Dr. Derek Riedel joined the Incarnate Word athletic staff in October of 2005 as the head coach for both the cross country teams in the fall and the track and field squads in the spring.
Over his 19 years in charge of both the track and cross country programs, the now eight-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year has put together a number of deep and successful squads. And, he has been instrumental in the revival of competitions held at UIW or sponsored by the Cardinals in the San Antonio area.
In the 2024 XC season Riedel added his eighth SLC Coach of the Year award to his resumé after guiding the men's team to a dominant win in the SLC Championship meet in New Orleans. In six meets the men finished top eight in each meet, including three first place finishes and top five finishes at the Cowboy Jamboree and the South Central Regional Championship. Eight athletes were named to the SLC All Conference teams.
In the 2024 season Riedel coached the Cardinals to another amazing indoor and outdoor season. Not only did he take home the SLC title for both indoor and outdoor season for the third consecutive year. He was also named Coach of the Year for both of them, bringing his total number to seven. Under Riedel UIW track & field had 25 athletes on Southland All-Conference teams, two meet MVP's, and the Southland Athlete of the Year. Probably the most notable accomplishment was coaching two athletes, Kyle Sieracki and Isaiah Hugdens to the first Division I NCAA Championship appearances in program history. (At the meet they both were named All-American Honorable Mention)
In the 2023 cross country season the men's team finished second overall in the SLC and four Cardinals earned all-conference accolades. The men's team went on to tie for fourth at the NCAA South Central Regional Championship, taking down teams such as Baylor, Houston, LSU, TCU, and Texas A&M. The Cards have now beaten all but one Division I program in the state of Texas. On the women's side Ashlyn Royal placed 22nd at the South Central Regional Championship earning a spot on the all-region team. After the season two Cardinals were named to the SLC all-academic team and Griffin Neal was crowned Student-Athlete of the Year.
The 2022-23 season was historic for the UIW XC and Track & Field programs as the men’s squads won the triple crown (winning the championship in cross-country, indoor and outdoor), a feat which has not been accomplished in the last 38 years. The women had an impressive year taking seventh at outdoor conference and third during indoor and cross-country season. Coach Riedel also was named Coach of the Year for XC, Indoor, and Outdoor during the 2022-23 academic year.
Riedel had several top individual performers such as Joy Gill who won the individual cross-country title and Isiah Hudgens who was named Southland Indoor Athlete of the Year. Riedel also coached eight athletes to NCAA West Regional during outdoor season and 12 to the NCAA South Central Regional for cross-country.
His student-athletes had continued excellence in the classroom as nine student athletes were named to the Southland All-Academic teams, led by Griffin Neal who was named Southland XC Student-Athlete of the Year.
The 2021-2022 was a record-breaking year for the Cardinals! The men’s track and field team took home their first-ever Conference titles during the indoor and outdoor seasons both with program-record point totals (indoors 131.5 and outdoors 157.5). Both efforts were outstanding full-team efforts with balanced scoring among all event groups. The women’s program was far from left behind as they finished runner-up at the indoor and outdoor championships, setting team scoring records both times (indoors 120 and outdoors 159). Not to be outdone, the men’s cross country team set a program record with a runner-up finish during the fall season with a program-record low 65 points. In all, Riedel oversaw a program-record 56 Southland All-Conference awards.
Over his tenure at UIW, Coach Riedel has seen the Cardinals send athletes to the NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I National Championships. The first qualifier came in 2007 when Morgan Moszee competed in the long jump and finished 7th to earn All-American. Then in 2009 the first relay team qualified and the women’s 4x100 went to the championships. In 2010, another long jumper, Lauren Pratt, went to the elite meet. Then came 2011 when the 4x100 women’s relay team qualified along with Elodie Barre in the long jump where she finished seventh to become an All-American. The men’s 4x100 relay team earned All-America status in 2012 and again qualified for the national meet in 2013 along with Tommy Brown in the 100 and 200.
In 2013, Riedel took his largest contingent of athletes to the NCAA Division II national meet. The men’s and women’s 4x100 relay teams both qualified as well as athletes in four other individual events. Unfortunately, no one broke through to earn All-America honors.
The 2014 team was headlined by Jasmine Waring and her Southland Conference title in the women’s high jump. It was the first SLC championship for an Incarnate Word athlete. The 4x100-meter relay team added second-team all-conference honors.
In 2015, the UIW track and field and cross country teams took a big step forward within the Southland Conference. The women's cross country team got things started with a strong sixth-place finish at the conference meet while the men grabbed eighth place. During the track season, the women finished fifth and the men seventh at indoors. During the outdoor season, the men outscored the women for the first time in a conference meet.
