Spearfish, SD – As the 2020 track season gets under way, there will be a familiar face noticeably absent from the coaching staff. Head cross country coach and former head track and field coach Scott Walkinshaw has retired after 22 years of coaching.

Walkinshaw took over the program from Dave Little in 1998. He came up from Odessa College where he had served as the head coach for women's cross country/ track & field.

"I was in a unique situation to hire my replacement," said former athletic director and former head track and field coach Dave Little. "I was very passionate about track and field and wanted to make sure my successor had the same drive. Reflecting back, I am very happy and incredibly impressed with what Scott did with the program, and more importantly, what he did for the people involved with the program over the years."

The Walkinshaw era almost never happened.

"About two weeks after we arrived in Spearfish, a huge low settled over the town," commented Walkinshaw. "The storm wasn't over the western South Dakota, it wasn't over the black hills, it was centered over Spearfish and we got hit with over 18 inches of snow in mid-September. We had just moved up from Texas and I remember Laurie saying that if the storm had hit a week earlier that we would've turned the moving track around in a heartbeat. We had so many calls from friends and families asking us how we were enjoying our South Dakota welcome."

It was a good thing Walkinshaw was undeterred by the weather as he racked up quite a list of accomplishments during his reign. As head track and field/ cross country coach from 1998-2008 he was named the Dakota Athletic Conference Coach of the Year 19 times, seven time NAIA Region III Coach of the Year, six time South Dakota Cross Country/Track Coaches Association Coach of the Year, and was named the 2000 NAIA National Coach of the Year. He also was named the 2001 South Dakota Sportswriters College Coach of the Year (this award includes all coaches from all the collegiate sports).

Also during this time, a combined 199 individual athletes including members of relay teams were NAIA All-Americans. Of those 218 athletes, 25 walked away as national champions.

"What really kept this going was the drive of the athletes," said Walkinshaw. "Each team, each generation of athlete had the drive to be better than the previous. Every individual and every group wanted to make their own mark on the program."

In 2008, Walkinshaw stepped down as the head track and field coach to focus on his health but he continued to the lead the distance squad as the head cross country coach.

"Coach Walkinshaw has been a staple here at BHSU since arriving in 1998, and the cross country and track and field programs have benefited greatly from his efforts," said current head track and field coach Seth Mischke. "Moving the programs into the DII era was a challenging experience, but one I enjoyed taking on with Coach W.  It was a pleasure working with him for the past 8.5 years and I know he will enjoy this new chapter in his life."

In the few years before Black Hills State moved to NCAA Division II, Walkinshaw picked up five more DAC Coach of the Year awards. He also coached 19 more All-Americans and saw Wendy O'Lexey to two national championships in the marathon and Trent Waage to one.

Under Walkinshaw's tutelage in the NAIA years, the BHSU cross country team was the only program in the nation to have both the men's and women's team competing at the national championship from 2000 to 2008. His teams finished runner-up four times, third place six times, and from 2000-2002 finished runner up in the combined team scoring. In all there were 17 top ten team finishes.

All these achievements culminated in Walkinshaw being inducted into the NAIA hall of fame in 2019.

"Everyone talks a lot about the success the program had on the course and track, but we were truly successful elsewhere," commented Walkinshaw. "Academics were always important to the program and it shows. I have met some of the smartest people I know coaching and many of them have returned to their local communities and are highly successful."

After a tough two-year transition where Black Hills was ineligible for the post season, Walkinshaw boldly lead the distance team into a new era: the NCAA Division II Era. Success was not hard to find.

In 2013, the inaugural NCAA Division II year, Walkinshaw coached Mitch Kraft to the national championships in cross country to become the first D2 All-American in Black Hills State University History. He then led the 2015 men's cross country team to the XC National Championship, another first in BHSU history.

The 2015 season, was marred by tragedy with the untimely passing of Gage McSpadden. That loss had a profound effect on Walkinshaw.

