Parkside Athletics

Thomas Breitbach was named head coach for the Parkside men's and women's cross country and track & field programs in the summer of 2016 and enters his third season in 2018-19.

Through his first two seasons as head coach, Breitbach has seen significant improvement in his program, including 19 school records broken and 25 all-conference performers. He's also seen eight All-Region, six USTFCCCA All-Academic, six NCAA qualifiers and two All-Americans in Moriah Palmer (2016 XC) and Armando Torres (2017 XC). All four programs have been named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team every season he's been head coach.

In 2017 and 2018, he helped guide Parkside's men's team to its highest finish at the GLVC Indoor Championships since 2004 while the women's 2017 finish was the best since 2011. From 2016 to 2017, the men's program raised its point total by a huge margin (8.5 to 67) in the GLVC Outdoor Championships. 
 
Prior to Parkside, Breitbach served as a graduate assistant for Edgewood College in Madison, Wis., during the 2014-2015 academic year, helping the women's cross country team to its highest finish in program history at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional while coaching an All-Region honoree.
 
Before his time at Edgewood, Breitbach served as a volunteer assistant coach at Division I Marquette University for two seasons. His stint with the Golden Eagles included coaching two student-athletes to the preliminary round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Wisconsin native got his start in the coaching ranks as a student assistant with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2011, helping the Blugold women's cross country team to a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference crown.
 
In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, Breitbach has served as a coach for elite post-graduate athletes since 2010, including a 2016 U.S. Olympic Trails qualifier in the marathon.
 
Breitbach enjoyed a decorated career at UW-Eau Claire, securing All-American laurels in track & field on four occasions, including three runner-up finishes at the NCAA Division III championships. Breitbach was a two-time national qualifier in cross country, was a two-time WIAC Champion in the 5,000-meters, while helping UW-Eau Claire to a runner-up finish in the team standings at the 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. He was a six-time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic selection, a five-time WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll honoree, and was a three-time team captain, including captaining the 2012 squad that was honored as the USTFCCCA Scholar Team of the Year during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
 
Breitbach graduated from UW-Eau Claire in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in history.