Derrick Vicars - Women's Track and Field Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Derrick Vicars

Title:
Assistant Coach (Throws)
Email:
vicarsd@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-7097

Derrick Vicars was named throws coach at BGSU in October of 2016 after serving in the same position at the University of Findlay.

One of the top mid-major throwing programs in the country, Bowling Green has sent at least one thrower to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in every season Vicars has coached.

The 2022 season featured MAC titles and All-American honors in multiple events. Zaresha Neal won the shot put at the MAC Indoor Championship, then earned a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Championships to solidify the first All-American honor of her career. Her success carried into the outdoor season, as she won the MAC title in the discus one week after setting a program record. She also added a second-place finish in the shot put, qualifying for the NCAA East Regional in both events for the second consecutive season. Her tenth-place finish in shot put punched her ticket to the NCAA Championship, where she placed 18th overall.

Neal was not the only thrower to compile accolades during the 2022 campaign, as Kaila Butler added to her already impressive resume. She dominated the hammer throw at the MAC Championship, earning the second title of her career. At the NCAA East Regional, she finished as the runner-up in the hammer throw, securing a place at the NCAA Championships. In the final event of her storied career, Butler placed 13th, earning second-team All-American for the third time.

In 2021, the Falcons saw two top-five finishers in the shot put at the MAC Indoor Championship. Neal was the runner-up and Ebonie Whitted placed fifth, helping Bowling Green to a third-place team finish. At the outdoor MAC Championships, Neal tallied a pair of third-place finishes in the shot put and discus, qualifying for the NCAA East Regional in both events.

Kaila Butler also qualified for the NCAA East Regional, placing fifth in the hammer throw to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships. She represented BGSU for the second time in her career and notched a ninth-place finish, securing another second-team All-American honor.

Although the 2020 outdoor season was canceled, Vicars led the Falcon throwers to success in the indoor competition. Butler won the MAC crown in the weight throw, her second career MAC title and first during the indoor season. The Falcons put two throwers on the podium in the shot put, as Whitted and Katie Seyfang placed fifth and sixth.

In 2019, Aliyah Gustafson earned the Falcons two points with a seventh-place finish in shot put at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and first team All-American honors. At the Outdoor National Championships just a few months later, Gustafson and Kaila Butler both were named second team All-Americans after finishing 10^th in shot put and 12^th in hammer throw, respectively.

Following the 2018 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, Vicars was named the MAC Assistant Coach of the Year. His throwers scored 34 points, earning a first-place finish, two second-place results and a fourth-place finish in just two events.

Prior to his arrival at BGSU, Vicars had been in a coaching role at Findlay since 2013. He was the team’s throws coach since 2015 and was a graduate assistant for two years prior to that, garnering several national awards during his tenure. He was tabbed the 2015 Indoor and Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Since his arrival at Findlay, he coached four NCAA Division II national champions and 21 first team All-Americans. His throwers were also national runner-ups four times and his group helped Findlay to team national runner-up results in both the indoor and outdoor 2015 seasons.

Vicars was a thrower at Findlay, capturing the NCAA Division II national championship in the shot put during the 2012 outdoor season and in the discus during the 2010 outdoor season. He was the 2012 and 2013 GLIAC Field Athlete of the Year, as well as the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year. In total, he was an 11-time NCAA Division II All-American.

Vicars earned his bachelor’s degree as an intervention specialist major from Findlay in 2012 and his master’s degree in education in 2015.