University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Track and Field
- Title:
- Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach
- Email:
- david.paulsen@uni.edu
- Phone:
- (319) 273-5823
Head coach Dave Paulsen is in his second year at the helm of the Panthers cross country and track and field programs. It is his ninth year overall after serving as an assistant coach for UNI prior to the 2015-16 season at his alma mater.
Paulsen has planned, organized and managed all areas of UNI's men's and women's cross country programs since joining the staff in August 2008. As a member of the UNI coaching staff, athletes under his direction have set 31 school records, taken home 28 Missouri Valley Conference individual titles as well as 16 NCAA national qualifiers, five NCAA All-America honors and four Missouri Valley Conference records.
In just his second year at the helm, the 2016 MVC Cross Country Coach of the Year led the Panthers to exceed its preseason ranking of sixth to win the MVC Cross Country Championships, held in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI had four student-athletes place in the top-10 overall in Ashley Norem, Kelsey Kirchoff, Hannah Truniger and Brette Correy with Truniger earning MVC Freshman of the Year. The women wrapped up the season by placing ninth overall at the NCAA Midwest Regional, the highest team finish in UNI women’s cross country history.
He has been integral in coaching and developing Kirchoff and Norem to be two of the most successful cross country athletes in program history. Kirchoff sits second all-time at UNI in the 6K and fourth in the 5K while Norem is ranked No. 16th all-time in the 5K and No. 9 in the 6K. Kirchoff headlined Panther cross country in 2015 with Paulsen’s direction, placing in the top-15 overall at the MVC Championships, also placing in the top-15 in every meet that season.
On the track and in the field during the 2015-16 season, the Panthers broke seven outdoor and five indoor records that included three MVC all-time records. He saw Paige Knodle and Brandon Carnes earn spots at the NCAA Indoor Championship to earn All-America with Knodle, Carnes and Justin Baker all claiming All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as well.
With Paulsen at the helm, Knodle was named MVC Most Valuable Female Athlete and Most Outstanding Track Athlete in 2016 while Carnes earned his second MVC Most Outstanding Male Track Athlete honor. At the 2016 MVC Outdoor Championships, the Panther men and women had 14 All-Conference athletes in 18 individual events and three relays with the women claiming its highest finish since 2008 in second place overall. Carnes continued his winning streak in 2016, bringing in his individual title number to 12 after winning the 100 and 200 meter dashes outdoors and the 60 and 200 meters indoors.
In 2014-15, Paulsen coached former Panther and now current assistant coach Alex Wilson to a second-place finish at the MVC Cross Country Championship meet while leading the women's team to a fifth place finish. She became the sixth top-five finisher in UNI women's cross country history with her new school record time. Since joining the coaching staff at UNI, athletes coached by Paulsen have turned in 7 of the top 10 performances in school history in women’s cross country. On the men's side, Zach Buchheit earned his first all-conference finish after placing ninth overall running the 8th fastest time in school history.
Wilson continued her successful senior campaign under the direction of Paulsen into track season when she became just the fifth female athlete in Missouri Valley history to win both the 800 and 1,500 meters at the MVC Outdoor Championships. Wilson finished her career with Paulsen's coaching holding six individual school records, three relay records and three MVC championships.
Paulsen also guided the women’s Distance Medley Relay team of Brette Correy, Darian Samuelson, Amber Clock and Wilson to the all-time Missouri Valley Conference record performance during the 2015 indoor season. The women’s middle distance group shined at the MVC indoor championships racking up 38 points for the Panthers; led by a 1st and 2nd place finish in the 800 meters by Brette Correy and Amber Clock and Wilson’s dominate performance in the winning the mile run.
At the conclusion of the outdoor MVC championships both Wilson (1500m), and Correy (800m) qualified for the first round of the NCAA Championships. Wilson advanced to the quarterfinal round where she re-broke her school record in the 1500 meters, running a blistering time of 4:18.27.
During the 2014 track and field season, the middle distance crews shined under the direction of Paulsen. The Panthers saw 3 school records get taken down during the outdoor season in middle distance and distance events including the women’s 4X800 meter relay and distance medley relay at the Drake Relays.
That success came on the heels of an exceptional 2013 campaign. The Panther women saw three women in the finals of the 800 meter run at the conference championships. On the men’s side, freshman distance runner Zach Buchheit qualified for the US Junior Championships and garnered a top 10 finish against the nation’s best young talent in the 5,000 meter run.
During Paulsen’s tenure at Northern Iowa he coached middle distance standouts Tyler Mulder and Holli Hosch. Mulder finished 3rd in the 800 meter run during the 2009 indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships. Mulder’s outdoor time of 1:46.80 set a new school record and qualified him for the USA Track & Field National Championships. Hosch took the MVC by storm in her final two seasons, winning 3 individual titles at 800 meters and running a time of 2:05.16 at the first round of the NCAA championships. At that time, her performance broke the MVC record in the event and also qualified her for the final round of the NCAA championships where she earned all-America honors. Those standout performances also qualified her twice for the USA Track & Field National Championships.
Prior to joining the Panther staff, Paulsen enjoyed unprecedented success as the head cross country and assistant track and field coach at Central College in Pella, Iowa, from 2006-2008. Prior to Central, Paulsen served as a volunteer coach at UNI for three years.
As a student-athlete for the Panthers from 2000-2003, Paulsen earned All-America honors in 2002 as a member of the UNI distance medley team. Paulsen qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 800 meters in 2004 with a personal-best time of 1:47.03.
The Waverly, Iowa, native received his bachelor's degree from UNI in political science in 2004 and earned his master's degree in exercise science from UNI in 2006. He and his wife, Dee have a son, Caleb and daughters, Chloe and Kadee.
