The Portland State track & field program just got stronger. Literally.
That’s what adding a throws coach with USTFCCCA Strength & Conditioning Certification will do. Danielle McGuiness officially stepped into that role this August, as she’ll serve her first season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with the Vikings during the 2024-25 school year.
McGuiness comes to the Vikings after spending the past five years at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Michigan. McGuiness led the Concordia program as head coach this past season after serving the previous four seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I’m thrilled to join the Vikings coaching staff at Portland State University,” McGuiness said upon her hire. “Moving from a smaller university to a program with such rich potential and history is an incredible opportunity. The team is loaded with talented and hard-working individuals, and while there's still lots of work to do, I think this team is going to do something incredibly special this year.”
As head coach this past year at Concordia, McGuiness led Lena Korte to two NAIA All-American honors in the shot put between a seventh-place finish indoors and a fourth-place finish outdoors. Korte also won a pair of national titles in the shot put at the NCCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
Korte and men’s teammate Jesse Lietzow swept the conference titles in the shot put at the WHAC Indoor Championships this past season, while Korte followed up with a conference title during the outdoor season.
All told, McGuiness led the Concordia to 14 school records during the 2024 indoor season, as well as 23 NCCAA Indoor Qualifiers. Another eight women and three men qualified for the NCCAA Outdoor Championships in the spring.
During her time as an assistant coach from 2019-23, McGuiness led her athletes to three NAIA national qualifications, two WHAC conference titles, two NCCAA national titles, and a clean sweep of the school records in the women’s throws. Additionally, she doubled the team’s roster as recruiting coordinator, and wrote all strength and conditioning programs for the men’s and women’s throwers.
McGuiness holds USATF Level 2 certification in the throws, as well as being a USATF Certified Official and a member of the USATF Masters Throws Subcommittee.
