Anthony Drealan is entering his twelfth year as Dakota State University head cross country coach and his 11th season as DSU's head track and field coach.
He guided the Trojan men’s squad to their historic fifth consecutive North Star Athletic Association Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the newly Dan Beacom Track Complex on DSU campus. The Trojan women’s track & field team finished third at the outdoor track & field conference championships, scoring the most points since the 2021 conference meet with 187.5 points.
Two DSU athletes earned NAIA All-America honors at the 2024 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.
Dakota State recorded the highest place finish at the 2024 NAIA Indoor Track & Championships in Brookings, finishing ninth with 21 points. The Trojans also established the most points scored at the NAIA indoor track & field national meet, thanks to a single national meet record with eight NAIA All-America accolades (4 x 800-meter relay, two athletes in the heptathlon, 1-mile run, and 60-meter hurdles).
Drealan led DSU men’s team to their third consecutive NSAA Indoor Track & Field Conference title, the first time since 1996-98 that the Trojans had won three straight men’s indoor track & field titles. Dakota State scored in all 18 events, fueling to their fifth conference title in the past six years.
The Trojan women’s team finished as a runner-up in the 2024 NSAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, hitting a new conference meet record of 182 points. Lindsey Roth was named to the NSAA Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet by scoring the most points in the running events.
Dakota State finished second in both men’s and women’s NSAA cross country conference championship meets in 2023. He guided Valerija Curikova to the North Star Runner of the Year, and first NAIA Women’s Cross Country All-America since 2001.
Drealan was inducted into the 2023 Dakota State Athletics Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as cross-country and track athlete. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame with the members of the 2009 Dakota Athletic Conference Men’s Cross-Country Championship squad.
The 2022-23 season was another memorable historic season for Dakota State University cross-country and track & field teams.
During the 2023 spring season, the Trojans extended their men’s outdoor track & field program to four consecutive conference titles after hitting a conference meet record of 310 points. Conner Tordsen earned the first male outdoor track & field national champion after winning the discus throw, while Cody Farland collected his first NAIA All-America in the 800-meters at the 2023 NAIA national meet in Marion, Ind. In addition, Tordsen earned the conference's most valuable athlete awards for the second straight year.
DSU men’s indoor track & field squad scored points in all 18 events at the 2023 NSAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Treshawn Roberts collected the national runner-up in NAIA men’s heptathlon, while Tordsen collected NAIA Indoor Track & Field All-America status in the hammer throw.
Drealan guided the Trojans to their fifth consecutive North Star Athletic Association men’s cross-country title with a conference meet record low of 19 points, thanks to seven runners placing in the top 10. The Trojan men’s placed 33rd at the national meet, while Roth qualified for the women’s national meet after earning a runner-up honor in the conference meet. It was DSU’s sixth North Star men’s cross-country title and 11th overall conference title in program history.
Drealan led his 2021 men’s cross-country squad to its historic fourth consecutive North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Cross Country Championship, breaking the previous record of three consecutive conference championships in the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference from 1989-91.
He coached Jacia Christiansen to her third straight appearance in the NAIA Women’s Cross-Country National Championships in 2021. She finished her impressive running career as a four-time NSAA Women’s Cross-Country All-Conference performer, the first Trojan women’s runner to be named All-Conference four times since its league inception in 2013-14.
The Trojans returned as NSAA Men’s Indoor Track & Field champion in 2022, claiming its third conference team title within a span of four years. DSU women’s squad finished second with a new team conference meet record of 178 points. Cody Farland earned the NSAA Indoor Men’s Track Athlete-of-the-Meet and was voted as the league’s most valuable athlete. Christiansen shared the NSAA Indoor Women’s Track & Field Most Valuable Athlete honor.
Dakota State had 10 athletes in the 2022 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. He coached Treshawn Roberts to its first ever All-America heptathlon, the second time in DSU program history to have All-American indoor multi-events athletes (Kurt Wallace – 1997 pentathlon).
Drealan led the Trojan men to its third consecutive NSAA outdoor track & field conference title, racking up the conference meet record of 300 points. It was the first time in program history that DSU men’s track & field had won three straight outdoor conference titles. Tordsen shared the league Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete-of-the-Meet and was voted as the conference’s outdoor most valuable athlete award. Josie Wolf earned the NSAA Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete-of-the-Meet.
