Courtesy of UC Davis Media Relations
Jon and Deanne Vochatzer, who have combined for nearly 50 seasons of service with the UC Davis men's and women's track and field teams, have announced they will retire on June 30 as Co-Directors of the Cross Country and Track and Field programs, closing an era marked by conference and individual national championships, two NCAA Women of the Year, and countless other milestones and accolades.
Byron Talley, currently the associate head coach, will become Interim Director of Cross Country and Track and Field, effective July 1. Drew Wartenburg will continue as head coach for men's and women's cross country.
The Vochatzers have brought prominence to the Aggies' program, not only building successful Division II programs that recently moved to Division I status, but as highly regarded track and field leaders on the national and international stage. Among Deanne Vochatzer's many career highlights was serving as head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic women's team while Jon Vochatzer was on the U.S. coaching staff for the 1999 IAAF World Outdoor Championships.
Both were also very involved with the staging of U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials held in Sacramento in recent years and assisted in the organization of the most recent Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., in 2008.
Their legacies at UC Davis have resulted from building nationally recognized track and field programs.
"The Vochatzers are synonymous with track and field at UC Davis and are among the most respected coaches in the country," said Greg Warzecka, Director of Athletics. "Their contributions have not only shaped our program but have been instrumental to the sport overall.
"They have had a positive impact on hundreds of student-athletes and also coaches, and it's that mentoring which might be their greatest contribution to UC Davis," he added.
Jon Vochatzer, who joined the Aggie staff in 1979 as both head track coach and as an assistant football coach, was named Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) Coach of the Year seven times before receiving similar honors from the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) four years. He was also named the West Region Div. II Indoor Coach of the Year and the Outdoor Coach of the Year six times each.
Vochatzer, who left briefly in the mid-1980's to coach in Germany for two years before returning, has coached 80 NCAA All-Americans, including nine individual national champions. His outdoor teams finished in the top 10 four times during their Div. II era, including a program-best third in 2001. They also garnered fourth in 2003 and fifth in 2000. His indoor team in 2000 also placed third, best in team history.
Vochatzer has guided UC Davis to 14 conference championships during his tenure, most recently making a run at a Big West Conference title in 2009 when the Aggies finished second in just their second year of Div. I membership.
"I've enjoyed bringing a recruit into the program, watch them mature and develop into an Aggie," he said. "Success isn't all about winning but it's about being part of the Aggie family. Watching student-athletes develop has been the most important part of my experience."
Besides his service at the World Championships, Vochatzer was on the Olympic Development Committee in 1996 and was an assistant coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1995.
Deanne Vochatzer began as head women's track coach in 1989, assisted both the men's and women's teams from 1989-90 and then briefly departed for two seasons to Cal Poly where she won NCAA Div. II Championships in cross country (1990, 91) and track (1991). Vochatzer returned to UC Davis in 1992 where she began to build a dominant women's program in the NCAC and CCAA. She has also recently served as Director of Cross Country.
Her track teams won 11 straight conference championships in its two leagues, ending their Div. II era with the 2003 CCAA Championship. Vochatzer, five-time NCAC Coach of the Year, also won the honor all five years of UC Davis' membership in the CCAA. She was named West Region Div. II Indoor Coach of the Year five times and was the Outdoor Coach of the Year on three occasions. She added national Coach of the Year honors in 1999 after top-10 finishes by both her indoor and outdoor squads.
Vochatzer has guided the Aggies to a combined 10 top-10 placings at national indoor and outdoor championships, including a fifth on the outdoor stage in 2001 and two fourths at indoor meets in 1996 and 2001.
Besides numerous All-Americans, Vochatzer's women's teams featured NCAA indoor champions with Suzy Jones, who won the mile in 1996, and with Jennifer Swanson in the pole vault in 2000, the latter an event which Vochatzer was instrumental in getting added to the NCAA track championships.
Her mentoring also extended off of the track. Two of her student-athletes - Jamila Demby (1999) and Tanisha Silas (2002) - were named winners of the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award while another - Kameelah Elarms (2001) - was a top-10 finalist.
"When I reflect on my career at UC Davis, what attracted me, and I hope stays that way, is that UC Davis `gets it,' " she said. "I want to win but I also believe student-athletes need to have balance and a healthy approach. UC Davis has allowed coaches to emphasize that."
Vochatzer's impact on the national scene goes beyond her pinnacle assignment as Olympic head coach in 1996. She was alternate head coach for the 1992 Olympic team, head coach for two World University Games and assisted with several U.S. Olympic Sports Festivals.
Her achievements helped her earn induction into the U.S. Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 2002 and later led her to receiving the Special Service Award from U.S.A Track and Field in 2005. She also won the USATF Joe Robichaux Award in 2001.
Sacramento has become nationally renowned as a hotbed for track and field, primarily by hosting Olympic Track and Field Trials in 2000 and 2004. Deanne Vochatzer, a lead presenter in the city's successful bid to host the event, was the Director of Competition in 2000 while Jon Vochatzer was Competition Manager. He was Competition Director at Eugene in 2008.
The husband-and-wife tandem are also supervisors in the Physical Education Program at UC Davis.
Talley, a former standout hurdler with at UC Davis, is in his sixth year on the Aggie coaching staff. Under his tutelage, athletes have set 13 school records, two advanced to the 2009 NCAA Div. I Championships and five qualified for the NCAA West Regional.