Lessons Learned from the Greats

The Coach

Todd Witzleben

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Todd Witzleben

Witzleben was an assistant coach at his alma mater, La Salle, from 2007-10 assisting with the distance runners. He coached Sean Quigley to a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 5,000. Quigley went on to run a 28:03 10K, the seventh-fastest time by an American in NCAA history. In 2010, La Salle set a school record of 7:23 in the 4x800 relay. He also worked with Rachel Papin as she ran 33:15 in the 10,000.

In 2006-07, Witzleben served as the head cross country and distance coach at Temple, helping to rebuild the distance program after a 20-year hiatus. He got his start in collegiate coaching as a graduate assistant at The College of New Jersey. During his tenure, TCNJ had Jeff Zodda win the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in the 800, while at the outdoor championships, Zodda earned a runner-up finish in the 800 and Brian Donovan had a second-place showing in the 10,000.

A Western New York native, Witzleben graduated from Orchard Park High School where he won the 1999 state championship in the 3,200. He twice qualified for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships while competing in cross country and track & field at LaSalle University and won six individual Atlantic-10 Conference titles. He was also a four-time Academic All-American and was named the 2003 La Salle University Student-Athlete of the Year. Witzleben was a 2010 inductee into La Salle's Hall of Athletes.

As professional runner, Witzleben was sponsored by Nike Team Run LA. He starred in Nike's Run Barefoot "Chariots of Fire" commercial and placed seventh at the 2005 Freescale Austin Marathon in 2:21.23.

Todd earned his Bachelor's and MBA degrees in business administration from LaSalle. He and his wife, Megan, reside in Williamsville with their sons, Charlie and Miles, and their dog, Abby.