"I was deeply affected by the loss of Gage," reflected Walkinshaw. "One night Laurie told me that I wasn't the same coach or person that I had been before. I think she was right, but I saw the resilience of the team that year and the outpouring of support from the community and alumni and knew we could keep moving forward."

That tragedy however sprung an opportunity, and the Gage McSpadden Endowment scholarship was created. Future Yellow Jackets will now benefit from this lasting legacy.

"Scott exemplifies what being a great human being is all about.  I always felt Scott lived his life to help others, and to make those around him become the best version of themselves," said former BHSU athlete and current University of Mary head track and field coach Dennis Newell. "I watched the genuine relationships he formed and positive impacts he made with genuine sincerity.  Scott has and will continue to be a positive influence on so many people in his life.  I feel very lucky to have had him in my life to help me become the man I am today.  I think a lot of people that have in his life would feel the same way."

Following the 2015 XC season, Walkinshaw spent no time resting on his laurels when he coached freshman Jonah Theisen to a national title in the steeplechase, another first in Yellow Jacket History.

Overall from 2013 until his retirement last month, Walkinshaw coached 26 NCAA D2 All-Americans counting relay teams, took three teams to the national cross country championships, and in addition to the 2016 steeplechase champion, coached two national runner-ups individuals. Jonah again in the steeplechase and Alec Baldwin in the Mile. Baldwin holds the fourth fastest Outdoor Mile in Division II.

"You can forget almost everything else, if I had to pick one thing that really stood out to me during my time at BHSU, it's the relationships. The funny, corny but often serious times when you get to know athletes as individuals. I'm not talking about the 11 marriages where I coached both athletes that sprung out of the teams I coached, but the unique impact each athlete had on me and I hope I had on them. Really it was a privilege to coach so many good athletes here at BHSU who were committed to excellence. Coaching is journey, a day to day journey getting things done and seeing growth over long periods of time. I want thank all my assistant coaches over the years, it truly would not have been possible without them and their contributions to the program. Finally, thank you to everyone who has supported the program over the years."

Walkinshaw will enjoy retirement in Spearfish,SD with his wife Laurie, and his dog Shiloh and Cat Candy Cane.

Below is a list of Multiple Time All-American Finishers (3 or more) Under Walkinshaw.
During this time to earn All-American Honors  you had to finish or place in the top six. Today it is the top eight. Please contact the BHSU Sports Information Department with any corrections to this list.

Lisa Reynolds (Bomengen): Cross Country 2/Track & Field 1. Lisa place 3^rd in the 10,000 Meters her senior year.

Monica Headlee: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 3. Monica earned her All-American Honors with solid efforts on Relays (one Distance Medley Relay (DMR) and one 3200 Meter Relay Indoors and one DMR Outdoors). She anchored the DMR with a 5:04.00 Mile.

Robert Marney: Cross Country 2/Track & Field 5. Rob was a two time All-American in the Steeplechase and ran on two Distance Medley Relays and one 3200 Meter Relay that earned AA Honors. His highest individual placings were third in Cross Country (1^st American) and 3^rd in the Steeplechase. Rob ran a leg on the National Champion Distance Medley Relay and the National Runner-Up 3200 Meter Relay Indoors and the 3^rd Place Outdoor 3200 Meter Relay (all school records). In 2001 Rob won the Roy Griak Cross Country Invitational.

Mike McDaniel: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 5. Mike placed 13^th in XC, 4^th in the Indoor Mile and anchored Black Hills State Universities first Track & Field National Championship the 2001 Distance Medley Relay with a 4:10 mile. Other team members we Rob Marney, Brock Rose and Tim Bishop.

Nikki Underwood: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 9. Nikki earned All-American Honors on six relays and 3 individual events in Track & Field. She showed great versatility by earning these honors in the 1000 meters Indoors and then Cross Country her senior year (8^th Place) along with winning the Marathon National Title her final track season. Nikki anchored the National Runner-Up 3200 Meter Relay. Other team members were Lisa Collogan, Ashley Cordell and Michelle Edwards.

