University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Track and Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Throws
- Email:
- daniel.omara@uni.edu
- Phone:
- (319) 273-5853
Dan O'Mara enters his seventh season as an assistant track and field coach overseeing the throwing events. O'Mara has built the UNI throws program into one of the top programs in the Midwest.
Under O'Mara, the Panthers have become a recognized force in the throwing events at both the Missouri Valley Conference and NCAA meets. His knowledge and experienced has carried over to producing athletes that have been ranked among the top-15 competitors in the nation. O'Mara's impact as the throws coach at Northern Iowa cannot be understated. O’Mara has led the UNI throws team through the 2015 season that established 1 school record, three Missouri Valley Conference Honors, two NCAA West Region qualifiers and one NCAA Honorable Mention All-American.
The 2015 Throws squad were led by junior thrower Justin Baker. Baker earned third place in the shot put at the 2015 Indoor MVC Championships with 56-9. He also went on to earn the number two spots on UNI’s All-time Indoor Performance list in the shot (59-8) and weight throw (66-1). At the 2015 Outdoor MVC, Baker established a new UNI school record in the hammer throw (206-10), and hit a huge personal best in the shot (61-2.5) to finish runner-up. Baker made it the NCAA West Preliminary Meet in both the shot put and hammer throw. He earned a spot to the NCAA Finals with a personal best toss of 61-6.75, where he garners NCAA Honorable Mention All-American.
Freshman Brad Walski, finished third in the discus and seventh in the shot put at the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor meet with distances of 171-1 and 53-9. Jake Humpal and Justin Baker both place in the men’s discus with personal best tosses of 162-6, and 162-2. Walski also finished fourth in the shot put at the 2015 MVC indoor meet with toss of 55-10.
Junior standout Jamie Lindstrom scored in three throwing events at the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships. Lindstrom place 4th in the hammer throw (189-6), 4th in the discus (160-1) and 8th in the shot put (47-6.5). Teammates Chloe Schmidt and Sarah Pate also scored in the women’s discus with throws of 159-1 and 157-7 finishing 7th and 8th respectfully. Lindstrom had a stellar indoor season by placing 5th in weight throw (64-5.25) and 8th in the shot put at the 2015 MVC Indoor Meet. She also turned in the second best throw in school history in the weight at the Jack Jennett Invitational with a toss of 64-8.
In the past six years, O'Mara has coached the Panthers to 30 First Round NCAA National Championship qualifying spots, 20 Missouri Valley Conference Honors, six Conference Champions, three UNI school records, four NCAA National Championship Qualifiers, two NCAA second Team All-American honors, one All-Time Missouri Valley Conference Record and one Drake Relays Discus Crown.
In the spring of 2014 O’Mara guided Matt Schiffer to an outstanding senior year. The senior from Mason City, Ia turned in the third best discus throw in school history at the Jim Duncan Invitational breaking the meet record with a distance of 187-10. He then went on to win UNI’s fourth consecutive Missouri Valley conference discus title for the Panthers and earn a spot at the NCAA West Regional Track and Field Championships.
In 2013, O’Mara guided Jordan Williams this third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Title in the discus. He also coached Williams to UNI”s second Drake Relays Title in the men’s discus with a throw of 190-7. Williams went on to be ranked among the best discus throwers in the country with a throw of 193-7 at the Alabama Relays. He turned in a second team NCAA All-American performance in the discus, at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor track and field championships with a throw of 190-1. Williams also scored valuable points at the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor meet with a toss of 63-1 in the men’s weight throw to finish third and seventh in the shot with a toss of 54-6.
O’Mara coached second year thrower Baker to a third place finish in the men’s shot put at the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor. His throw of 56-3 ranks him ninth on UNI’s All-time performance list. Baker went on to qualifier for the 2013 NCAA West Region Track Field Championships in the men’s shot put. Adam McDonnell was another one of O’Mara’s athletes who qualified for the 2013 NCAA West Region Track and Field Championships. McDonnell finished sixth in the men’s weight throw at the MVC Indoor meet and eight in the men’[s hammer at the MVC Outdoor meet.
