SAN ANTONIO — UTSA Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Aaron Fox announced on Friday that he has hired Michael McPherson as assistant coach.
"I am pleased to announce the hiring of Michael," Fox said. "He will be primarily working with the pole vaulters but will also be assisting with the multis and high jump. He will bring a wealth of knowledge to UTSA from his background as a multi-event athlete at Utah Valley and coaching stints at the Air Force Academy and Idaho State."
"I am really fired up to be at UTSA and play my part in a fast-growing athletics program," McPherson said. "What the future holds for UTSA track & field and the athletics department in general is really exciting. The Roadrunners are going to big places and I can't wait to be a part of it."
McPherson comes to the Alamo City from Idaho State, where he spent last season as an assistant coach for vertical jumps. He helped guide Steven Wacker to the 2017 Big Sky Conference Outdoor pole vault title, while Steven Beck was runner-up at the league's indoor championship.
McPherson got his coaching start at Air Force under the legendary pole vault coach Scott Steffan in 2015. He helped the Falcons to the 2015-16 Mountain West Conference triple crown, winning team championships in cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field. He also helped coach the 2016 NCAA Indoor runner-up in the high jump, Taylor Smith. The Falcons also saw three athletes qualify for the finals of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, including runner-up and Olympics qualifier Cale Simmons.
A native of Parker, Colorado, McPherson was a two-time All-American in the multi-events at Utah Valley. He placed 16th in the decathlon at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships, was 12th in the heptathlon at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships and finished fifth in the heptathlon at the 2013 U.S. Indoor Championships. He set school records in the heptathlon (5,546) and decathlon (7,401) and also qualified for NCAA Regionals in the 200 meters in 2013 and in the long jump in 2013 and 2014.
McPherson earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science in 2015 from Utah Valley.
Tweet #BirdsUp