Lisa Collogan: Track & Field 7. Lisa was a stellar relay runner and earned five of her All-American Honors on Relay Teams (two Distance Medley's Indoor, three 3200 Meter Indoor and one 1600 Meter Outdoor. Her lone individual AA Honor came her senior year where she earned the honor in the 600 Meter run indoor in 2003.

Samantha Moelter: Track & Field 3. Samantha ran legs on Indoor and Outdoor 3200 Meter Relay Teams as well as one Outdoor Distance Medley Relay that earned All-American Honors.

Tim Bishop: Cross Country 2/Track & Field 8. Tim earned six individual All-American Honors while contributing to four relays. Individually Tim was National Champion in the Mile and 1000 Meters Indoors and the 1500 Meters Outdoors. He ran a leg on the National Champion Distance Medley Relay and the National Runner-Up 3200 Meter Relay Indoors and the 3^rd Place Outdoor 3200 Meter Relay (all school records). Tim still holds or is part of six school records.
 
Greg Starr: Track & Field 4. Greg ran on the National Runner-Up 3200 Meter Relay in 2001 and an Outdoor 3^rd place 3200m Relay team in 2003. He earned All-American Honors in the Distance Medley Relay and the Mile Indoors in 2003.

Dennis Newell: Cross Country 3/Track & Field 7. Dennis is the only male athlete to earn three Cross Country All-American Honors. He also has the highest individual finish of second place in 2003. On the Track Dennis earned three 5000 Meter (2 Indoor, 1 Outdoor), one 10,000 Meter and three Marathon All-American Honors. Dennis also placed Runner-Up in the Drake Relays 10k where he set the BHSU School Record. In 2003 he was the Roy Griak Cross Country Individual Champion.

Tanice Barnett: Track & Field 4. Tanice placed 5^th in the Indoor Mile and ran legs on the Distance Medley and 3200 Meter Relays that earned AA Honors. Outdoors she narrowly placed second in the 800 meters.

Jessie Palczewski: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 5. Jessie hold the distinction of holding the highest individual Cross Country placing in the women's program, third in 2002 (first American and one place higher than Erin Curran's 4^th in 2010. On the Track Jessie earned one All-American Honor in the 3000 and 5000 Meters and two in the 10,000 Meters. She also earned All-American Honors in the DMR Indoors in 2003.

Jenna Bachand: Track & Field 3. Jenna earned three All-American Honors before suffering a tragic injury that ended her promising Track & Field career. Two Honors came in 2003 Relays (Distance Medley Indoors and 1600 Meters Outdoors) while the other was earned individually in the Triple Jump Indoors in 2004.

Trent Mack: Track & Field 4. Three of Trent's Honors came in Relays (2002 and 2003 DMR's and the 2003 3200 Meter Relay) while his fourth was earned individually in the 1000 Meter Run in 2004. Trent also ran on the National Runner-Up Cross Country Team in Louisville, KY.

Jamie Hahn: Track & Field 4. Jamie was a member of four 3200 Meter Relay Teams of which two (the 2004 Indoor and the 2005 Outdoor) broke the South Dakota Collegiate State Records. The 2004 team of Kendra Karst, Liz Woodruff, Jamie and Angi Axmann were National Champions and broke the South Dakota Collegiate State Record and that record still stands today. The other relays were the 3200 Meter Relays Indoor and Outdoor in 2006.

Krystal Keffeler: Track & Field 3. Krystal was a 3-Time Discus All-American 2003-2005.

Crystal Hostetter: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 2. Crystal earned All-American Honors in Cross Country in 2003. At the 2006 Indoor Championships she ran on the DMR and 3200 Meter Relays earning All-American Honors.

