Aug. 24, 2011
DAVIS, Calif. - Byron Talley, a former Aggie hurdler who has served as director of track and field and cross country for the past year, will leave his position next month for personal reasons and be replaced by cross country coach Drew Wartenburg, it was announced by Interim Director of Athletics Nona Richardson.
Talley, whose resignation takes effect on Sept. 23, said he and his family will be moving to Texas and will be closer to their families. He replaced former coaches Jon and Deanne Vochatzeron an interim basis upon their retirement in 2010.
"I am forever grateful for the experiences that I've had with this team," said Talley. "I've been privileged to see so many Aggies find success through faith in themselves, their coaches, and teammates. This has been such a special time in my life and I'm thankful."
Richardson offered appreciation to Talley for his long-term service to the program which included six seasons as an assistant coach prior to taking over director responsibilities on an interim basis.
"Following legendary coaches like Jon and Dee is not easy but Byron continued to build the program while putting his own stamp on its direction," she said. "While we were hoping to have Byron with us for a long time, we understand the reasons for his difficult decision and wish him well in the future."
This season, in Talley's lone year as director, the Aggies had their best men's and women's combined finish at the Big West Conference Track and Field Championships. The Aggie men finished second while the women were third. UC Davis sent 15 competitors to the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Round Meet at the University of Oregon with two hurdlers - 400-meter specialists Thomas Phillips and Alex Wilright- going on to earn All-America second-team honors.
Talley's success as both an All-America student-athlete and an accomplished assistant coach made him the logical choice as interim director of track and field and cross country last year. As an assistant, he coached several regional qualifiers, two national qualifiers, six of the program's top 100-meter hurdles and athletes that set more than a dozen school records.
As an Aggie student-athlete, he set school records in the indoor 55-meter hurdles and the outdoor 110 high hurdles. He won the California Collegiate Athletic Association title in the 110HH as a senior in 2002 and eventually earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships.
Richardson said Wartenburg will become director of track and field and cross country and officially assume his new duties following Talley's departure in September.
Wartenburg is in his fourth season on the Aggies' staff, serving as head men's and women's cross country while also an assistant coach with the track team focusing on the distance corps. He led the men's team to its first-ever Big West cross country title last year and has coached two individual conference champions in Jonathan Peterson (2010) and Sarah Sumpter(2009). Peterson advanced to last year's NCAA Championships, finishing 15th and receiving All-America recognition.
On the track, Wartenburg mentored Calvin Thigpen who claimed the 10,000-meter run title at last year's Big West meet. He was also UC Davis' winner this year of the Big West Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
"Drew will continue to provide outstanding leadership to our track and field and cross country programs," said Richardson. "He and Byron have worked very closely with all of our student-athletes and we're confident the future of the Aggie teams is in good hands."
Wartenburg joined the Aggies in 2008 after serving as an assistant coach at Oregon State for one season and as a successful prep coach in Washington for six years.
"I'm excited by the opportunity to guide the Aggie cross country and track and field programs," Wartenburg said. "The legacy of coaches that precedes me in this role provides not only a high level of expectation but have also given the program a rich tradition and history that serve as the template for building further successes.
"We will waste no time in getting out of the gate in an effort to continue moving the Aggie program forward," he added.
Wartenburg earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Wesleyan University in 1992. He later served as a faculty member and high school coach at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, Calif., and Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma, Wash., before becoming an assistant coach at Oregon State in 2007.
UC Davis is making preparations for its 2011 cross country season, opening the year on Sept. 2 with the Aggie Open.
