Robert Young was hired as an assistant for the Michigan Tech men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams.

The university announced the hiring Thursday. Young coached nine seasons at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Young was also a science teacher there and served as head boys and girls cross country coach since 2012, and was head track and field coach for the last six years.

“I am incredibly excited to welcome Robert to our coaching staff,” Michigan Tech head track and field/cross country coach Kristina Owen said. “He comes to us from a large and incredibly successful team at Rampart High School. He brings coaching experience in all event groups and large-scale athlete management Tech and I believe his abilities as a teacher, focusing on physics, chemistry, and engineering classes will help him relate to our athletes studying in STEM fields as well. Robert brings a wealth of actionable knowledge about how to develop strong mental skills to boost athletic performance. We have big goals for our team and I am confident that Robert is going to be a key component in how we reach them.”

Young ran at Grand Valley State from 2003-08. He was named NCAA Division II All-American both in cross country and track and field. He set the Lakers’ record in 3000 meter steeplechase and was a GLIAC champion in the event. After college, Young competed and gained sponsorships from Boulder Running Company and Adidas.

Young joins a Tech cross country team that didn’t compete in 2020-21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The men’s track and field team finished sixth at the GLIAC Outdoor Championships in May, while the women’s team took ninth.