Track & Field Completes Coaching Staff
11/8/2021 4:50:00 PM | Track and Field
Air Force recently welcomed David Hightower and Dustin Imdieke to their coaching staff.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force head track and field coach Ralph Lindeman announced the completion of his coaching staff this afternoon (Nov. 8) with the hiring of Dave Hightower and Dustin Imdieke. Hightower will oversee the Falcons' sprints and relays, while Imdieke will coach the team's hurdles and horizontal jumps.
"It's been a really long process getting these two hires done, but with the caliber of qualifications and the pleasing personal qualities of both new coaches, it will have been well worth the wait," Lindeman said. "We involved our entire coaching staff in the hiring process, and engaged several of our sprinters, hurdles and horizontal jumpers in the selection, and I'm convinced they got it right with both of these coaches."
DAVE HIGHTOWER, ASSISTANT COACH FOR SPRINTS AND RELAYS
Hightower joins the Air Force program after spending the past eight years as the sprints, hurdles, and jumps coach at Loyola University Maryland. During his tenure in Baltimore, Hightower coached the Greyhounds to the program's first ECAC qualifiers in the sprints and hurdles, a conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles, ECAC All-East honors in the 4x400-meter run (2017-18 indoor, 2019 outdoor), 400-meter dash (2019 outdoor) and 400-meter hurdles (2019 outdoor), and 18 new Loyola records.
Hightower began his coaching career as a volunteer at Yale University during the 2013-14 season. Working with the Bulldogs' sprint and hurdles program, he assisted in the coaching of an ECAC runner-up in the pentathlon. He has also worked with sprinters and hurdlers during sports camps at West Point University, Princeton University and Cortland University.
As a collegian, Hightower was a nine-time Metro Atlantic Conference champion and NCAA East Regional qualifier for Rider University. A two-time team captain, he set the school record in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.93. Hightower was also a seven-time Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association of American (IC4A) qualifier and claimed top-10 finishes in that event three years in a row.
Hightower graduated from Rider in 2013 with a degree in public relations and a minor in English.
"As is always important in the hiring of our coaches, I believe Dave is a great fit for the Air Force Academy and for our team and coaching staff," Lindeman said. "One thing I really like is that he comes from a coaching family – his dad being a high school teacher, coach and principal, and later a college track coach, and his brother an NBA assistant coach. He's been on the job just two weeks and his energy and enthusiasm is so engaging and infectious for both our team and staff. Our sprinters are already responding to his coaching in a really positive way."
DUSTIN IMDIEKE, ASSISTANT COACH FOR HURDLES AND HORIZONTAL JUMPS
Imdieke comes to the Academy following four successful years at Adams State University in Alamosa, where he coached the sprint, hurdle and jump athletes and served as the meet director for all home competitions at the ASU High Altitude Training Center. During his time with the Grizzlies, Imdieke helped Adams State to nine top-three team finishes at the NCAA Division II Championships, including four NCAA DII team titles. The NCAA DII National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2019, Imdieke coached five DII national champions (four individuals, one relay), 22 All-Americans, 20 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) champions and five school record holders.
Prior to joining the staff at Adams State, Imdieke served as the sprint coach for Altis (2012-2017) and a team coach for Norsk Friidrett (2015-17), where he saw his athletes compete at the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships, the 2017 USATF Indoor Championships, the 2017 European Indoor Championships, the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2016 European Outdoor Championships, and the 2015 IAAF World Championships.
Imdieke began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach for the hurdles and multi-event athletes at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Ariz., - a position he held from 2008-14, while also serving as a fitness instructor at Glendale Community College (2008-17). During his time at Paradise Valley, Imdieke saw his athletes set 10 school records.
A presenter at several coaching clinics, Imdieke received his degree in kinesiology from Indiana State University in 2008, while earning a Masters in that discipline from A.T. Still University in 2012.
"Our team has already become attached to Dustin, his wife Amber, and his two children – Dalton and Tatum," Lindeman said. "I've been watching Dustin coach for the past eight-or-so years – from an assistant coach and Paradise Valley Community College, under Todd Lehman – who previously coached with me here at Air Force, to working with professional athletes at the Altis training group in Phoenix, under Dan Pfaff and Andeas Behm, and then the past four years at Adams State, under Hall of Fame coach Damon Martin. Just like our sprinters, our hurdlers and horizontal jumpers are getting a top-notch coach who has a real passion for coaching."
Air Force opens the 2021-22 season on Friday, Dec. 3, when it hosts the Air Force Holiday Open.
"It's been a really long process getting these two hires done, but with the caliber of qualifications and the pleasing personal qualities of both new coaches, it will have been well worth the wait," Lindeman said. "We involved our entire coaching staff in the hiring process, and engaged several of our sprinters, hurdles and horizontal jumpers in the selection, and I'm convinced they got it right with both of these coaches."
DAVE HIGHTOWER, ASSISTANT COACH FOR SPRINTS AND RELAYS
Hightower joins the Air Force program after spending the past eight years as the sprints, hurdles, and jumps coach at Loyola University Maryland. During his tenure in Baltimore, Hightower coached the Greyhounds to the program's first ECAC qualifiers in the sprints and hurdles, a conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles, ECAC All-East honors in the 4x400-meter run (2017-18 indoor, 2019 outdoor), 400-meter dash (2019 outdoor) and 400-meter hurdles (2019 outdoor), and 18 new Loyola records.
Hightower began his coaching career as a volunteer at Yale University during the 2013-14 season. Working with the Bulldogs' sprint and hurdles program, he assisted in the coaching of an ECAC runner-up in the pentathlon. He has also worked with sprinters and hurdlers during sports camps at West Point University, Princeton University and Cortland University.
As a collegian, Hightower was a nine-time Metro Atlantic Conference champion and NCAA East Regional qualifier for Rider University. A two-time team captain, he set the school record in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.93. Hightower was also a seven-time Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association of American (IC4A) qualifier and claimed top-10 finishes in that event three years in a row.
Hightower graduated from Rider in 2013 with a degree in public relations and a minor in English.
"As is always important in the hiring of our coaches, I believe Dave is a great fit for the Air Force Academy and for our team and coaching staff," Lindeman said. "One thing I really like is that he comes from a coaching family – his dad being a high school teacher, coach and principal, and later a college track coach, and his brother an NBA assistant coach. He's been on the job just two weeks and his energy and enthusiasm is so engaging and infectious for both our team and staff. Our sprinters are already responding to his coaching in a really positive way."
DUSTIN IMDIEKE, ASSISTANT COACH FOR HURDLES AND HORIZONTAL JUMPS
Imdieke comes to the Academy following four successful years at Adams State University in Alamosa, where he coached the sprint, hurdle and jump athletes and served as the meet director for all home competitions at the ASU High Altitude Training Center. During his time with the Grizzlies, Imdieke helped Adams State to nine top-three team finishes at the NCAA Division II Championships, including four NCAA DII team titles. The NCAA DII National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2019, Imdieke coached five DII national champions (four individuals, one relay), 22 All-Americans, 20 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) champions and five school record holders.
Prior to joining the staff at Adams State, Imdieke served as the sprint coach for Altis (2012-2017) and a team coach for Norsk Friidrett (2015-17), where he saw his athletes compete at the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships, the 2017 USATF Indoor Championships, the 2017 European Indoor Championships, the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2016 European Outdoor Championships, and the 2015 IAAF World Championships.
Imdieke began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach for the hurdles and multi-event athletes at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Ariz., - a position he held from 2008-14, while also serving as a fitness instructor at Glendale Community College (2008-17). During his time at Paradise Valley, Imdieke saw his athletes set 10 school records.
A presenter at several coaching clinics, Imdieke received his degree in kinesiology from Indiana State University in 2008, while earning a Masters in that discipline from A.T. Still University in 2012.
"Our team has already become attached to Dustin, his wife Amber, and his two children – Dalton and Tatum," Lindeman said. "I've been watching Dustin coach for the past eight-or-so years – from an assistant coach and Paradise Valley Community College, under Todd Lehman – who previously coached with me here at Air Force, to working with professional athletes at the Altis training group in Phoenix, under Dan Pfaff and Andeas Behm, and then the past four years at Adams State, under Hall of Fame coach Damon Martin. Just like our sprinters, our hurdlers and horizontal jumpers are getting a top-notch coach who has a real passion for coaching."
Air Force opens the 2021-22 season on Friday, Dec. 3, when it hosts the Air Force Holiday Open.
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