Tweet

Andrew Dubs enters his first season with the Virginia Tech track and field program, handling the throw events as announced on July 28, 2017.

Dubs comes to Tech from the University of Iowa, where he had been serving as the Assistant Coach for Throws and the Director of Track and Field Facilities. Dubs oversaw all aspects of Iowa’s Indoor and Outdoor track venues, including the complete remodel and renovation of the Iowa REC building and bringing a brand new state-of-the-art Beynon track to the Hawkeyes. The new track is the only one of its kind in the United States.

In 2017, Dubs led the Iowa throwers to one of their best seasons in program history. During the indoor season, Reno Tuufuli (18.84m) and Avery Meyers (18.70m) both improved in Iowa's all-time list, placing third and fourth, respectively, in the shot put. Outdoor, under Dubs' guidance, freshman Laulauga Tausaga became the first female in Iowa history to win a Big Ten Outdoor Championship in the women's discus, setting a facility record at Penn State with a throw of 55.00m. Iowa had three throwers represent the school at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time since 2008 (Tuufuli: 62.06m, Meyers: 56.61m, and Tausaga: 59.37m). Tausaga (Discus) and Tuufuli (Discus) combined to score six points for their team and became first-team All-Americans; the first time in program history that Iowa has had multiple first-team All-American throwers. In addition, Dubs led Tuufuli and Tausaga to USA Championship berths as underclassmen. Tausaga went on to win her first National Championship (Discus) and the first of its kind by any Iowa student-athlete in school history.  Upon her victory, she earned a spot on the USA National team to compete at the Pan American Junior Championship in Trujillo, Peru.  While in Peru, Dubs led Tausaga to break the meet and Pan American record in the process with a throw of 59.29 meters.  Tausaga ended the season ranked No.1 in the World (U20) by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF).

In 2016, Dubs led seven Hawkeyes to B1G Ten finals. During the indoor season both Reno Tuufuli and Avery Meyers qualified for the Shot Put final at the B1G Ten Championships, marking the first time since 2007 that Iowa placed two men in the shot put final in the same season. The outdoor campaign saw Tuufuli lead the way for Iowa in both the Shot Put and Discus. Dubs guided Tuufuli to a runner-up finish in the Discus at the B1G Ten Outdoor Championships while also going on to Qualify for the NCAA finals. Tuufuli had a personal-best toss of 60.71m (199’2”) to finish the year as the No. 1 ranked freshman in the NCAA and fourth on the Iowa all-time list. Overall, the 2016 season saw Dubs lead Avery Meyers (shot put and discus), Reno Tuufuli (shot put and discus), Alex Balke (javelin) and Will Dougherty (decathlon) to NCAA Championship berths. During her redshirt year, Dubs also coached freshman Nia Britt to a spot in the USA Junior National Championship in the women’s shot put.

In 2015, his first at Iowa, Dubs guided seven throwers to qualify for B1G Ten finals. Outdoors saw Annemie Smith break the school record in the hammer throw (60.99m). Smith’s throw also went on to break the South African national record. On the men’s side, Gabe Hull led the way in earning a runner-up podium position in the discus with a season best of 57.91m. In total at the Outdoor Championships, Iowa was the only school to place every thrower higher than seeded and have new lifetime or season bests in the process. Six throwers went on to advance to the NCAA Championships: Gabe Hull (discus), Alex Balke (javelin), Sam Jones (javelin), Annemie Smith (hammer), Dakotah Goodell (discus), and Kayla Hochhalter (javelin). 2015 saw five Javelin throwers land on the program's list of all-time top 10 performers. Although redshirting during the NCAA season, Dubs guided freshman Reno Tuufuli to a lifetime best in the discus to finish runner-up at the USA Jr. National Championships to earn a spot on the USA National team for the Pan American Junior Championships.

Prior to Iowa, Dubs coached at Harvard handling the throws for both the men and women programs. The 2013-14 season saw the Crimson throwers reach new levels of success, including internationally. Freshman Nikki Okwelogu led the way in both the shot put and discus culminating in school records for the Indoor shot put (15.31m), Outdoor shot put (16.05m), and discus (53.31m). Dubs led Okwelogu to Ivy League titles in both Indoors and Outdoors in the shot put and a runner-up finish in the discus, while earning a spot on the Nigerian National team. In International competition, Dubs led Okwelogu to her first ever National Championship title in the shot put and a runner-up in the discus at the Nigerian National Championships in Calabar, Nigeria. Okwelogu went on to qualify for the African Championships in Marrakesh, Morocco, where she brought home the silver medal in the discus. The youngest entry at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, Okwelogu went on to advance to her first-ever major international final by placing ninth in the shot put. Dubs also led school record holder Adabelle Ekechukwu to another stellar campaign as she went to claim another Ivy title, the third of her career. Ekechukwu claimed her second-straight `Most Outstanding Field Performer of the Meet' at the championships. In total for Ekechukwu, she owns all of the top-10 performances in Ivy League history in the weight throw, each over 20.00 meters.

