PORTLAND, Ore. — David Hepburn has been promoted to head coach of the Portland State cross country and track & field programs following the departure of former head coach Brent Ericksen at the end of June. Hepburn spent the last two years as an assistant coach under Ericksen, serving as the field events coach and recruiting coordinator for the program.
 
"I am thrilled we are able to promote Coach Hepburn to head coach of track & field and cross country," Portland State Director of Athletics Valerie Cleary said. "We evaluated numerous applicants for the position, and found the right fit down the hall. Numerous student-athletes voiced their support of coach Hepburn, and that played a huge role in our decision. To have consistency in the program is a great benefit to our department and student-athlete experience."
 
Hepburn recruited much of the Vikings' current and incoming student-athletes, and has led a number of PSU athletes to standout performances in just under two years at Portland State.
 
"I am very excited and honored to be named the head coach of Portland State's Cross Country and Track & Field teams," Hepburn said. "I would like to thank Athletic Director Valerie Cleary and Deputy Athletic Director Matt Billings for their trust in me to lead these programs. I would also like to thank the student-athletes on these teams for their continued support and confidence in me to lead them as well. I am looking forward to working with assistant coach Josh Seitz in the distance events and continuing to bring that event group to a new level. The recruiting class that we brought in this year is a great foundation to build upon."
 
Hepburn led Viking jumpers to three Big Sky titles in his first year as an assistant in 2016. Spenser Schmidt won a conference title in the indoor men's long jump, while ChaQuinn Cook swept the conference titles in the indoor and outdoor women's triple jump. Cook became just the second Viking to ever sweep the indoor and outdoor triple jump titles in the same season, and the first freshman ever to pull off the feat. Schmidt also became the Vikings' first champion in the indoor men's long jump since 2003 with his win, and he earned All-Big Sky honors with a second-place finish in the outdoor long jump, as well.
 
Additionally, both Cook and Schmidt qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in 2016, with Schmidt becoming the Vikings' first qualifier on the men's side since 2012.
 
During this past season, Hepburn guided Donté Robinson to back-to-back second-place finishes in the indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon, making him the first Viking to earn all-conference honors in both multi-events since Nick Trubachik in 2010
 
Ta'mara Richey, who earned All-Big Sky honors in the indoor long jump and triple jump under Hepburn in 2016, also qualified for her first NCAA regional meet in 2017, as she qualified in the women's long jump.
 
Hepburn helped two athletes break school records during the 2017 outdoor season, as well, as Jean-Luc Toku and Troy Bacon set new standards in the men's triple jump and discus, respectively. Toku broke a 44-year-old record with his mark of 48-07.25 (14.81m) in the men's triple jump, beating out the old record of 48-06.00 (14.78m) that Don Hall set in 1973. Bacon, meanwhile, broke the school record in the discus despite being in his first year competing for the Viking track & field team.
 
Hepburn also spent a lot of time with the Portland State cross country teams in 2016, and helped both the men's and women's teams to two of their better seasons in program history. Sarah Medved earned All-Big Sky honors on the women's side, while Alex Cisneros tied the highest individual finish by a Viking men's runner at the Big Sky meet. Cisneros also broke a 13-year-old school record in the cross country 10k at the NCAA West Regional at the end of the year, finishing in 30:29.8 to beat the old record by more than 37 seconds.
 
Before coming to Portland State, Hepburn coached as an assistant coach at Pacific (Ore.) University from 2014-16. He also coached as an assistant at San Diego State from 2002-03, as well as at three different Oregon high schools in Creswell High School (1997-2002), Bend High School (2004-05) and Hillsboro High School (2014).
 
Hepburn holds a USATF Level I Certification, as well as a USATF Level II Certification in the jumps. Additionally, Hepburn holds USTFCCCA certifications in the Combined Events and strength and conditioning.
 
As an athlete himself, Hepburn competed in the decathlon at the University of Oregon in 1994 and 1995. A year earlier, Hepburn placed first in the decathlon at the USATF Oregon Association meet.