Indoor Track
- Title:
- Cross Country/Assistant Coach - Distances
- Email:
- shawn.winget@csulb.edu
- Phone:
- 985-2318
Shawn Winget enters his eighth year as Long Beach State’s Head Cross Country Coach while serving as an assistant coach responsible for the distance runners with Long Beach State’s track and field program.
In 2023, Ryley Fick repeated as Big West Track Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Meet after winning the 800m and the 3000m steeplechase. She advanced to the NCAA West Regional in both events. During the 2022 cross country season, he saw his athletes set and break school records on three occasions. Fick accomplished the feat first, breaking the school 6K record at the UCR Invitational in September. However, at the following meet, her teammate Allie Scimia topped the mark at the Bronco Invitational with the first sub-20 minute time in program history, posting a time of 19:45.3. At the same meet, Michael Phillips broke the longstanding men’s 8K program record with a time of 23:32.5 as the duo made history on the same weekend.
Fick and Scimia would earn All-Big West honors at the conference championships at the end of the season, giving the Beach two all-conference recipients for the first time since 2011.
During the 2022 indoor and outdoor track campaigns, the distance runners posted 22 Long Beach State Top 10 times, including five school records. On the indoor record list, men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams claimed the top spot at the MPSF Championships. On the outdoor list, Michael Phillips etched his name in LBSU history with program records in the men’s 1500m and 5000m races, while Ryley Fick put her name atop the women’s 3000m Steeplechase leaderboards.
Since Winget began mentoring the Beach distance runners, his team has set seven of the cross country top ten marks, including the women’s 6K and men’s 8K records, along with 28 top ten times on the track and five track records.
Before coming to Long Beach State, Winget spent five years (2011-16) at TCU, working with middle and long distance runners as an assistant track & field coach. He mentored six Mountain West Conference champions and 34 All-MWC performers during his tenure. Winget also led his athletes to the national stage as he had 17 NCAA Preliminary qualifiers, including seven who advanced to the NCAA Championships. Two of his runners went on to earn All-America honors. With Winget on the track & field staff, the Horned Frogs won three Mountain West team championships.
Winget was also the cross country coach while at TCU. Winget saw his athletes produce five All-South Central Region honors in his five seasons. During the 2010 campaign, Winget guided Festus Kingen to the first NCAA men’s cross country regional title in school history. Kingen was named the South Central Region Men’s Athlete of the Year for his effort.
Overall, Winget’s athletes established 36 indoor and 29 outdoor performances that rank among TCU’s all-time top 10, with three being school records.
Winget also helped his athletes achieve academic success by mentoring 41 MWC Scholar-Athletes and two Academic All-Americans. In addition, his cross country squad earned multiple USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors and NCAA Public Recognition Awards.
Before his stint at TCU, Winget was the head men’s and women’s cross country and track & field coach at Northwood University in Cedar Hill, Texas (1996-2004). While at Northwood, Winget was named the NAIA Regional Coach of the Year eight times. His teams won 16 conference titles and six regional cross country championships. Winget coached one national champion, 11 athletes who earned 19 All-America awards, and 78 conference champions. Winget expanded his role at Northwood from 2000-04, when he served as the school’s athletic director.
Winget was also an assistant coach at Baylor University (1995-96) and the head boys’ and girls’ cross country/track & field coach at Ferris High School (2004-07). He began his coaching career as an assistant at Abilene Christian University.
Winget, who graduated from Abilene Christian with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education (1994), was the captain of the Wildcat track & field team that won the 1993 NCAA Division II title. He was an NCAA qualifier in the 1500m, an all-region performer in cross country, and earned four all-conference awards. Winget completed a Master of Science in human performance at Baylor (1996).