Wesleigh Hardy Jastorff: Cross Country 2/Track & Field 7. Wesleigh earned All-American Honors in Cross Country in 2005 and 2006. On the track she was National Champion in the 800 Meters Indoors in 2007. She earned All-American Honors running on two 3200 Meter Relays Indoors and two Outdoors. The Outdoor Relay ran with Jamie Hahn, Liz Woodruff and Angi Axmann set a new South Dakota Collegiate State Record. She also earned All-American Outdoors in the 800 Meters and ran on a leg on a Distance Medley Relay Indoors earning All-American.

Kerry Washburn: Cross Country 2/Track & Field 1. Kerry earned Cross Country All-American Honors in 2005 and 2007. In between she was an All-American in the 5000 Meters in 2006 at the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Kerry hold the 5000 Meter school record of 17:27.06 that was run on our home track in 2006.

Angi Axmann: Track & Field 3. Angi won the Steeplechase National Title and broke the South Dakota Collegiate State Record in the process in 2005. She also anchored the winning 3200 Meter Relay team to a time of 9:09.00 and a new South Dakota Collegiate State Record. She also ran a leg on the 2005 All-American Outdoor 3200 Meter Relay Team which broke the South Dakota State Collegiate Record.

James Hansen: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 3. James earned All-American Honors in the Steeplechase in 2006 and followed that up the following year with an All-American finish in Cross Country and continued to earn two more All-American Honors in the 3000 Meters Indoors and a second time in the Steeplechase.

Liz Woodruff: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 5. On the Track, all of Liz Woodruff's All-American Honors came by the way of relays. The first one was the 2004 Indoor 3200 Meter Relay which the quartet of Kendra Karst, Liz, Jamie Hahn and Angi Axmann won and broke the South Dakota Collegiate State Record. Besides her Cross Country All-American Award Liz ran on two Indoor 3200 Meter Relays, one Indoor Distance Medley Relay and two Outdoor 3200 Meter Relays that earned All-American Honors.

Wendy O'Lexey: Cross Country 3/Track & Field 4. Wendy is the only female athlete from Black Hills State University to earn three Cross Country All-American Honors 2007-2009. She also earned back to back Marathon National Titles in 2009 and 2010. In 2010 in addition to the Marathon she ran the 10,000 Meters two nights before placing 7^th.  Wendy earned All-American Honors in the 3000 (2007) and 5000 Meters (2010) Indoors. In addition to Wendy winning the Marathon in 2009, Trent Waage won the Men's Marathon for BHSU. It was the first time Marathon winners came from the same University.

Cody Bordewyk: Cross Country 2/Track & Field 6: Cody earned back to back Cross Country All-American Honors in 2007 and 2008. He also earned back to back All-American Honors in the Steeplechase in 2007 and 2008. In 2008 he placed 2^nd missing the school record by .42 of a second. Cody also earned All-American Honors in the DMR and the Mile (3^rd) in 2008. In 2007 and 2009 (3^rd) Cody earned All-American Honors in the Indoor 3000 Meters.

Amber Broderson: Track & Field 6. Amber earned five All-American Honors in the Shot Put: Indoors 2006, 2007, 2008; Outdoors 2007, 2008 and the one in the Discus: 2007.

Allen Wood: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 3. Allen earned individual All-American Honors in the 5000 Meters, 3000 Meters and running a leg on the Distance Medley Relay. In Cross Country Allen placed 4^th individually in 2007 (Cody Bordewyk and Trent Waage also earned All-American placings), to lead the Yellow Jackets to the Runner-Up position in the team showing.

Tyg Long: Track & Field 4. Tyg Competed well in multiple throwing disciplines earning All-American Honors in the Indoor Shot Put (2007), two times in the 35 lb. Weight Throw (2007, 2008) and once in the Hammer Throw (2008).
Eric Flores: Track & Field 7. Eric was a 7-time All-American, 3-time National Champion remarkably in three different events. He earned three All-American Honors in the Shot Put with the National Title coming in 2008 at the Outdoor Championships. He earned two All-American Honors in the 35 lb. Weight Throw earning the National Title in 2007 and he was a two time All-American in the Hammer Throw earning the National Title in 2007.

