After serving the 2021-22 academic year as the interim track & field coach for Delaware, Ryan Waite has officially taken over the reins of the program, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Chrissi Rawak announced on Wednesday.
"I am extremely excited to promote Ryan to head coach for our Blue Hen track & field program. I am grateful for the work that Ryan has done, not only in the interim role this past year, but since he arrived at Delaware in 2016," said Rawak. "Ryan's knowledge of cross country and track & field, combined with his commitment to the student-athlete experience and ability to increase the level of success within both teams make him a great selection to continue leading Delaware."
Prior to 2021, Waite served as the head cross country coach and track & field associate head coach, having been a member of the Blue Hens track & field staff since October 2016.
"I'm extremely grateful to Chrissi, Dan Watson, and the University for the trust they are putting in me to lead our Cross Country and Track and Field teams," said Waite. "I'm proud of the work our staff and team did this past year and look forward to building on that as we elevate our program to even higher heights. There's a lot of work to be done to get there, so while I'm very happy to receive this promotion, the focus is right back to the process of building a championship program. Let's get to work!"
Under Waite's guidance, Delaware has continued to set several new records on the track and in the field, as the Blue Hens have become a dominant opponent up and down the east region.
Improving on last year's third-place performance of 130 points at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Blue Hens shined through and through the entire meet finishing in second place with 154 points. The Blue and Gold racked up 15 medals -- four gold, nine silver, and two bronze medals, headlined by impressive performances by the meet's Most Outstanding Field Athlete Megan Albamonti along with Tina Capparell, Halima Scott, and the 4x100 relay team.
At the 2021 ECAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, 10 Blue Hens competed and set three school records in the process. Delaware set school records in 14 events during the indoor and outdoor season.
During the 2021 fall season, Waite coached the cross country team to a second-place finish that via a tiebreaker was listed in the books as third place at the CAA Championship, as two runners placed in the top-six for Delaware.
Waite has had at least one distance runner qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships or NCAA East Prelims every year that he has coached at UD. Most recently, Susanna Weir (2022) qualified for the east prelims in the 10,000 meters and Holly Manning (2021) in the 800 meters. Albamonti qualified for the east prelims in 2022 and later this month will compete at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. at the prestigious Hayward Field. Blue Hen alumna Michaela Meyer placed fourth at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 800 meters, just one spot shy of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. Internationally, Manning won the 2022 New Zealand National Championship in the 800 meters and Marie Poulin will compete at the Canada National Championships in the 400-meter hurdles.
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