Josh Priester has served as an assistant coach with the Westmont College Track and Field since 2012. Priester primarily coaches the Warriors’ combined events (heptathlon/decathlon) athletes and jumps in addition to directing the sprints/hurdles training programs.
Westmont school records have been broken in both indoor & outdoor women’s heptathlon, high jump and long jump. Under his direct guidance in combined events and jumps, Warriors have claimed 38 NAIA All-American awards and five NAIA National Championships.
In total, Westmont men have earned 51 NAIA All-American honors and the women have earned 102 since Priester joined the Warrior coaching staff. 12 NAIA National Championships have been won with Priester on staff.
In addition to his coaching duties, Priester assists in coordinating camps and clinics on campus as well serving as the Meet Director for both the Sam Adams & Jim Klein Combined Events Meets.
Priester is the Executive Director and Head Coach of the Santa Barbara Track Club (SBTC) at Westmont. The SBTC provides an opportunity for post-collegiate/professional athletes to continue training within the sport.
Since its formation in 2012-2013, the SBTC has been one of the most decorated track clubs in the United States. SBTC athletes have garnered three United States National Championships in the heptathlon, as well as 23 Top-10 USA finishes in both indoor and outdoor combined events. SBTC athletes have accumulated nine podium (top-three) finishes in USA National Championship competition.
In 2016, Barbara Nwaba became the first Team USA Olympian from the SBTC when she earned the title of “America’s Greatest Athlete” after winning the US Olympic Trials in Eugene. Nwaba went on to finish 12th in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. www.santabarbaratc.com
Prior to working at Westmont, Priester was the Associate Director of Track & Field at UC Santa Barbara (2008-2012). In this position, Priester worked with UCSB sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers & combined events athletes.
During Priester’s tenure at UCSB, he helped the program reach new heights in track & field, which culminated in a 2012 Big West Conference Championship and an NCAA 2nd place finisher in the women’s heptathlon which marked the highest finish by a Gaucho in the program’s history.
Priester holds a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Performance from George Fox University (OR) and a master's in sports management from the United States Sports Academy.
He and his wife Nicole live in Carpinteria with their dog Zoe.
