Mick Gieskes is in his 25th year coaching at the University of California San Diego between the track and field and cross country programs in 2021. A long-time member of the San Diego track and field community, Gieskes' athletes have rewritten the Triton record books in nearly every running event in his tenure as sprint coach at UC San Diego.
Gieskes has witnessed UC San Diego transition from Division III to Division II and finally to Division I as the Tritons entered the Big West in 2021. Gieskes helped guide the Triton men to a first-place finish at the Triton Quadrangular, while the women took second, both squads winding up in front of two Big West opponents – UC Riverside and CSUN. Notable sprinters in Nolan Crespo (100/10.76/No. 6), Kalobe Jimenez (110H/14.69/No. 8) and the 4x100 relay team of Christopher Erpelding, Kyle McKray, Tristan Lee, and Crespo (40.95/No. 3) set record-breaking performances throughout the season. Megan Mattson also entered program history at No. 100 in the 100 hurdles (14.50), while Zeinab Torabi’s 400 hurdles time of 1:02.56 ranked fifth in the Big West at the conclusion of the year.
Througout his time at UC San Diego, Gieskes has led 33 student-athletes to individual CCAA Championships. He has also guided the Tritons to six CCAA Championship team titles, five on the women's side and one on the men's side.
In 2020, amid a shortened campaign Gieskes guided two Triton sprinters to NCAA pro-qualifying marks. It was also a year of rewriting the record books. Claudia Cox and Leyikun Solomon, both in the 400 hurdles, delivered performances that would have likely granted them a trip to the NCAA's in May. Solomon impressed as a freshman, entering the all-time UC San Diego record list at number nine with a time of 53.34. Solomon’s 110 hurdle time (14.75) sufficed for eighth best in Triton history as well. In addition, at the San Diego Collegiate Challenge, the 4x400 relay squad of Max Halvax, Makhai Husband, Solomon, and Jake Heinlein posted a time of 3:14.81, putting them third all-time. Early on in the year, the 4x100 team of Chris Erpelding, Kavin Hariharan, Adam Winding, and Nolan Crespo delivered a mark of 41.48, placing them sixth all-time.
UC San Diego will transition into the Big West beginning July of 2020. At that time, Gieskes will have witnessed the Tritons in action among three levels of competition (Division I, II, III).
Kelly Fogarty became the first UCSD sprinter to earn All-America accolades at the Division II level after attaining the honor in both the 100 and 200 in Charlotte, N.C. and again in the 2011 NCAA meet in Turlock. Fogarty holds school records in both the 100 (11.52) and 200 (23.55). Jacqueline "Boo" Rose became the second individual All-American in 2012 in Pueblo, Colo. in the 400 meters, and holds the school record in that event (53.30).
In recent years, the UCSD sprints squad has established new school records in nearly every event, including the men's 4x100 relay (40.73) in 2018 and 4x400 relay in 2019 (3:12.75). The women have also reset the program's all-time relay records in the 4x100 (45.81) and 4x400 (3:42.17) in 2009 and 2012, respectively. UCSD relay teams have earned All-America status on six occasions.
In total, Gieskes has coached 14 individual NCAA national qualifiers, 11 of which were at the D-II level, and two while UCSD was a member of Division III. In addition, nine relay teams have qualified for nationals under his watch.
Gieskes' many coaching honors include his selection as the 1999 Division III West Region Coach of the Year in cross country. In 1997, he coached the Triton women's squad to victory at the CCAA Championships (the first UCSD team in any sport to win a CCAA title). Along with his team accomplishments, Gieskes has coached three individual qualifiers for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships and two Tritons achieved All-America status, including the 1999 individual runner-up.
The son of a UCSD Professor Emeritus, Gieskes graduated locally from Torrey Pines High School and nearby UC Riverside, where he earned his bachelor's degree in literature.
