Matt Gersick, Director of Strength & Conditioning, assumed the head throws coaching duties beginning for the 2012-13 season.
While interim head throws coach he assisted the Grizzly men in earning the school’s first ever outdoor track & field national team championship.
A 2009 Adams State graduate, Gersick is one of the most decorated athletes to ever wear a Grizzlies uniform. Gersick earned one varsity letter in football and eight letters in indoor and outdoor track and field for the Grizzlies. As a true freshman in the fall of 2004 he saw action in all 11 games for the ASU, on the offense and the defense. At the conclusion of the season, he was presented with the John Oletsky Award as the Grizzlies’ freshman of the year.
In the spring of his freshman year, Gersick was in action as a sprinter and thrower for the Adams State track and field team, where he qualified for outdoor nationals in the shot put.
A complete left knee dislocation during fall camp heading into his sophomore year at ASU in which he ruptured all ligaments, hamstrings, and suffered menisci and cartilage damage ended Gersick’s football career. However, after multiple extensive surgeries he continued to shine on the track as Grizzly. In his final three seasons of track and field, Gersick qualified 14 times for the NCAA Championships in discus, hammer, shot put and the 35-pound weight throw. Additionally, he earned All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors 16 times, won seven RMAC titles and was an NCAA All-American 6 times.
During the 2008 and 2009 indoor seasons, Gersick was named the RMAC and North Central Region Field Athlete of the Year, and earned the honor during the 2009 outdoor season as well. Also in 2009, he was the national champion in the indoor shot put and claimed the top-spot at the Penn Relays collegiate invitational.
Gersick’s 35-pound weight throw personal best of 19.89 meters still stands as both the Adams State and RMAC record in the event. He also owns PRs of 18.08 meters in the shot put, 56.90 meters in the discus and 57.80 meters in the hammer throw.
In the classroom Gersick racked up almost as many honors as he did on the track. In addition to a slew of first-team academic all-conference honors, he was a two-time First-Team ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-American (2008 & 2009), and was named the male recipient of the 2009 ASC Honor Student-Athlete award.
Gersick graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2009 with his B.S. in exercise science. He earned his M.S. in exercise science from Adams State in 2010, and is a National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist.
In his free time, Gersick enjoys weightlifting, camping, fishing, hunting, and model rocketry (high performance rockets). His future endeavors include getting his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology.
