David Thompson was hired as New York University’s Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Head Coach in August 2021. He is also serving as an assistant coach of the cross country teams.
In his first year at the helm, Thompson’s men’s squads finished sixth at both the Indoor and Outdoor University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships and 10th at the Metropolitan Outdoor Championships. Individual highlights included Owen Mountford earning a bronze medal in the shot put at the Indoor UAA’s and taking silver in both the discus and shot put outdoors. Zion Glover captured the 100m at the Chester Quarry Classic, Kristian Zadlo won the same event at the Oscar Moore Invitational, and Mubeen Zainul claimed the 5,000m at the Chester Quarry Classic. Zadlo was also a winner in the pole vault indoors at the Ramapo Opener, while Ryan Tobin was victorious in the mile at the NYC DIII Invitational.
The women’s team posted a fifth-place finish outdoors at the Ramapo College Invitational, securing victories in the 1,500m (Katherin Cheng), 400m (Isre’al Conerly) and pole vault (Nathalie Shoji). Conerly captured a pair of events at the Chester Quarry Classic (200m, 400m), while she (100m), Shoji (pole vault) and Ezri Scott (high jump) were winners at the Oscar Moore Invite. Scott was also victorious in the high jump at the NYC DIII Invitational.
Thompson’s student-athletes were also recognized for their classroom work as a total of 29 team members (15 men, 14 women) were selected UAA Winter Sport All-Academic and 27 (15 women, 12 men) earned Spring Sport All-Academic accolades while both the men and women received USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) All-Academic Team honors.
Bringing nearly 20 years of coaching experience to his new position, Thompson joined NYU after serving as the Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field Head Coach at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, from 2015-21. He helped produce nine NCAA Division III All-Americans and 28 national qualifiers. Thompson’s teams posted a 20th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor National Championships and had a third-place showing at the CCIW (College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) Indoor Championships in 2019.
In addition, both the Vikings’ cross country and track & field teams earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors from 2016-21.
Prior to his position at Augustana, Thompson served as the Men’s Track & Field Head Coach at Williams College from 2013-15. In those two seasons, his student-athletes earned five NCAA All-America honors and established six school records. The Ephs finished 12th at the 2015 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships and were runner-up at the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) Outdoor Championships.
From 2011-13, Thompson was Men’s and Women’s Head Coach for the SUNY Oswego track & field teams. His student-athletes set 12 indoor and outdoor school records and won individual SUNYAC titles in the 60m hurdles (men) and pole vault (women).
Thompson spent three seasons (2008-11) as the Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Head Coach at the University of Dubuque, where he produced the 2011 NCAA Division III Indoor Men’s National 55m Champion and the school’s first ever women’s Triple Jump All-American. Overall, his teams featured numerous national qualifiers and broke more than 20 school records.
A 1999 graduate of North Central College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts, Thompson was an 11-time All-American and a three-time NCAA National Champion in track & field for the Cardinals. He won the indoor national title in the long jump in 1997, and in 1998 he helped lead North Central to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship by winning the 200m and running as a member of North Central’s national champion 4x100-meter relay.
A member of North Central’s Athletic Hall of Fame, Thompson is a native of Chicago, IL, and resides in New York City.