The men's track program picked up their first All-Southland Conference performers in 2015 when Jamarkese Williams took third in the high jump and the 4x100-meter relay team also finished third.
Both sophomore Garett Cortez and freshman Danielle Martinez broke school records for the highest finish in a conference championship when the duo earned Second Team All-Southland Conference honors at the 2016 Cross Country Championships. Cortez placed seventh out of 97 runners and Martinez finished eighth out of 89 participants. Cortez was also named Academic All-Conference.
The 2017 and 2018 men’s cross country squads finished third at the Southland Championships to set a program record. The 2018 men’s squad, favored as the best team in the conference all year redeemed themselves with a program-best seventh-place finish at the South-Central regional championships to beat all other Southland teams. Cortez finished 14th at the regional championship to earn USTFCCCA All-Region and set a program-best finish.
On the track side in 2017, the Cardinals broke a plethora of school records. Dominique Allen repeated as the SLC outdoor champion in the 800m, while both Jerica Love (100m hurdles) and Cortez (1500m) each bettered their school records. The DMR shattered the school record at the prestigious Texas Relays. Uchenna Nnaji set a Benson Stadium record in the 200m at the UIW Quad. Clinton Cole broke a four-year 60m dash record at the Oklahoma Invitational.
Riedel's largest success at the NCAA Division I level so far has been sprinter Chris DeWitt. DeWitt was the team's top athlete in 2014 and 2015 and he earned Capital One Academic All-America First Team honors in each season.
Sarea Alexander became the Cardinal's first NCAA Division I All-American when she captured seventh indoor (2019) and sixth outdoor (2019) in the long jump. Alexander’s All-American certificates capped a hall-of-fame-worthy career and her eight conference titles in both the LJ and TJ and three runner-up finishes in the same events.
Alexander, 2019 Southland Athlete-of-the-year, by way of a conference record in the LJ and title in the TJ, led the women’s squad to a program-best runner-up finish and program record 120 points!
In the middle-distance events, Riedel has tutored Garett Cortez to six All-Conference awards and two-conference titles in 1500 in 2018 and 2019. Dominique Allen became only the second female in conference history to win three 800m Southland titles outdoors (2016, 2017, 2019) with an opportunity to make history in 2020 and become the first female to win four 800m titles in a career. Dominique has also run the third-fastest 800m outdoor time in Southland Conference history.
To date, every school record (18 men’s and women’s indoor records and all 21 men, 21 women outdoor) has been set during Riedel’s tenure.
Riedel’s teams have always earned more than their fair share of academic awards. The USTFCCCA organization has recognized UIW teams as well as individuals on its annual academic “all” lists including three individuals in 2010 and five more in 2011. The women’s team had a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team member every year from 2006-22 and the men had one every year from 2007-20. In fact, often, Riedel’s teams are among the best in the Southland Conference in cumulative team GPA.
The women’s cross country team fared quite well within the Lone Star Conference in 2011 and 2012. Riedel had five all-conference performers over that time. The team had a school-record six All-Academic Team members in 2012 and posted a sixth-place finish at the Regional Meet, the best in school history.
Both programs have been a pillar in the community, focusing on community engagement and service as one of the core tenants of the program. The programs regularly complete more than 1000 hours of community service each school year. Riedel believes is important for every student-athlete in the program to be a well-rounded person, excelling in the classroom, civically, and in competition.
In addition to coaching the Cardinals in cross country and in track and field, Riedel has been an instructor in the Incarnate Word Department of Communications. Immediately prior to joining the Cardinals staff, he taught communications courses at San Antonio’s Northwest Vista College. He also has taught speech communications classes at Cisco Junior College.
Before moving to San Antonio, he worked two years as the assistant cross country and track coach at McMurry. During that time he earned his USA Track and Field Level 1 certification. During the summer of 2006 he made his USATF Level II Certification in endurance events. In the summer of 2007, he completed his USATF certification in sprints, hurdles, and relays and in the summer of 2008 he completed his USATF Level II Certification in all jumping events. In December of 2018, Riedel completed his USTFCCCA Strength and Conditioning Coach national certification.
A native of Castroville and a graduate of Medina Valley High School, Derek ran four years of cross country and three years of track at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas.
Riedel finished his Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership and Adult Education in 2012. He did his dissertation on public speaking apprehension and treatment techniques for apprehension. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from McMurry and a master’s degree in communications from Abilene Christian University.
Riedel and his wife, Mary, reside in San Antonio and have a son, Gavin, and a daughter, Gwyneth.
