Ten seasons. Twenty three PSAC championships. Twenty two PSAC Coach of the Year awards. Ninety seven NCAA All-American student athletes.

If you ask him, he will downplay his success, pawn it off on talented students and a supportive, cohesive coaching staff, or reference a long-time tradition of winning for Shippensburg track.

Undoubtedly all of these aspects played a part, but Shippensburg University men and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field would not be the same without its skipper Dave Osanitsch.

“What Coach Osanitsch brings to the team is a lot of energy when we practice and compete,” senior 4x4 anchor Robert Bales said. “He is a very vocal coach, watching every event that he can so that he can help get excited for our success or teach us what we can do better ourselves next time. If not for coach Osanitsch, I feel I wouldn't be nearly as successful both on and off the track as I have been these past four years.”

Osanitsch began his coaching career at Dickinson College 15 years ago, and has thrived at the helm of the Raiders since 2006. Through his nine seasons as Shippensburg’s head coach he has compiled 12 outdoor and 11 indoor PSAC championship titles; the rest of the conference has just 13 combined league titles in the same span.

Recently, Osanitsch led his men and women’s indoor squads to a PSAC title apiece, and saw 13 of his athletes compete at nationals this past weekend at Birmingham, Alabama. The Shippensburg graduate picked up his 10th USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Head Coach of the Year award for his efforts this season, achieving the honor as the skipper of the upstart women’s team.

“For the women’s side they have really done an excellent job,” Osanitsch said. “This is really a team on the rise, and they really stepped up indoors and surprised a lot of people. Regionals were pretty awesome this year; they exceeded themselves on paper by almost 30 points. They did a great job of supporting each other, and really came together as a team.”

For Osanitsch, success started back in his days at Freedom High School where he competed at a high level as a sprinter and hurdler. He made the Lehigh Valley Morning Call’s Track & Field First Team and finished his career as a district medalist. Osanitsch ended his high school days on a sour note as he fell to injury shortly before he could compete at the state championships, but the talented sprinter was far from done as an athlete.

Shippensburg University saw the potential and recruited Osanitsch out of high school. By the time he graduated in 1996, the future of Raider track & field had compiled a career worthy of the Shippensburg University Athletic Hall of Fame. He qualified five different times for 55-meter and 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division II Championships, and holds Shippensburg’s 55-meter hurdle record with a time of 7.49 seconds.

Dickinson College was the next stop for Osanitsch. The team hired him as an assistant following his graduation, and Osanitsch found success with the Red Devils as he aided in building the small college into a Centennial Conference powerhouse. After six years it was time for his experience to translate into an asset for his alma mater, and Osanitsch returned to Shippensburg to take the head coaching position.

10 years later, Osanitsch has built a DII dynasty that is unmatched in the area. He attributes his teams’ successes to a number of factors including a close-knit and experienced coaching staff and a great recruiting formula.

A lot can be said for a great coaching staff, and Osanitsch has benefitted from a group that has been together for a long time.

“We kind of have it down to a perfect orchestra,” Osanitsch said. “We have a great system in place for recruiting young talent, and chemistry along with experience makes our group of coaches really great to work with. That is a huge reason for our success at least since I have been here.”

The other huge reason for Shippensburg’s recent success is the athletes. When he came to Shippensburg, Osanitsch recognized the need for vigilant recruitment and began to aggressively upgrade the roster with high quality team members. The Raiders have since been successful in this, but even more so have groomed the talent into outstanding young athletes.

“These student athletes are outstanding, and work really really hard,” Shippensburg coach Dave Osanitsch said at the end of this past season. “Talent will only take you so far, and these men and women have really done an excellent job during the indoor season in preparing for success.”

Whatever the reason, coach Osanitsch has met and surpassed Shippensburg University track & field’s long-standing mark of success. He has the support of a great staff, and the admiration of many student athletes.

“Personally, he has always made me feel like I was a valuable asset to the team, always making me feel like this was more than a team, but a family we can come to if we need help with anything, personal issues, school, track...anything,” Bales said.

Osanitsch will look to continue his winning ways as the team transitions into the outdoor track & field season this upcoming weekend.

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