By JONAS MILLER
Co-Executive Editor
A new member of the Saint Rose track and field team will lace up his sneakers with the rest of the squad this spring, but he won’t be running in any races.
Reece Vega will begin his tenure as the new head coach at Saint Rose after holding the same position at Graceland University for the last four years.
He brings with him All-American experience dating back to his days as a runner at North Dakota State University, and he hopes his past successes will make the trip with him from the Midwest to the Northeast.
“We are excited to have Coach Vega join our staff and take on the leadership role for our men’s and women’s track & field program,” said Saint Rose Athletic Director Kathy Haker. “Reece has shown proven success as a recruiter and also in developing potential in his team members, while stressing academic success as a core value.”
Vega said his parents are to thank for pushing him to become an athlete. He once imagined himself owning his own business, but decided to focus his life on running and coaching because of the support his parents gave him growing up.
“You always want to bring it back to your parents,” Vega said. “They’re the ones that pushed me into [running]. They’ve always been there to support me.”
During his days as a student-athlete, Vega set school records in multiple events, spending most of his career on the distance running side of the sport.
Before becoming the head honcho at Graceland, Vega held an assistant coaching position at Minot State University in North Dakota where he oversaw 15 NAIA National Qualifiers, an All-American and multiple school-record-breaking runners.
Hailing from St. Charles, Minnesota, cold weather has always been a part of Vega’s life. The young coach said making the move to the northeast should be an easy one when it comes to how he trains himself and his runners.
“I’ve had runners come back with frost on their face,” Vega said. “Not that I like it, but I’m certainly used to the cold.”
As a coach, Vega said he takes a great interest in the methodology of running. He takes pride in knowing how the body works, and what runners can do to better prepare themselves for competition. He’s currently working toward a second Master’s degree in Sports Science, after previously earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business from NDSU.
As he began to coach more, Vega realized he wasn’t learning anything new anymore, that’s when he decided to go back to school.
“I’m trying to get deeper down into why certain workouts affect the body the way that they do,” Vega said. “In the long run, it’s going to make me a better coach.”
Sophomore Rastafari Morgan, an up-and-coming distance runner, thinks Vega is the right person to take the Saint Rose program to the next level.
“He has what it takes to evolve the program,” Morgan said. “Which will lead us in a new era of Saint Rose track and field.”
As for Vega’s plans, he’s simply excited for change.
“It’s a new slate, a new atmosphere, there’s a lot to be excited about here,” Vega said.
He admitted to turning down several other positions before accepting the head job at Saint Rose, citing a search for the “right fit.”
“The culture of the team was one of the many factors that made me choose Saint Rose,” Vega said.
The Saint Rose Track and Field team kicked off their season on Saturday at the Pioneer Invitational and head to Villanova on Friday, Jan. 27 for the second contest of the year.
