William Schenk begins his first season as cross country/track and field assistant coach in 2023.
Schenk competed as part of the Colorado Mesa University program from 2017-20. Throughout his career, he was named to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic Honor Roll four times. He ran at two RMAC Cross Country Championships for the Mavericks, setting an 8K career-best time of 26:37.8 in 2019. He then went on to post career-best times of 4:50.10 (mile) and 9:53.08 (3K) during the following indoor track season in February 2020.
While an assistant coach at Colorado Mesa University, Schenk assisted Coach Niksic in coaching three All-RMAC and two all-region runners. In the 2023 indoor season at Colorado Mesa, Schenk helped guide Kira MacGill to a 16:23 school record, RMAC indoor 5k title, and a 10th place finish in the 5k at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
During the fall of 2022, Schenk aided in coaching the Mavericks’ men’s team to a fifth-place finish and the women’s team to an eighth-place mark at the RMAC Championships. Three of his athletes earned All-RMAC second-team honors along the way. Schenk also helped guide two athletes, (Tony Torres and MacGill) to the NCAA Division II Championships where they placed 29th and 91st, respectively.
Schenk also assisted Torres in establishing a pair of school records, including Niksic’s 800-meter record, while qualifying for the 2022 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. In the 2021 season, Schenk helped lead the Mavericks to fifth (men’s) and tenth (women’s) place finishes at the RMAC Cross Country Championships. The Mavericks went on to place eighth and 14th at the NCAA Division II South Central Regionals.
Schenk completed his bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in sports management in May 2021. When not running, he enjoys other outdoor activities such as cycling, rafting, and backpacking.