The UNI’s women throwers had one of their best years since his arrival. Kelsey Sukovaty became second best thrower in UNI’s history in the women’s weight throw and women’s shot put. Sukovaty, surpassed the 50 foot barrier in the shot put on five different occasions and turned in a weight throw of 63-2 at the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Meet. Sukovaty also qualified in the shot put for the 2013 NCAA West Region Track and Field Championships.
During the 2012 indoor season, O'Mara coached senior Justin Romero to his second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference win in the shot put with a toss of 59-2. Romero then went on to break the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor shot put record and UNI school record with an outstanding performance of 62-4.5 at the First Round of the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. His performance earned him a spot at the Final Round of the NCAA Championship in Des Moines, Iowa where he ended up earning honorable mention All-American.
Under O'Mara, Williams, then a junior, won his second consecutive discus title at the 2012 Outdoor Missouri Valley Conference Championships with a toss of 182-10. Williams went on to surpass that mark with a 192-5 effort at the First Round of the NCAA Championships and earn a spot to the Final Round of the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. There he turned in a second team All-American performance of 183-10 to finish 14th. O'Mara also guided Williams past the 60-foot barrier for the first time at the 2012 Mark Messersmith Invitational, making him the second thrower in UNI history to ever to throw the steel ball over that distance.
Under the guidance of O'Mara, the UNI throws program experienced its best season in school history in 2011. Two UNI throwers claimed Missouri Valley Conference individual titles and four Panthers qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Eugene, Ore.
At the 2011 MVC Outdoor Championships, the UNI men's throwers totaled 54 team points and had an All-MVC finisher in each of the four throwing events. The 54 points in the throwing events were the most scored by UNI at the MVC Championships in UNI history. Jordan Williams won his first Valley title in the discus, uncorking a personal-best throw by 11-feet and claiming fourth on the UNI all-time list with his mark of 182-06 (55.63m).
At the MVC Indoor Championships in 2011, UNI racked up 29 points between the two men's throwing events and rallied the Panthers into the team lead late in the meet. With O'Mara's tutelage, Justin Romero won his first Valley title in the shot put with a throw of 58-07.50 (17.87m).
In 2011, Panther throwers posted 10 performances that broke into the school's all-time top-five lists. Tanner Hurt set a new school record in the hammer throw, and Justin Romero (indoor shot put), Kelsey Sukovaty (indoor shot put) and Traci Harms (weight throw, hammer throw) all claimed the No. 2 spot on the UNI all-time lists.
O'Mara made an immediate impact on the UNI program in his first season in 2010 by implementing his nationally-renowned system. In all, O'Mara's athletes set an amazing 37 personal bests in 2010.
"It is my goal to help develop one of the finest throws programs in the nation," O'Mara said upon his hiring. "I also want to help my athletes earn a degree while preparing them for the real world. I want to show athletes what it takes to be the best and challenge athletes to go beyond their comfort zone. I am willing to put forth the effort needed to bring this program to the next level."
Prior to UNI, O'Mara served as an assistant track and field coach at Iowa State from 1992-2007. At ISU, O'Mara guided 22 Big 12 Conference Champions in addition to coaching 21 All-Americans and eight Olympic Trials qualifiers. His student-athletes also set seven ISU school records under his guidance. O'Mara also produced and developed a shot put technique video.
Prior to his services at Iowa State, O'Mara assisted at South Carolina and his alma mater, Kansas State. O'Mara obtained four letters while attending Kansas State from 1986-89, where he earned All-America honors in the discus with a toss of 193-0.
As a senior and team captain, O'Mara won both the Big Eight shot put and discus titles and finished second in the javelin. O'Mara was voted into Kansas State's Hall of Honor for having two of the best throws in the history of Kansas State track and field with distances of 62-5 in the shot and 193-2 in the discus.
His prep career at Hayden High School in Topeka, Kan., is just as impressive. O'Mara broke the Kansas Class 4A discus record his junior year and won the shot put (59-8), discus (192-3) and 100 meters (10.8) his senior year. He has spoken at several clinics and produced an instructional video. O'Mara earned his bachelor's degree from Kansas State in 1990 and a master's degree from Iowa State in 1997.
He and his wife, Denise, daughters Maggie(19) and Ruby(19) reside in Ames,Iowa with their dog (Lucky ).
