NEW ORLEANS, La. (Blugolds.com) – UW-Eau Claire head track and field coach Chip Schneider has been named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.

Official USTCCA Release | Coach Schneider Post-Meet Interview at NCAA Indoor Championships

It is the first time in Schneider's career that he has been named USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.  Schneider led the Blugolds to their first-ever men's indoor national championship. It was the first time Eau Claire has ever won a team track and field national championship indoor or outdoor by the men or women's team.

Eau Claire men beat out La Crosse for the national title by two points—a margin in a two-day track meet that is fundamentally the matter of a few tenth of a second here or a couple centimeters there. Crucial to the win were distance runner Josh Thorson (Fr.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) who finished third in the 3000 and the anchor of the winning DMR—shot put champ Roger Steen (Sr.-Luck, WI), and heptathlon winner Brandon Zarnoth (Sr.-Appleton, WI/North).  The shot and hep were particularly deep events for Eau Claire, as they went 1-3 in the shot and 1-2 in the hep.  Greg Peterson (Sr.-Hartland, WI/Arrowhead) kicking hard to win the heptathlon 1k by two seconds and move up to take second place by five points (out of more than five thousand) is among probably a dozen zero-sum moments that won the meet for Eau Claire.