Nathan Meeuwenberg arrived at Abilene Christian as the Distance T&F/Cross Country Coach in the summer of 2023, after a highly decorated stint at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, a member of the NCAA D-II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
(PSAC).
The 2024-25 XC/T&F seasons saw a big improvement for the distance program after a strong recruiting class. The women’s XC team placed 7th in the WAC XC Championship, with freshman Audrey Chitwood leading the way with a 31st place finish. The men’s XC team moved up three places in the WAC Championship team race to 5th place, with freshman Andruw Villa picking up a All-Conference spot by finishing 10th in the field.
On the indoors oval, improvement continued as the men’s races saw several scoring places, with Cooper Goggans picking up a 3rd place finish in the 800; freshman Andruw Villa finishing 4th in the 5000 run, followed closely by Kevin Castruita in 6th place; and a 3rd place distance medley relay included freshmen Vincent Luffey and Mark Barajas, along with sophomore transfer Landon Gary and junior JP Trook. In the mile, Vincent Luffey made the finals, but finished just outside the points in 9th place. For the Wildcat women, Jess Reyes finished 4th in the 800 and a freshmen-laden distance relay, composed of freshmen Gracee Whitaker, Jalyn Childers and Audrey Chitwood, joined by senior Ja’Kaylon Record finished in 8th place.
Athletes coached by Meeuwenberg also showed very well at the WAC Outdoor Championship. The women’s team had freshman Hannah Kasper placing 6th in her first collegiate 10000 meter run and Peyton Bornstein, scoring points for the first time in an
individual conference race finishing 6th in the steeplechase. Freshman Jalyn Childers also made the finals in the 800, but did not finish the race. For the men, if was a freshman parade, as Benjamin Castro finished 6th in the 800; Andruw Villa finished 4 th in the 10000 run and Mark Barajas finished 7th in the steeplechase. In addition, Samuel Lanham ran a strong race in the 10000 run to finish in 7 th , the first time he has scored points at a conference championship.
In 2023-2024, Meeuwenberg’s first year at ACU, he concentrated on developing the returnees from previous years. The Wildcat men placed 8th at the WAC XC Championship, led by an All-Conference 18th place finish for Kevin Castruita. The XC women’s team placed 9th in the team race behind a team-high 33rd place for Katelyn Coldicott. At the WAC Indoor Championship, Cooper Goggans finished 4th in the 800 and Levi Chambers finished 5th in the 5000 run. The women’s distance medley relay finished 5th and Katelyn Coldicott just missed scoring with a 9th place finish. On the outdoor track, Cooper Goggans won his first conference championship in the 800, in the 10000 meter run Kevin Castruita finished 5th and Levi Chambers in 8th, plus Garrison Shindler was 7th in the 1500.
Meeuwenberg coached at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania which saw his XC men’s and women’s teams finish 1st in the PSAC Championship and he was named the PSAC XC Coach of the Year both years. His women’s XC team won the Atlantic Regional title
one year and was 2nd the other year, with the men’s XC team finishing 2nd both years. Those top-two finishes qualified both his men’s and women’s team for XC nationals. He was also the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region XC Coach of the Year. On the track, Edinboro won the PSAC Outdoor Track Championship with 93 points, with a staggering 89 of those points coming from the distance crew. For this accomplishment, Meeuwenberg was awarded the USTFCCCA Assistant Coach of the Year from the Atlantic Region.
In both years at Edinboro, Meeuwenberg had athletes qualify for the NCAA D-II National Outdoor Championship. Prior to Edinboro, Meeuwenberg spent two seasons as the head men’s and women’s cross country and track & field coach at NCAA D-2 King University. In 2019, the Tornado women’s XC team claimed the Conference Carolinas Championship and Meeuwenberg was named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year. The women had six All-Conference Carolinas selections and one USTFCCCA All-Region honoree. On the men’s side, King had six All-Conference Carolinas selections and five Academic All- Conference Carolinas choices.
In track & field, Meeuwenberg coached 19 All-Conference Carolinas members across two men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor seasons. He also had one USTFCCCA All-Region honoree and one Conference Carolina Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Before joining the staff at King, Meeuwenberg spent three seasons as the cross country track & field coach at Science Hill High School, in Johnson City, Tenn. His impact was immediate, raising the Science Hill team standings at the state championships from 15th to 10th while crowning a state champion. In year two, he mentored a distance runner placing ninth at Footlocker Nationals.
He graduated from Milligan College in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Economics. Meeuwenberg was a captain of the cross country and track & field teams where he owns a top 108k time of 24:52 and was a four-time qualifier for the NAIA National Championships.
Meeuwenberg lives in Abilene with his wife, Evan, and children Sylva (6), Jack (3), and Shiloh (1).
