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- Mark
Fedkin
is the
current NTF president and the lead coordinator of the Club's track and
cross country programs. He is a USATF Level 2 Certified Track and
Field Coach; he has been coaching at NTF since the club inception in
2005 and
has
acquired versatile experience working with youth athletes. He is also
an Assistant Coach for State College Middle School track team.
- Mark is a
lifetime running advocate. At a younger age he was part of nordic ski
and biathlon team in high school, ran track (middle distance) in
college, and further trained actively for various races, including
marathons and trail races. Mark is an active member of Nittany
Valley Running Club in State College PA and ran Boston Marathon four
times
as part of Centre Volunteers in Medicine fundraising team.
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Professionally, Mark has a Doctorate degree in
Geo-Environmental Engineering and currently is a Assistant Teaching
Professor in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at
Penn State. He lives in State College, PA,
with his wife Katya and three children, all of whom, avid runners, at
different times benefitted
from training with NTF.
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Jayson Jackson
has coached with NTF since 2007 for both the track and cross country
programs. He’s coached hundreds
of kids
to reach their full potential as athletes through the program using a
philosophy of hard work, personal responsibility,
accountability,
and a sense of fun,
with the hope
that these values will spill over to other aspects of their lives.
Jayson
started running competitively from an
early
age and eventually competed for Penn State Cross Country
and Track teams,
becoming Captain of both
teams during his
senior year. Jayson has been an
Assistant Coach for State College High
School’s
Track and Cross Country teams, and more
recently he
became the inaugural cross country and track and field
coach of St. Joseph’s Catholic
Academy
(SJCA). Jayson has built up
the SJCA teams from the ground floor, and has seen
steady, incremental success in
the program,
resulting in state qualifiers and
medalists during his tenure. Jayson is the
main organizer of
the Boalsburg Turkey Trot race
which raises funds for the
St. Joe’s running programs.
Jayson has a baccalaureate degree
in Mathematics from Penn State
and currently works for the Penn State Alumni
Association as their
Associate Director of Online Communications. He
lives just outside of State College, PA with his wife,
four daughters,
and two dogs who are great running partners.
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Andrew Maguire
started coaching with NTF
when his daughter joined the club in 2011 and is certified as a USATF
Level 1 coach. He has found a passion
with coaching young athletes towards their competitive and personal
goals. His
coaching style is founded on 30 years of competitive
running experience and acquired knowledge from staying involved in the
running community all his life. Andrew
is a member of the Nittany Valley Running Club in State College,
co-directs local
road races, and has run several marathons for charities (Team in
Training, Centre Volunteers in Medicine).
Andrew
has lived in State
College with his wife and three
children since 2005. He
works from home
as a Project Manager in the Water & Wastewater Industry and
stays active in
the community as a board member of Housing Transitions, Inc. In his free time Andrew
likes to eat donuts.
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Mary Morningstar, A.K.A. Coach
Mom, started helping Nittany Cross Country in 2017 and continued
coaching in the track
and field season in 2018. With five kids who enjoy the
program, she knew it was one that she could get behind.
After competing in middle and high school, she continued in
college for a couple of years. She likes to use her knowledge
to help youth recognize potential in themselves and achieve
goals they never thought possible. She teaches children a
good work ethic with a focus on making sure
they enjoy the process of accomplishing their goals. Nothing is more
fun than
the ride to get there!
Professionally, Mary has a degree in Elementary Education and is
certified in Early Childhood
Education. She now lives in State College with her husband and stays
home to raise her five wonderful kids. She also has
two dogs, Maggie and Loki,
and two guinea pigs, Pig and Cow.
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Matthew
Lindenberg has
been with NTF since 2013 and is certified as a USATF Level 1 coach.
Matthew brings a
successful high-school career in
sprinting to the
NTF staff and enjoys working with the youth within the program. He
loves
to watch the youth improve
throughout the summer, both in
their running as well as their self-confidence.
