Mike Dempsey, one of RIT’s finest track and field performers in program history, returns for his six season as an assistant coach with the program in 2018-19. Dempsey will work with the pole vaulters.
Last season, Dempsey mentored Ethan Maguire, who earned All-American honors in the pole vault at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and competed in the same event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
A four-time All-American in the pole vault in just two seasons, he earned national runner-up in both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor championships in 2010, while placing fifth at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championship and seventh in the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Dempsey recorded career-best leaps of 5.16 meters outdoors and 5.16 meters indoors. He holds both the RIT indoor and outdoor records in the pole vault.
Dempsey was named the 2011 RIT co-Senior Male Athlete of the Year. He was a two-time winner at the prestigious Penn Relays, defeating several Division I athletes. Dempsey was a seven-time Empire 8 Athlete of the Week and five-time RIT Male Athlete of the Week. In 2010, he was named the Empire 8 Conference and United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year.
Originally from the Rochester suburb of Gates and a graduate of Gates-Chili High School, Dempsey earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical and electrical engineering. In the classroom, Dempsey earned 2011 CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America first team honors with a tremendous 3.76 grade-point average.
