University of Notre Dame Men's Track & Field

Cathrine Erickson was elevated to throws coach for the track and field program in November 2022. Under Erickson’s guidance, Michael Shoaf capped off a strong career for the Irish with a sixth-place finish in the indoor shot put to be named an All-American. In the spring of 2023, John Keenan earned All-American honors in the javelin after a seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships. Shoaf garnered All-American accolades in both the indoor and outdoor shot put for the Irish. During her time as a volunteer coach with the program, Irish athletes earned three All-American honors – Shoaf (2021 – outdoor shot put; 2022 outdoor shot put) and John Stefan (2022 outdoor shot put). “Cathrine has been a member of our staff the last two years as a volunteer coach. She is very familiar with our roster and Coach Beltran’s training program. We expect to have a smooth transition to her working with our athletes,” said Sparks. “I have enjoyed working with the Irish throwers over the last two years and feel that the Notre Dame family is a perfect fit,” said Erickson. It is an honor to continue the work that Coach Beltran and I started two years ago and I am very appreciative of the opportunity to continue building the throwers program at Notre Dame.” Erickson has had multiple stops prior to Notre Dame including Mississippi, Clemson, Tennessee, Harvard, Northeastern and “has had success everywhere she has coached including SEC, ACC and Ivy League institutions,” boasted Sparks. “She has coach

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – On January 18, Matt Sparks, the Hatherly-Piane Director of Track & Field and Cross Country announced the addition of Emily Hosker-Thornhill as an assistant coach for the track and field/cross country program. “We could not be more excited to welcome Emily to our staff. Her experience as a member of an NCAA Championship team at New Mexico coupled with her professional running experience representing Great Britain in the World Cross Country Championships will serve as an inspiration to our entire program,” said Sparks. Hosker-Thornhill has experience as a coach and as a professional athlete, “I’m beyond thrilled to be part of the coaching staff for the University of Notre Dame Cross Country and Track team. The university provides such a unique experience for student athletes and staff alike, and I’m very excited to be part of this team, and grateful for this opportunity,” said Hosker-Thornhill. Hosker-Thornhill said “Notre Dame has always been a powerhouse in sport, and to play a part in their historical success, feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity that I simply could not pass on. The athletes and staff are a group of extremely talented individuals, and to be part of that is very exciting.” Hosker-Thornhill is a two time member of the Senior Women’s World Cross Country Championships team for Great Britain. She placed 49th overall in the 2019 Arhus race and fifth on the team. She also placed 57th in the European Cross Country Championships. She also pl

Jared Schatz joined the Notre Dame Track & Field and Cross Country programs as an assistant coach in August 2022. Irish distance athletes have garnered ten All-American honors in cross country and track & field since the fall of 2022. The 2025 NCAA outdoor championships saw Ethan Coleman and CJ Singleton both garner the honor, Izaiah Steury was an All-American at the 2024 NCAA cross country championships. Tyler Berg, Tom Seitzer and Singleton were all 2024 All-Americans in track & field. Seitzer earned All-American recognition in 2023, and Carter Solomon was an All-American in both the 5,000m indoor and outdoor events. Solomon earned All-American status in the fall 2022 cross country season after winning the individual title at the ACC Championships. “Jared joins us from Florida State and has a great understanding of what it takes to be successful in the ACC. He will do exceptionally well recruiting and connecting with the athletes,” said Sparks. Prior to Notre Dame, Schatz served as the Operations Assistant for the Florida State men’s cross country and track and field teams. In this role, Schatz was responsible for assisting the head cross country and track and field coach with day-to-day operations related to the team. He wrote and assisted with practice schedules, workouts, and resistance training. Sparks noted that “Much of Jared’s job at FSU was administrative in nature where he learned the importance of the details. Jared’s commitment to being thorough in all he does wi

Luke Grady joined Notre Dame Track and Field in October of 2024 as a Coach Fellow to help with the sprints and hurdles. This is Grady’s second stint at Notre Dame, he was a Graduate Assistant for the 2020 – 2021 season. “I am thrilled to be back at Notre Dame to work with these student athletes within these world class facilities. I look forward to working with Coach Zuyderwyk and the entire team to continue building an excellent sprint and hurdle squad that is both mentally and physically prepared.” Grady’s passion for coaching started when he coached the Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Youth Track and Field program as a college athlete. Later, while working in Los Angeles, he coached at St. Pius X Matthias High School in Downey, California from 2019 – 2020. There, Grady was the Director of both the Cross Country and Track and Field programs, guiding the Spartans to conference championships in both Cross Country and Track and Field, for the men’s and women’s teams. Grady also successfully saw five of his athletes to the Division I and Division III levels, to continue their athletic careers. A four-time letter winner at Auburn University, Grady was named Co-Captain of the Auburn Tigers for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He primarily raced in the 110m and 400m hurdles, while also competing in a variety of the sprints throughout his career. Additionally, Grady competed as a member of the 4x400m and 4x100m relays throughout his time at Auburn. Grady graduated from Auburn University w

Rodney Zuyderwyk joined the Notre Dame Track and Field program in the fall of 2018 and works with the multi events, jumps and hurdle groups. Zuyderwyk is a three-time USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the year with his most recent award coming in the 2024 indoor season. During his coaching career his athletes have won eight national championships (including five NCAA titles, three USATF Senior titles and 46 conference championships). They have also set two American Records and an Olympic Trials record. Since arriving at Notre Dame his athletes have won three NCAA championships, eight ACC Championships and 16 All-American awards. Under Zuyderwyk coaching Jadin O’Brien won the 2023, 2024 and 2025 NCAA Indoor Pentathlon titles. In 2023 O’Brien represented the USA winning the NACAC gold medal in Costa Rica. In 2024 O’Brien teamed up with Alaina Brady for a 1-2 finish at the ACC Championships in the Pentathlon. The 2025 indoor season saw O’Brien, Brady and Addison Berry sweep the podium at the ACC Championships with the trio claiming all three top finishes, respectively. In 2020, Zuyderwyk coached Naya Sharp and Summer Thorpe also to a 1-2 finish at the ACC Championships in the 60m hurdles. Also while at Notre Dame, Zuyderwyk assisted Sam Grewe in winning the Para Olympic and Para World Championship gold medal while setting the world record in the High jump. A native of Australia, Zuyderwyk previously served as Associate Head Coach at New Mexico where he supervised the vertical jumps, co