PORTLAND, Ore. — Those with fitness goals among their New Year's Resolutions won't be the only ones with new trainers in 2023. The Portland State cross country and track & field athletes will join them in that regard, as the program picked up three new coaches for the new year.
 
Daniel Goetz joins head coach David Hepburn's staff as the lead assistant in the Vikings' distance-focused program. Rhonda Riley and Bianca Martin will join Hepburn and Goetz as volunteer assistants, working alongside current volunteers Katie Camarena and Harley Montgomery.
 
"There's a little bit of excitement. It's new. Is it a shiny new toy? I don't know, but there's definitely some excitement about new coaches in general," Hepburn said of his new staff.
 
"The three of them bring a lot of excitement to what's going on here, and they're excited to be here, and they're excited to be part of something that the old staff and myself have built."
 
Goetz and Riley were on the same staff at Duke from 2017-21. The two were in opposite roles to how they will be with the Vikings, however. Riley served as head coach of the women's cross country team from 2016-20, and the interim head coach of both the men's and women's programs during the 2020-21 school year. Goetz, meanwhile, was Riley's assistant coach from 2017-21.
 
But Hepburn said that prior relationship, albeit in reverse roles, should benefit the Vikings.
 
"Obviously, they work really well together," Hepburn said of Goetz and Riley. "Rhonda brought Dan to me, we sat down, and we see eye-to-eye on a lot of things as far as athlete development, training theory and things like that. We'll work really well together. I went to [the USTFCCCA Coaching] Convention with him, sat down every day and just waxed philosophical about a lot of different things and sort of where we're going."
 
"Now Rhonda is his assistant [Laughs], which is a role reversal, but that will allow him to spread his wings and grow into someone who is taking control of a team from a training perspective."
 
In his time at Duke, Goetz helped lead the Blue Devils women's team to its first-ever ACC outdoor title in his final year there in 2021. That same school year saw the Blue Devils men's team place 16th at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships, while the women's team placed 27th overall. Leigha Torino also placed ninth in the women's 800 meters at the 2021 Indoor Championships, earning second-team All-American honors under Goetz.
 
Goetz helped lead Michaela Reinhart to ACC Freshman of the Year honors in 2017. Amanda Beach and Reinhart also placed second and third, respectively, at the 2018 USATF Junior Cross Country Championships.
 
Riley, of course, would have been part of all of that at Duke, too. Her accomplishments at Duke also included leading Alex Miley to breaking a 49-year-old school record in the men's steeplechase while earning an ACC silver medal in the event.
 
Reinhart and Gabrielle Richichi also became Duke's first All-Southeast Region honorees in five years when they earned the honor in 2018. Reinhart would pick up the honor again in 2019, along with Sara Platek. Platek would go on to place second in the indoor 5k during the 2021 season.
 
Riley has already spent some time with the Vikings. She served as a volunteer assistant in a very loose role during the fall cross country season. But Hepburn says she will step into a more official capacity now.
 
"She was dipping her toes in. She's a volunteer because she has another career, but she helped out in cross country and really liked what we're doing here and the direction we're going and what we've built here. She wants to be a part of that," Hepburn said of Riley's work with the Vikings in the fall.
 
"She'll end up doing a little bit more [now]. I think she loves the fact that she just gets to do the coaching. She doesn't have to do what I do [Laughs]. I think she likes the fact that she can just coach and have fun and do all the fun stuff, which is great. And to be able to have that relationship with her is fantastic."
 
Martin's coaching role marks her return to the Park Blocks. Martin ran for the Vikings in 2013, a season in which she broke the school record in the outdoor 1,500 meters while running the No. 2 times in the outdoor 800, 3,000 and 5,000 meters. She placed second in the 1,500 meters at the 2013 Big Sky Outdoor Championships, while her and teammate Amber Rozcicha became the first Vikings to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims in the women's 1,500 meters that season.
 
Martin went on to compete post-collegiately with Atlanta Track Club Elite, where she would later become a volunteer assistant coach under Andrew and Amy Yoder Begley. As a coach for ATC Elite, Martin worked closely with Allie Wilson, who placed fourth in the 800 meters at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships. Martin also worked with Yolanda Ngarambe, the Swedish record holder in the indoor mile, who finished 2022 with a seasonal best of 4:05 in the 1,500 meters.
 
Martin's passion for coaching extends to the mental side of the sport. She's worked specifically with injured student-athletes on their mindsets for recovery, while she created the Comeback Academy for Injured Athletes.
 
"Bianca reached out over the summer, wanting to get back in the Portland area. She's super energetic. Super enthusiastic. Very smart as far as distance running goes and aerobic development. Very passionate about coaching and athlete development and things like that. She'll be a really good fit here," Hepburn said of Martin.
 
And a good fit between coach/trainer and athlete is essential. Whether that be for someone's 2023 fitness goals, or the Vikings' goals for their 2023 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons.