of Divinity at Erskine Theological Seminary. She is working on a doctorate in Educational Leadership.
A native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Williams attended Saratoga Springs High School where she competed in the sprints, including the hurdles, and was a six-time state champion in the throwing events. She recently was inducted into the inaugural class for her high school All-Sports Hall of Fame.
Justin McQuality, assistant coach
Justin McQuality joined the Fredonia State coaching staff during the summer of 2010.
A graduate of North Central College in 2009, he earned a double major -- Exercise Science and Psychology. While at North Central, McQuality was a three-year captain of the men’s varsity track and field team. He participated in jumps and the javelin. He was a triple jump All-American in 2008, triple jump national meet qualifier in 2007 and 2008, a long jump national meet qualifier in 2007, a three-time College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) triple jump champion, the CCIW long jump champion in 2007, and an All-CCIW recipient 19 times.
During the 2009-10 season, McQuality served as a part-time assistant coach at Illinois College where he coached the multi-events and horizontal jumpers. Under his tutelage, members of the Illinois College team earned four NCAA All-American awards, one Junior USA National All-American award, two Junior USA National qualifying performances, a sixth-place finish in the women’s heptathlon at the Drake Relays, nine NCAA provisional national qualifying performances, three NCAA automatic qualifying performances, and six Midwest Conference Championships combined between the men’s long jump, women’s long jump, women’s triple jump, and women’s 100-meter hurdles.
His responsibilities with the Blue Devils include assisting the cross country team during the fall season while serving as lead high jump, triple jump, long jump, multi-events, and javelin instructor during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.