Rob Bartlett's first Oxy experience was as an exchange student from the United Kingdom in 2002-03.  That year as a member of the Occidental track & field team, Bartlett earned All-SCIAC honors in the 200 meters, the 400 meters, and both the 200 & 400 relays.

After returning to the UK to complete his undergraduate degree at the University of East Anglia, Bartlett is now back at Oxy and in his second year on the cross-country and track & field coaching staff.   As an intern in 2005-06, Bartlett worked alongside former head coach Troy Engle, now Associate Head Coach for the U.S. Paralympic Track & Field team.  

Bartlett is excited about the opportunity to help Occidental cross-country and track & field return to national prominence.

"During Troy's tenure, Oxy won two SCIAC cross-country championships and sent a number of student-athletes to nationals in both track & field and cross-country," says Bartlett.  "I'm looking forward to building those foundations and helping the programs take the next step."

Derek Turbin enjoyed a great athletic career at Occidental competing on both the football and track teams from 2002-06.  On the football team he won two SCIAC Championships, and earned All-SCIAC honors on three separate occasions.  After being honored as a first team All-SCIAC member his senior year, Turbin topped off his Oxy football career by playing in the Hula Bowl. 

During his track career, while competing in the Sprints and Jumps, he also earned All-SCIAC honors three times.  In 2005 he triple jumped 47'5 and 3/4s which qualified him for Nationals and placed him 10th on Oxy's all-time list.  This will be Turbin's second year on Occidental's track and field coaching staff, but his first year as a full time assistant for the cross country season.

Andy Steben returns for his 29th season as pole vault coach.  During his tenure, Steben has produced numerous standout performers including College record holder Gunnar Miller '94 (17' 4.75"), and 2001 NCAA All-American and 2002 NCAA qualifier Marisa Omori '03.  While a student at Occidental College (1966-69), Steben competed in three NCAA Championship meets, vaulted in three AAU Championships, won the national NAIA title in each of his three tries, and set the school record (his 16'8" is still second on the all-time list).  Steben, a teacher in San Marino, graduated from Oxy with a degree in physical education.  He resides in Alhambra with his wife Anne.  They have five children (son Ted played on the Tiger basketball team while an undergraduate at the College).

Kathryn "Kate" Schmidt, who during the 1970s enjoyed a decade-long reign as America's greatest female javelin thrower, returns for her sixth season to coach the men's and women's throwers.  Nicknamed "Kate the Great," Schmidt is a three-time Olympian who won bronze medals in the 1972 and 1976 Games.  From 1972-77, she tallied seven national titles.  The last of Schmidt's nine American records still stands - a 227' 5" throw set in Furth, Germany - which was also a world record at the time.  During her years dominating the event, Schmidt raised performance expectations in the women's javelin, shattering the previous American record of 198'8".  This fall, Kate was a member of the inaugural class of inductees into the United States Thrower's Hall of Fame.  Prior to Occidental, Schmidt was the throws coach at Beverly Hills High School for six years.

Ian Shapiro graduated from Caltech, where he competed four years on both the cross country and track teams. Shapiro was named twice to 1^st team all-SCIAC for both  track and cross country. Additionally he was named 1^st team all- region in cross country. Currently, Shapiro holds the Caltech school record in the 3000 (8:40:61). Having spent the past four seasons as the assistant coach for Caltech’s cross country and track teams, Shapiro joins the Oxy Tigers as the distance coach.

Jason Bender joins the Oxy Tigers this season as the Throwing Coach. While a student at UCLA, Bender set the Senior Class Record- 255’-10” ( then #2 all-time UCLA) and won the silver in the Pac-10 Championships with three PRs in 1983. Coached by premier collegiate coach Art Venegas, Jason Bender has continuously shown his strength as a thrower, ranked Top Ten by Track and Field News six times. In 2007, Bender ranked #2 in U.S. Masters and is a 5-time Olympic Trials competitor.  Certified by the American Heart Association in CPR, Bender enjoys baseball, reading, fishing and hiking in his free time.  

Steve Matson graduated from Oxy in June 1964, and returns to Oxy as the Tigers' jumps coach. A 3-year varsity letterman, Matson placed all three years in the SCIAC Championships; third his sophomore year and first his junior and senior years, with a best jump of 6' 6 3/4" in 1964. After graduation, Matson served two years in the Peace Corps in Thailand and was the assistant coach for the Thailand women high jumpers in the Asian Games. Matson graduated from UNC Law School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1973 and practiced law in Los Angeles until August 2006, specializing in education law.  As an Oxy graduate, he served on the William Stuart Young Board and has been active in Oxy Track and Field since 2000.