Casey Thom Position: Assistant Coach

Veteran track and field coach, Casey Thom is now in his third year as an assistant coach with the Rice Owls men's track and field team, after spending one year as a volunteer for both the men's and women's programs. He works with the sprinters, throwers and multi-event athletes in addition to handling meet operations. Thom has made an immediate impact on the success of the Owls. During the 2007 outdoor season, Luke Stadel won the Conference USA shot put crown and qualified for the NCAA championship. Philip Adam added his name to the Rice record books during the indoor season, setting the school record in the heptathlon en route to winning the C-USA championship. Adam recorded a provisional qualifying mark of 7,151 points during the outdoor season.

Prior to his arrival at Rice, Thom served coaching stints at Tulane and UCLA. In 2005, he guided Nastassja Hall to a Brazilian under-23 national record in the heptathlon. He also assisted in the development of South Korean pole vault record-holder and Olympian Yoo Kim. Under Thom's tutelage, UCLA's Chris Staton qualified for the NCAA championships in 2004 under Thom's guidance. Altogether, nine of his pupils have qualified for the NCAA regional champions with seven advancing on to the NCAA championship.

Thom was a stand-out decathlete at Nebraska, with a personal best of 7,522 points. In 2003, he earned All-America honors in the decathlon. Thom received his bachelor's degree in classics from Nebraska (2003), and he also has a master's degree in sport coaching from the United States Sports Academy.

Thom is certified by the National Strength and Condition Coaches Association, and has achieved certification from USA Track & Field as a Level II sprints, throws, jumps and multi-events coach. He is also a certified coaching education instructor.

Casey and his wife, Carly, reside in Houston.