Josh Fletcher
Josh Fletcher
Title: Head Track & Field Coach - Middle Distance
Phone: 260.665.4992
Phone: 260.243.2663 (cell)
Email: fletcherj@trine.edu
Previous College: Indiana University '08 / Goshen College '99

Josh Fletcher was named the Head Track & Field Coach in July of 2018 and will begin his sixth season as head coach of the men's and women's programs in 2023-24.

The men's track and field program swept the MIAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships for the third consecutive season and the team saw Jake Gladieux qualify for both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor National Championships. During the indoor season, Gladieux was an All-American with his third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a new personal best and school record time of 8.01 seconds. Gladieux qualified for the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles. He was an All-American in both events as well to give him six awards for his career. He ran a time of 52.16 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles to place fourth and 14.25 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles to score a national runner-up finish.

The 2021-22 season saw three student-athletes qualify for the NCAA DIII National Championships, including Evie (Bultemeyer) Miller, Jake Gladieux and Valerie Obear. Miller highlighted the season with a 2022 Outdoor National Championship at the SPIRE Institute in Cleveland, Ohio in the 3000-meter steeplechase. She was the second national champion during Fletcher’s tenure. She also took home Indoor All-American honors in the mile and 3000-meter run. Gladieux was All-American in the 60-meter hurdles during the indoor season and 110-meter hurdles for outdoor. At the MIAA Championships, the men and women swept the indoor titles and the men’s outdoor team claimed victory, giving him seven total MIAA Championships in four years.

The 2020-21 season was a success as the men's team won their first ever Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Outdoor Championship. In addition, the men's team sent four student-athletes to compete in five events at the 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Sophomore Jake Gladieux became just the second national champion in the Trine University men's track and field program's NCAA history by winning the 400 M hurdles. He also earned All-American status on the back of the win.

In a shortened 2019-20 season that was limited to just the indoor schedule, the men's indoor track & field team captured its second career MIAA Indoor Championship and had multiple event champions in Josh Davis in the 60-meter dash, Derek Miller in the 3000-meter run and Jake Gladieux in the 60-meter hurdles.  All three earned All-MIAA honors and Vuskalns along with Mitchell Martin and Jack Beakas went on to earn All-Region honors.  The Trine women's track & field team placed third at the MIAA Indoor Meet and captured a total of six events, five individual and one relay.  Three individual events were won by Evie Bultemeyer (400-meter dash, 800-meter run and mile run) and was also a member of the winning relay team in the 4x400-meter along with teammates Stephanie Hartpence, Chloe Brittain and Amira Faulkner.  The other two event champions came in the field events in Valerie Obear who won the weight throw and Autumn Presley won the pole vault.  All of them garnered All-Conference honors and Bultemeyer was also named the MIAA "Most Valuable Track Athlete" for the second straight season.  Bultemeyer and Obear went on to earn All-Region accolades and Bultemeyer was named the Great Lakes Region "Athlete of the Year."  She and Obear also qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship as Bultemeyer posted the top overall qualifying time in the nation in the mile run and Obear had the 16th-best mark nationally in the weight throw.  Unfortunately, the national meet was cancelled due to national health restrictions, but despite not being able to compete, but athletes were later granted All-American status in their respective events.

In his first season as head coach, the women's team captured its first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Indoor Championship and placed third at the MIAA Outdoor Championship Meet.  The men's team also fared well at the conference meets with a pair of runner-up finishes.  Evie Bultemeyer was named the conference indoor and outdoor "Most Valuable Track Performer."  She also qualified for the NCAA Division III National Meet in the indoor mile run and qualified in three events during the outdoor season, but competed in the 800-meter and 1500-meter runs.  Bultemeyer finished with All-American honors, finishing in the top-eight in all three events.  On the men's side, Jeffery Barnett became a three-time MIAA champion in both the indoor and outdoor long jump.  He also qualifed in the event for both the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets and finished as the national runner up at indoor nationals for the third straight year.  He was fourth at the outdoor nationals to become a combined four-time All-American (three indoor, one outdoor).  A total of 12 All-MIAA honors (indoor and outdoor) were awarded to go along with 11 combined (indoor and outdoor) USTFCCA All-Region accolades.

Fletcher came to Trine after a five-year stay at Penn High School (2014-18) in Mishawaka, Ind. as Head Track & Field Coach.  Prior to Penn H.S., Fletcher served as head coach of the cross country and track & field teams at Northridge High School (1998-2014), his alma mater, in Middlebury, Ind.

While at Northridge H.S., Fletcher led the boys cross country team to the 2004 IHSAA State Championship.  That spring, he mentored the girls track 4x800 relay team to a state title after posting a time of 9:08.33.  A year later, the girls 4x800 relay squad finished as runners-up in the IHSAA State Meet.  He had also helped lead the boys track teams at Northridge to eight consecutive top-10 finishes at the state meet (2001-5th, 2002-9th, 2003-9th, 2004-1st, 2005-6th, 2006-6th, 2007-4th, 2008-8th).

In 2014, Fletcher continued to help mentor his student-athletes to success as he coached the IHSAA 800-meter State Champion.  Two years later, Fletcher helped lead the Penn H.S. girls 4x800 relay team to a state title following a mark of 9:01.41 and also coached the 2016 State Champion in the long jump.  In 2017, the 4x800-meter relay team finished as runners-up in the event at the State Meet.  He also mentored the girls cross country team in 2014 and finished fourth in the state.

For his career, Fletcher has coached a combined 48 All-State athletes in cross country and track & field.  In addition, he has coached multiple female athletes to sub five-minute marks in the 1600-meter and sub 11-minute times in the 3200-meter events.

Fletcher is a 1999 graduate of Goshen College where he was a student-athlete in cross country, track & field and baseball.  He went on to earn a Master's degree in education leadership from Indiana University in 2008. 

Fletcher and his wife, Ashley, live in Angola, Ind. with their five children: Cora, Urban, Owen, Hazel and Tillie.


Championship Finishes (Men) Championship Finishes (Women)
Year MIAA Indoor Championships MIAA Outdoor Championships Year MIAA Indoor Championships MIAA Outdoor Championships
2019 2nd 2nd 2019 1st 3rd
2020 1st Cancelled (Covid) 2020 2nd Cancelled (Covid)
2021 1st 1st 2021 2nd 2nd
2022 1st 1st 2022 1st 3rd
2023 1st 1st 2023 3rd 3rd

 


Development Under Coach Fletcher    
Runner Event Senior HS Best Trine Best Notable
Levi Neuzerling 800 1:58 1:56.80 All-MIAA
  1600 4:27.60 4:07.85 National Qualifier in 1500m run
Neil O'Brien 800 DNR 1:53.07 All-MIAA
  1600 4:37.93 4:07.97 2nd in NCAA Division III (2021)
Evie Bultemeyer 800 2:17 2:10.23 Two-time All-American
  1600 5:45 4:43.48 Three-time All-American
Amira Faulkner 800 2:34.19 2:24.26 One indoor season
  1600 5:55.12 5:12.07 One indoor season
Chloe Brittain 1600 5:29.44 5:11.05 Two-time All-MIAA
Noah Ballard 1600 4:55.97 4:37.68 One indoor season
Skyler Schrope 800 2:06.96 2:02.28 One indoor season
Lance Williamson 1600 DNR 4:37.54 One indoor season
Holden Martin 800 2:03 1:59 One season
Aiden Lapp 800 2:04 1:59 Two seasons
Phil Nemechek 800 2:03 1:58 One season
Tyler Hartleroad 1600 4:44.22 4:15.93  
  800 2:00.69 1:55.59