Keller spent six seasons as the head women’s track & field and cross country coach at NDSU from 2014-20, winning all 11 Summit League team championships in that timeframe and directing the Bison women to national recognition. He also directed the Bison men’s long sprinters during that time.
In 2017, NDSU sent its largest group of qualifiers to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, as seven athletes represented NDSU in six events at the national meet. The Bison also had 21 entries at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, setting another all-time high in the school’s Division I era.
NDSU’s 21 entries at the NCAA West Prelims in 2017 were the second-most in the nation outside of the Power 5 conferences, and there were 46 schools from the Power 5 conferences that had fewer national entries than NDSU.
In addition to extending NDSU’s record-setting run of 20 consecutive Summit League team titles, Keller has continued to raise the bar. In 2016 and 2017, the Bison women set new league records for points scored at the outdoor conference meet.
Academically, North Dakota State has maintained its position as one of the highest-achieving women’s track & field programs in the nation. The Bison have regularly earned team grade point averages of 3.50 or better during Keller’s tenure.
Keller was named the head coach of the Bison women’s track & field and cross country programs on Nov. 3, 2014, while remaining as the coach for the long sprinters on the NDSU men’s squad. He is now in his 20th year with NDSU track & field, including seven seasons as associate head coach, directing the Bison multi-events, hurdles and pole vault to unprecedented success.
In his first season as the head women’s coach in 2015, Keller led the Bison to their eighth straight indoor and outdoor Summit League team titles, giving NDSU all 16 team conference titles since they joined the league. The Bison also sent 13 athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds with a total of 16 entries, which at the time, was the largest contingent of national qualifiers in the school’s Division I history.
Since the Bison gained full NCAA Division I status in 2008, the number of achievements racked up by Keller’s student-athletes is remarkable. In all, Keller-coached athletes have earned nearly 250 All-Summit League honors and 95 Summit League titles over the past 10 seasons.
Keller has directed five athletes to a total of six first-team Division I All-America honors since 2009, including a fifth-place heptathlon finish by Whitney Carlson in 2011 and a fourth-place finish in the pole vault by Leslie Brost at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships. In addition, Carlson was a three-time second-team All-American in the long jump and multi-events.
Most recently, Keller coached Willmar, MN, product Rose Jackson to first-team All-America honors in the pentathlon and nine Summit League titles in 2017 alone. Jackson set a new school record on her way to an 8th-place finish in the pentathlon at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships, as well as competing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the long jump and 4x400m relay. She captured four Summit League titles indoor in 2017 to go along with five outdoor, winning the league’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Keller has qualified 20 athletes for the NCAA Outdoor Preliminary Rounds (2010-present) and NCAA Regionals (prior to 2010). Indoors, Keller has coached six NCAA Championships qualifiers.
As a team, the Bison women have won 10 consecutive Summit League championships both indoors and outdoors. The NDSU men have claimed six indoor and nine outdoor titles in the last 10 seasons.
Keller owns coaching experience on the national and international levels. In 2010 and 2011, he coached Heather Zander, Leslie Brost and Whitney Carlson at the USATF Championships. In 2008, Keller served as an assistant coach for Team USA in the Thorpe Cup decathlon and guided Weston Leutz to a 10thplace finish at the Junior World Championships in the decathlon. Under Keller’s guidance, Brost developed into the most decorated vaulter in NDSU history, with honors including a fourth-place finish and a school record vault of 14-03.25 at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships. Brost placed ninth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and was the top collegiate finisher in the event.
Keller coached Carlson to the NDSU heptathlon school record on her way to a fifth-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Buchanan, N.D., native also placed ninth in the long jump at the national meet in 2011 and was a second-team All-American in the indoor pentathlon. Carlson was awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and was later named the NCAA Elite 88 Award winner as the nation’s top student-athlete in women’s track & field.
In 2010, Heather Zander became NDSU’s first multi-event Division I All-American after placing eighth in the heptathlon under Keller’s guidance.
Matt Bishoff was NDSU’s first male Division I All-American in 2009, taking home the honor in the indoor heptathlon.
Prior to NDSU’s move to Division I, Keller coached 10 athletes to 28 NCAA Division II All-American awards, including Nate Schmidt who won two NCAA Division II national championships in the decathlon.
As an athlete at NDSU, Keller was a two-time North Central Conference champion and a Division II All-American in the decathlon. Keller also competed at Montana State University where he was a Big Sky Conference champion and Division I All-American in the decathlon. He competed in the 2004 Olympic Trials in the decathlon.
-From GoBison.com
Q&A
Q: What are you most excited about for this season?
A: It’s always exciting to get going with the competition and the meets. We do a lot of training throughout the fall. So, when you get to the meets and you have the team come together, I think you start to see that culture develop. When you go on road trips, you have those teammates supporting each other. For me, that’s the most exciting thing. And then just seeing the development of kids, seeing where they were last year and where they get to this year.
Q: Is there anyone in particular you are looking at to excel and do big things?
A: I think there are a number of kids that, as they get to their third and fourth year, you really start to see them understand what it means to be a Bison and go out and compete. So, I wouldn’t say there’s a certain kid or two that I think is ready to have a great year. I think there are a number of kids that really put in a good fall and are ready to go out and compete.
Q: It’s kind of interesting that you touched on that culture piece right at the beginning. How do you go about cultivating that with everyone being so specialized and having practices at different times of the day?
A: That’s the hardest part about this job when you have a ton of kids and six different event coaches and a bunch of different event areas. It’s difficult bringing the whole team together. We practice throughout the day. We never have our whole team here practicing at the same time like other sports do. So, we do some teambuilding things. We talk a lot about Bison pride and doing the right thing. And I think a lot of the culture that these kids build is within their event groups, but then also in the weight room and hanging out at the athletic facilities outside of practice. I think that’s where you get a lot of your team building. But then, when you come together at a track meet, that’s where you really see kids get to know each other. We are traveling together. Even when we are out at a meet, they’re watching them in the event.
Q: So is a team player something you look for in recruiting?
A: I definitely think you want a team player, somebody that’s competitive. Because I think when it comes down to it, you’re asking a lot from kids. When you go to a conference meet, you’re asking them to do multiple events. Some kids specialize in one event and you have to know your job on the team. And I think that’s why we’ve been successful. There is a lot of individual focus, but I think the kids know the history and the tradition of excellence we’ve had here. They know because of that, you show up every day, you work hard and you contribute to the team. So, I think kids are trying to find ways to contribute to the team. We can only take 28 people to our conference meet. When you have a roster of 50 and 60 plus on the women’s side, there are a lot of athletes that don’t make the conference meet. So, it’s about finding your place on the team and where you fit in.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the sport?
A: One of my favorite things about track and field is that it’s such a unique sport. It caters to all shapes and sizes. Sometimes you see a really undersized kid go out and beat someone that looks like they should be better than them. I also like how every event is different. And I don’t think any event has more work put in than another. I pride myself on the development and the success of the kids and them getting better. That doesn’t mean that a kid needs to win a conference title. If a kid comes into our program and gets better, that makes me feel good about what we’re doing here.
Q: What are your goals for the season?
A: My number one goal is to make progress every week. Obviously, we also want to win the conference indoor and outdoor and get athletes qualified for nationals.