The Trojans also sent 10 athletes to the 2022 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. T. Roberts became the second Trojan athlete to earn All-America status in decathlon (Darwin Robinson – 1972). Tordsen was the first DSU men’s hammer thrower to claim the NAIA All-America distinction.
Dakota State completed the sweep of the men’s cross country, men’s indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field conference championships twice (2018-19 season and 2021-22 season).
The Trojans had a pair of individual champions in the 2020 NSAA cross country conference meet with Jacia Christiansen winning the women’s title and Alex Derr capturing the men’s title.
Drealan coached two NAIA All-American men's indoor track athletes in 2021, with SenQuavius Johnson earning the status in the 60-meter dash and Derr in the 800-meters. Derr earned the NSAA Indoor Men's Track Athlete of the Meet, while Traia Hubbard was honored as the NSAA Indoor Women's Field Athlete of the Meet.
Hubbard was named to the NAIA Women's Indoor Track & Field All-America honor in shot put in 2021. It was her second straight season that she earned the All-America status, the first All-America shot-put thrower in DSU school history.
DSU captured its second straight NSAA Men's Outdoor Track & Field conference championships in spring 2021. Additionally, the women's track & field team finished second with the most team points scored in the conference meet since the league was formed in 2013-14.
A total of 13 athletes qualified for the 2021 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. The Trojans claimed its first-ever NAIA All-America status in the men's 4 x 400-meter relay in school history, led by Riley Greenhoff, Alex Derr, Joshua Snook, and Brenner Furlong.
More honors and awards pouring in Drealan’s 2019-20 campaign in both cross country and track and field. The DSU Trojan men’s cross-country team won their second straight NSAA conference title, paced by Braden Curnow who won the individual conference title for the second straight year. His Trojan men’s squad finished 21st at the NAIA Men’s Cross-Country Championships, thanks to Curnow who placed sixth at the national meet which was the highest place-finisher by any DSU men’s cross-country runner at the national meet in program history.
Drealan also guided the Trojan women’s cross-country team to its first-ever North Star Athletic Association conference title in program history. Oddly, the Trojans and Dickinson State (N.D.) shared the conference title with each team scoring 41 points. Dakota State, however, was the top North Star conference team in the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships. It was the first time since 1997 that the Trojan women’s cross country team squad won the conference title and qualified for the NAIA national meet.
Drealan led the Trojans men’s track & field team to its back-to-back North Star Athletic Association conference title in 2020. He also earned his second straight NSAA Men’s Indoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year award. He also guided to three DSU athletes that earned NAIA All-America honors at the 2020 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, including Curnow (5000-meters) and first-timers by Maxwell Cruse (5000-meters) and Traia Hubbard (shot put).
Drealan led the Trojans to one of the most successful seasons in program history, sweeping the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) men’s cross country and track & field titles in 2018-19 season for the first time since the 1996-97 season (former SDIC conference). DSU was one of the 18 USTFCCCA NAIA Men’s Programs of the Year that won the men’s cross country, men’s indoor track & field and outdoor track & field conference titles.
He guided the Trojans to its first-ever NSAA men’s outdoor track & field conference title in program history with a conference meet record of 230 points, dethroning four-time conference champion Dickinson State (N.D.) in 2019.
He also coached DSU women’s its team record of 160 points for a second-place finish, the highest-ever place finisher in the NSAA outdoor conference meet in women’s program history. Traia Hubbard was named to the NSAA Women’s Field Athlete-of-the-Meet in the 2019 outdoor conference meet.
Both DSU women’s and men’s track & field teams scored its most points ever in the 2019 North Star Athletic Association Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Trojans claimed their first-ever North Star conference indoor track & field title with 194 points, ending the Blue Hawks’ four-time reigning champion. The Trojans scored a team record of 102 points in the women’s division, placing third.
In 2014, Drealan guided his men’s cross-country squad to their first-ever North Star Athletic Association conference team champions. The Trojan men’s cross-country team was the first sport at Dakota State University to win a North Star Athletic Association conference team title.
