Andrew Dubs

Associate Head Coach Andrew Dubs enters his seventh season of coaching the throwing events for the Virginia Tech track and field program.

2023 was a historic year for the Hokie throwers culminating in one of the highest point productions by a throws group in ACC history. Indoors saw Rebecca Mammel and Sara Killinen garner All-American honors in the weight throw. Mammel also broke the all-time ACC record with a throw of 23.69m (77’ 8.75”) at the Virginia Tech Challenge. Dubs led newcomer Katrin Brzyszkowska to set the furthest shot put throw by a freshman in Hokie history tossing 16.83m (55’ 2.75”). Fellow freshman Barbora Stejfova contributed with a massive lifetime best at the ACC Championships to finish in fourth, behind Mammel and Killinen who completed the one-two sweep.

On the men’s side, Dubs led Tyson Jones to another title in the shot put as Jones won the Indoor ACC Championship on his final throw. Collectively, the Hokie throwers scored 43 points at the indoor championships leading to a sweep of the men and women’s team titles.

Outdoors the throws squad picked up right where it left off with big contributions from both newcomers and upperclassmen. Leading the way, Mammel yet again took the ACC title, this time in the Hammer. Killinen earned silver and Stejfova finished fourth. In the deepest field in conference history, Essence Henderson and Brzykowska locked in big season best to finish third and fifth. Combined, the Hokie throwers scored 85 points between the Indoor and Outdoor championship, 30 points more than the next closest school in 2023 and the second highest total in ACC history.

Nationally, Henderson went on the qualify for the NCAA Championship in both the Discus and Shot Put garnering All-American honors. Stejfova went on the be the only true freshman in the field to advance to the NCAA final in Austin, TX.

Dubs continued to propel his throwers to new heights on both the conference and national stages in 2022. In just her second collegiate season, Sara Killinen stole the spotlight in the hammer by setting a new ACC record of 71.02m (233’ 0”) en route to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, becoming the first woman in conference history to throw further than 71 meters. Earlier in the season, Killinen shattered the Hokies’ school record with a toss of 69.50m (228’ 0”) to win at the Desert Heat Classic. Killinen now holds the top three throws in school history after breaking Dorotea Habazin’s 11-year-old school record. Indoors, Killinen took silver in the weight throw at the ACC Championships with a mark of 22.21m (72’ 10.5”) and set a new Finnish national record in the event.
 
In her first year under Dubs’ instruction, transfer student Rebecca Mammel dominated the ACC indoors in the weight throw. Dubs led the Michigan native to a nearly perfect season, as Mammel picked up four wins including the ACC title. Mammel’s winning throw at the ACC meet was marked at 23.08m (75’ 8.75”) to set a new Virginia Tech record and ACC Championships record. Mammel registered another monster throw of 22.73m (74’ 7”) at the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala. to place seventh and earn first team All-American honors.
 
Outdoors, Dubs’ throwers delivered across the board as he guided the squad to huge performances. Khalil Bedoui clinched bronze in the hammer at the ACC Championships before advancing to the NCAA Championships with a lifetime-best mark of 67.72m (222’ 2”) at the NCAA East Prelims. In Oregon, Bedoui earned a 17^th-place finish to clinch honorable mention All-American honors. Another athlete excelling outdoors for Dubs was Essence Henderson, who smashed her own discus school record by winning the competition at the NCAA East Prelims with a throw of 58.83m (193’ 0”). An 11^th-place finish at NCAA outdoors saw Henderson earn second team All-America, the third of her career under Dubs. At the ACC Championships, Henderson picked up a silver medal in the shot put and a fourth-place finish in the discus to take home two All-ACC honors.

During the 2021 indoor season, Dubs and the throws group continued to make strides, as the shot put duo of Tyson Jones and Essence Henderson both finished second at the ACC Championships. Dubs helped true freshman Sara Killinen record multiple personal bests in the weight throw, eventually finishing in sixth at the ACC Indoor Championships with a heave of 19.77m. Dubs’ throwers helped the Hokies to the indoor men’s team title, while Henderson went on to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Entering the meet ranked 10^th in the nation, Henderson tossed a lifetime best of 17.36m (56’ 11.5”) to finish 4^th and earn first-team All-America honors.