On the men's side, Dubs led senior, Dustin Brode, to a new school record in the shot put with a toss of 18.51m (60’8.75”). Brode went on the finish runner-up both indoors and outdoors in the event and qualify for the NCAA Championships. Junior, Ben Glauser, moved to No. 2 all-time in Harvard history with his weight throw toss of 19.62m (64’4.5”) where he was runner-up in the conference indoors. Outdoors, Glauser went on to bring home the Ivy League championship in the hammer with a new lifetime best of 63.71m (209’0”) and qualify for the NCAA Championships. In total, Dubs guided the throwers to an NCAA leading 104 points scored in conference championships, including 51 points at the indoor championships becoming the first throws group in Ivy League history to surpass the 50-point barrier.

In 2012-13, Dubs' throwing corps enjoyed a stellar campaign in his first season with Harvard. Between the men's and women's groups, five student-athletes claimed All-Ivy League accolades with Ekechukwu being named `Most Outstanding Field Performer of the Meet' at the Indoor Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. Ekechukwu would go onto garner indoor All-America honors in the weight throw, breaking the school and Ivy League records in the process, and leading the women's indoor team to its first Ivy championship since 2000.

On February 9, 2013 at the H-Y-P Tri Meet, Ekechukwu became the first women in Ivy League history to surpass the 20m barrier with her first round throw of 20.03 meters, later improving to 20.11 meters in round three. Two weeks later, at the conference championships, she improved that mark while shattering the meet record by 7 feet, with a throw of 20.83m (68’4.25”).

As a group, the throwers tallied three individual titles at the Indoor Ivy League Championships: Ekechukwu (women's weight throw), Brode (men's shot put), and Glauser (men's weight throw), with all three student-athletes achieving lifetimes best in the process. Outdoors, Brode broke a 44-year-old school record in the shot put at the Ivy League Championships with a throw of 18.20m (59’8.5”), while garnering a trio of All-Ivy accolades (shot put, discus, hammer) in his junior season. He later went on to improve his own school record at the NCAA East Preliminary round with a toss of 18.45m (60’6.5”) en route to qualifying for the NCAA Championships where he earned All-America honors. In all, the throwers saw great success during the 2013 season, totaling 86 points at the Ivy League Championships, Indoor and Outdoors.

In 2011-12, prior to his arrival in Cambridge, Dubs spent one season at the University of North Carolina as an assistant coach. After one year at the helm coaching the throwers, the Tar Heels saw great improvements. The group had an outstanding year culminating in each thrower either having a personal record or placing higher than seeded at the ACC Championships. Dubs coached seniors, Emory Parsons (discus, 176’5”, 53.78m) and Kwabena Keene (shot put, 58’11.5”, 17.97m), to new lifetime bests and first team All-ACC honors by each placing third in their respective events. The throws group as a whole combined for three ACC scorers, two first team All-ACC Honors and two NCAA qualifiers. The throws recruiting class was among the nation's best in 2012, with the women's class consisting of No. 1-ranked U.S. hammer, weight throw, and shot put throwers, while also signing one of the top discus throwers on the men's side.

In 2010-11, Dubs began his collegiate coaching career at Auburn University where he was working as a volunteer assistant coach for the Tigers under Head Coach Ralph Spry and throws coach Jerry Clayton.  At Auburn, Dubs assisted Clayton with standout Auburn throwers Eric Werskey (NCAA shot put All-American), Stephen Saenz (NCAA shot put All-American and NCAA discus qualifier) and Marcus Popenfoose (NCAA qualifier in the shot put and discus). He also helped the Tigers with team administration in meet management, compliance, team travel and recruiting.

A former standout thrower for the University of Connecticut, Dubs was a three-time NCAA qualifier and four-time BIG EAST champion in the shot put for the Huskies. He was also an All-BIG EAST Conference selection eight times in the shot put and twice in the discus. During his time with the Huskies, Dubs was also an active member and president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Dubs, a native of Holland, Pennsylvania, earned a B.S in Kinesiology: coaching and administration from UConn in 2009, and earned a M. Ed. in higher education and sport management from Auburn in 2012.