Lamar University Athletics

As announced by Lamar University Track & Field Head Coach Trey Clark, Tyler Sunwall has joined the coaching staff for the 2019-20 track & field season.

"Tyler is a young coach who has experience in the Southland Conference from his time at Sam Houston State," said Clark. "I had the opportunity to observe Tyler as he was beginning his coaching career and I saw his potential to be a great coach. The performances that student-athletes have had at Sam Houston State were a good indicator of the type of career he's going to have. He spent the last year at the University of Miami (Ohio) and in doing so gained some experience outside the region. He also graduated from The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas, so that gives him some familiarity with the region, the state, and the conference. He's exactly the type of coach we were looking for after the departure of Coach Walker, and we expect him to build upon the foundation she built for our jumps program."
 

In his first season at Miami (Ohio), Sunwall achieved immediate results in the jumps unit, getting scoring performances out of Hannah Falcione (triple jump) and Kenny Glenn (long jump). Sunwall helped Glenn return to being an elite jumper as he broke his own long jump school record and returned to the NCAA East Region Preliminary meet as a senior.

Sunwall spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Sam Houston State before his time with the Redhawks, working primarily with the sprints and jumps group. The Bearkats accumulated 12 Southland Conference individual titles as he developed 13 all-conference performers and four event champions. He coached the women's triple jump record holder (both indoors and outdoors) while also producing a two-time Women's Southland Outdoor Top Field Event Performer. He also helped recruit and coach the Southland Men's Freshman of the Year, Zachary Johnson, and handled day-to-day office and administrative support for the staff. Additionally, he developed an academic intervention program for at-risk student-athletes.

"Tyler has a really good eye for talent," continued Clark. "He can identify talent at an early stage and has the ability to develop that talent. That was most evident in his work with Zachary Johnson in 2018. He identified him as a high school student, recruited him to Sam Houston, and then developed him to a point where he made the final round of the NCAA National Championships in the triple jump as a freshman and was named Southland Conference Men's Freshman of the Year. Johnson edged out Lamar's Brian O'Bonna by just half an inch for the final spot at the National Championships that year."

While completing his Bachelors Degree at Sam Houston State, Sunwall worked with the coaching staff in the training and development of the short sprint and horizontal jump groups while organizing equipment needs and managing day-to-day practice operations. He also served as an English and Science tutor for the team.

Sunwall holds United States Track & Field & Cross Country Coaches Association certifications as a specialist in jumps, sprints, relays and hurdles along with Track & Field Program Management and Technical Coaching. He graduated from Sam Houston State with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in 2015 and also earned a Masters of Education in Instructional Leadership from the university in 2017.