Professionally, Matthew is a Computer Administrator for the Mechanical
& Nuclear Engineering Department at Penn State
University.
In his spare time he enjoys serving the State College community by
sitting on the Board of Directors for various
community groups
and volunteering with his local church.
Matthew lives in State College with his wife & son.
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Kalena
Smith
started coaching for Nittany Track and Field in 2018, inspired by her
daughter Lillyanna's experiences with Nittany Track and Cross Country.
Kalena was a former Penns Valley distance runner and coached track and
field at Penns Valley High School in 2009. Kalena is the lead coach and
organizer of the newest chapter of NTF, which is located in Penns
Valley. She works for the Penns Valley Area School District, where she
teaches 10th grade English. Kalena also coaches youth basketball, in
addition to her newest coaching endeavor as an NTF coach. She enjoys
running as a way to relieve stress, and has enjoyed competition in many
races, from local 5Ks to trail runs to marathons. Kalena lives outside
of Centre Hall with her husband and two children on their family farm.
She enjoys spending her free time running and hiking with her dog,
Hershey, and reading.
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- Josh Litofsky
has coached for NTF since 2015 when he came to State College to pursue
his PhD in Chemical Engineering. After running at the NCAA division 3
level for Beloit College, Josh moved out to central Pennsylvania and
joined the Nittany Valley Club and the Penn State Club Cross Country
teams. When not working in the lab or coaching, Josh trains for and
races ultramarathons. Sponsored by Hammer Nutrition and Swiftwick
Socks, Josh has placed highly in local and national races, including 3
USATF National Championship Top-10s, and some wins and top-3s in other
ultras. Outside of running, Josh likes to watch athletes better than
him play other sports.
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Arties Gilkes
is the NTF jumps coach. He coached jumps for State College High School
varisty team from the 2013-14
school year until present. In
that
time State High Jumpers have won 26 individual State medals. Away from
the track
many of his jumpers have
excelled at academic and extracurricular activities and grew into
balanced individuals. Most
recently, a state high jump alum
was
accepted into the very competitive global health minor at PSU.
" I have been extremely lucky with getting athletic kids who want to
excel. But, I do feel my training methodology provides
that
little bit extra to reach the next level."
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Wyatt Kline has been
involved in Nittany Track and Field since 2015. He started coaching
distance during the summer
going
into his senior year of high school at State College, where he would be
the foreman for the Cross Country team.
Now being a full-time student at Penn State, Wyatt
has continued his coaching career by helping out with the NTF
Cross Country and joining State College Middle School Track
as an Assistant Coach.
Wyatt's focus is on making distance running fun and enjoyable for all
athletes of every level. Wyatt grew up in Pine Grove
Mills and enjoys running with the Penn State Club XC team
and competing in local races.
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Nick Kello joined
the NTF coaching staff as an assistant in 2013 for track and
cross-country. Nick
ran for State College
High School and was a four-year letterman in track
and cross-county
at Penn State. Following
a twenty-year career in finance, Nick and his
family recently returned to State College where Nick enjoys running,
cycling
and coaching.
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Steve Shisler joined
the NTF coaching staff as an assistant
for track and cross country in 2013.
Steve has been the boys distance coach at
State College High since 2010.
He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State where he ran competitively in
distances
ranging from 400 - 10,000 meters.
He was
elected team captain of both the Cross Country and Track &
Field teams his
senior year. He was
a member of the 1985
Penn Relays 4x800 team that established the long standing 7:11.17 relay
record
and was inducted into their "Wall of Fame" in 2000. He was inducted
into the Pennridge-Quakertown Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 for both his
high
school and collegiate accomplishments.
He has helped re-establish the State College
High Track & Field
program as one of the best in Pennsylvania with State Championship
victories
both indoors and outdoors in the 4x800 m relay in 2014. Steve enjoys
working with the local youth and focuses primarily on teaching sound
form and
running mechanics to enable them to reach their long term
athletic
potential. He has lived in the State College area since 1993 with a
house full
of runners including his wife and 3 children.
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