In the past 12 years, Drealan’s athletes enjoyed terrific success at the national and conference levels. Under Drealan’s guidance, Alex Derr swept the NSAA most valuable honors in men's cross country, men's indoor track, and men's outdoor track in 2020-21. Braden Curnow earned NAIA All-America honor at the 2018 national cross country meet after placing 19th. He also collected his second All-America honor at the 2019 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, where he finished 4th in the 5000-meters national final.
Four throwers made their historic marks in Dakota State track & field programs history. Most recently, Oliviyah Thornton became the first NAIA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field hammer throw All-America in program history in 2024. In addition, the Trojan men’s 4 x 800-meter relay team, along with a pair of athletes in heptathlon, a runner in the 1-mile run, and a hurdler in the 60-meter hurdles claimed the NAIA All-American awards in the same indoor track national meet, the most single national meet in DSU track & field program history.
Tordsen was the first men’s hammer thrower to be named NAIA All-America in 2022. Hubbard became the first women’s shot-put thrower to earn two consecutive NAIA Indoor All-America status in 2020 and 2021. Tyler Lems, two-time NSAA Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete-of-the-Meet, also became the first DSU thrower to be a two-time NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field All-America discus thrower in 2018 and 2019.
Andy Coy was a national champion at the 2012 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the 1000-meter run. Coy also set a South Dakota Collegiate record with 2 minutes and 24.94 seconds 1000-meter clocking. Coy capped off his track campaign with a fourth-place finish in the 1500-meters at the 2012 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, running a 3:47.66 DSU record time. Drealan also helped Matthew Fideler become a national runner-up at the 2012 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the mile run with a DSU record time of 4:06.64.
Coy came back in 2013 to finish as runner-up in the 1000-meter run at the 2013 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The 4 x 800-meter women’s relay team had great success as well, qualifying for the 2013 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships, and breaking the indoor and outdoor 4 x 800-meters school records. Nic Penning capped his career by becoming the national runner-up in the marathon in a DSU school record time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 30.90 seconds at the 2013 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In 2014, Drealan coached another NAIA All-American runner Michael Hoffman to a seventh-place finish in the men’s marathon at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National meet.
Drealan guided Mark Moeller to an NAIA All-American after finishing fifth at the 2015 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. Moeller was fifth in the men's 800-meter run after a thrilling semifinals race that had to be decided by .004 seconds for the final spot in the finals race.
After a medical redshirt in 2016, Moeller came back to complete his eligibility and qualified for the 2017 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Nationals. He finished with another fifth-place finish, earning his third overall All-American honor during his impressive running career at DSU.
The 2016 and 2017 DSU men's cross-country team recorded the fifth-best team's grade point average among the NAIA Men's Cross-Country programs. The Trojan cross-country and track & field teams had been consistently honored by the national office as NAIA Scholar Team award.
In all, Drealan’s athletes have earned two (2) individual national championships, six (6) individual national runners-up, 41 NAIA Track & Field All-American honors, 399 North Star Track & Field All-Conference honors, 38 NSAA Cross Country All-Conference awards and have broken numerous (62) DSU Track & Field school records.
A total of 127 athletes (women's and men's cross country, women's and men's track & field) were named to Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes for their academic success in the classroom.
Drealan was named to the NSAA Men's Cross-Country Coach of the Year five (5) times (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023), five (5) NSAA Men's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024), and five (5) straight NSAA Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).
Drealan is originally from Fulda, Minn. and graduated in May 2011 from Dakota State University with a degree in business education. While at Dakota State, Drealan competed for the Trojan cross country and track teams. Drealan holds numerous school records, including the indoor and outdoor Distance Medley Relay (DMR), as well as the outdoor 5000-meters record.
Drealan was a two-time NAIA All-American, once as a part of a national runner-up DMR squad at the 2010 NAIA National Indoor Track & Field Championships, and at the 2009 NAIA National Cross-Country Championships. Drealan also helped DSU win its first-ever Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) championship in cross country during the fall of 2009.
Drealan received his master’s degree in health and human performance through Adams State University in June 2013. He resides in Madison, S.D. with his wife Samantha Drealan (Warnke) with their sons Westin, Harrison, and Finley.