Jason Boeding: Track & Field 4. Jason was a three time All-American in the Shot Put (2008 Indoor, 2010 Indoor and Outdoor) and one time All-American in the Hammer Throw (2010).

Aubrey Baxter: Track & Field 11. Aubrey was an eight-time National Champion: 20 lb. Weight Throw  2007, 2008, 2009. Her mark of 65'-3" in 2009 set a National Record and a South Dakota State Record. Indoor Shot Put 2008, 2009 (54'-4.5" School Record, South Dakota State Collegiate Record), Hammer Throw 2008, 2009 Outdoor Shot Put 2008. Aubrey was the 2009 National Indoor Meet Outstanding Performer. In all she earned eleven All-American Honors. Aubrey competed at the 2008. 2012 and 2016 Olympic Trials and three USATF Outdoor National Championships with the highest ranking of #5 in the US and #24 in the world for the Hammer Throw.

Shannon Hellman: Track & Field 4. Shannon was a four-time All-American, Two-time National Champion. Shannon won the 60 Meter Hurdles Indoors in and the 100 Meter Hurdles Outdoors in 2008. She also earned All-American Honors in the Heptathlon in 2008 and 2010.

Erin Curran: Cross Country 2/Track & Field 2. Erin earned four All-American Honors her first two years of college prior to our transitioning to NCAA. She placed 14^th in Cross Country as a freshman and 4^th as a sophomore. She was runner-up in the 2011 Indoor Mile in 4:55.30 and anchored our School Record Distance Medley Relay to a fourth place finish running 4:52 in the 1600 meters.

Mitch Kraft: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 3. Mitch became the first All-American at Black Hills State University in the first season of NCAA Division II competition. Mitch earned Cross Country All-American Honors in the fall of 2013 in Spokane, WA. He followed that up by earning All-American Honors in the 3000 Meters Indoor with a clocking of 8:12.48. That same year, 2015, Mitch ran a leg on the first of five consecutive All-American Distance Medley Relays. He topped off his career with an All-American placing in the Steeplechase at the 2015 Outdoor Championships. Mitch earned 2^nd Team All-American Academic Honors and became the first athlete at BHSU to earn that honor. He was also selected as the BHSU Athlete of the Year.

Alec Baldwin: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 5. Alec placed 5^th in the Indoor Mile and anchored the Distance Medley Relay to a 5^th place showing in 2015 earning his first two All-American Honors. He followed that up earning All-American Honors in the 1500 Meters Outdoors. That Fall he led the Men's Cross Country Team (first team to qualify for Nationals at BHSU since going NCAA) to a 14^th place team finish by placing 9^th individually earning another All-American Honor. Indoors in 2016 Alec place second in the Mile Run and came back with a 4:01 1600 Meter clocking to bring the Yellow Jackets Distance Medley Relay Team to a 3^rd place finish. Alec was selected by SAAC as the BHSU Athlete of the Year.

Levi Fried: Track & Field 3. Levi ran on the 2016, 2017 and 2019 Distance Medley Relay Teams which all earned All-American Honors. He once led off running the 1200 leg and then ran the 800 Meter leg the last two races.

Jonah Theisen: Cross Country 1/Track & Field 6. Jonah had a hand in four of our five consecutive All-American Distance Medley Relay Teams. He led off our second National Meet DMR and anchored the last three. In 2016 Jonah won the Steeplechase to become the first NCAA Division II National Champion at Black Hills State University. His Senior Year he led the Men's Cross Country Team to a 16^th place finish by placing 14^th and earning 1^st Team All-American Honors. During the Outdoor Championships he placed second in the Steeplechase to earn his 7^th All-American Honor. Jonah became the first Black Hills State University athlete to earn 1^st Team All-American Academic Honors. He was also selected as the RMAC Athlete of the Year for 2018-19. Jonah was also selected by SAAC as the BHSU Athlete of the Year.