Outdoors, the Hokies’ throwers dominated the ACC and positioned themselves as one of the top throws’ groups in the country. Tyson Jones (19.75m / 64’ 9.75”) and Essence Henderson (17.23m / 56’ 6.5”) improved their runner-up finishes indoors to sweep the men’s and women’s shot put titles at the ACC Outdoor Championships. Alexios Prodanas (70.46m / 231’ 2”) became the sixth hammer thrower in school history to surpass the 70-meter barrier en-route to winning his gold medal for Tech, claiming the men’s hammer title by over 3.5 meters (11 feet). Both Prodanas and Henderson advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championship Finals in Eugene, Ore. In what turned out to be the deepest field for women’s discus in NCAA history, Henderson took seventh in the event with a new lifetime best of 57.72 meters (189’ 4”). On the men’s side, in what also resulted in the deepest field in collegiate history, Prodanas threw three new personal bests, finishing fifth in the hammer with a new lifetime best of 71.08 meters (233’ 2”). Both Henderson and Prodanas earned first-team All-American honors.

Across both the indoor and outdoor seasons, Dubs’ coached his throwers to new school records in four events, as Essence Henderson set the best marks in Hokies’ history in discus, shot put outdoors and indoors, while Tyson Jones set the record mark in shot put outdoors.

In 2020, during the indoor season, Dubs continued the development of Tyson Jones as he earned conference honors and set a new personal best of 19.02 meters in the Shot Put, giving him the second-best mark in program history. Coming over from Football in only January, Dubs developed true-freshman Bryan Hudson to a new lifetime best of 17.08m to place eighth and score at the ACC Championships. He led newcomers Essence Henderson and Alexios Prodanas to elevate their performances as well. At the ACC Championships, Henderson threw a personal best mark on four of her six attempts ending with a 3-foot best of 16.66m to win silver in the Shot Put while helping lead the women to their first ACC Team Title since 2008. Prodanas went on to throw a personal best (20.07m) in the Weight Throw to claim fourth.     

2019 saw Dubs elevate Tech’s throws group into one of the best in the country while making NCAA history along the way. During the indoor season, he helped freshman Tyson Jones (17.69m) place fifth in the Shot Put at the ACC Championships, while Isaiah Rogers (18.19m and 20.74m) finished second in the Shot Put and Weight Throw, respectively, to win ACC Men’s Field MVP and help secure a team title on the men’s side. The Outdoor season was just as good for the Hokies. At the ACC Outdoor Championships on May 9, history was made in the women’s Hammer Throw as teammates Pavla Kuklova (65.78m) and Emma Thor (65.32m) became only the fourth pair of teammates in NCAA History to have one school boast two women with throws over 65 meters in the same season. The Hokies join the ranks of Southern California (2012), Southern Illinois (2011), and Arizona State (2008) as the only schools to ever accomplish this feat. Kuklova and Thor went on to lead six Hokie throwers to births at the NCAA Championships.  Rogers (18.70m) and Jones (18.50m) moved onto Tech’s all-time Shot Put list, placing third and fifth. Kuklova earned All-America honors for the third consecutive season in the Hammer throw, while Rogers made his first NCAA Championships appearance in the Shot Put. At the Czech Republic National Championships, Kuklova went on to earn a podium finish with her Bronze Medal performance in the Hammer. At the same meet, Marek Barta went on to win his first ever National Championship with a new lifetime best of 62.52m.

In 2018, Dubs guided Marek Barta to a top-5 NCAA national ranking while also becoming the ACC Outdoor Champion in the Discus throw after two years of finishing as the runner-up in the event. On the women’s side, Dubs coached Emma Thor to gold as she became the women’s hammer throw Champion. Thor surpassed teammate Pavla Kuklova on the final throw of the competition to lead the Hokies to a Gold-Silver finish. With Barta and Thor winning individual titles, it became the first time since 2015 that the Hokies had a throws champion on both the men’s and women’s side at the outdoor meet. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Pavla Kuklova (66.18m) threw 3-meter lifetime best and the second-best mark in program history to earn First Team All-America honors in the hammer throw.  Along with Kuklova, Thor also earned All-America status with a throw of 62.90m.

Dubs was announced as the Assistant Coach in charge of throwing events on July 28, 2017. Dubs came 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 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, Indoors 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 throwers Eric Werskey (Shot Put All-American), Stephen Saenz (Shot Put All-American) and Marcus Popenfoose. 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.