For PSU track coach, finding the right athletes is key to success

By Nick Butler

PITTSBURG, Kan. – For yet another season, the Pittsburg State University track and field team dominated in 2025. 

In late February and early March, the team won the MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championship Meet before going on to claim the 2025 Division II Indoor National Championships. 

Then, in May, Pittsburg State claimed the Men’s and Women’s 2025 MIAA Championship in dominating fashion. Both teams had won the championship by beating everyone by at least 100 points. The Pittsburg State Women’s team broke the record for most points scored at a MIAA Championship meet with 271.5 points. 

Such consistent and overwhelming strength begs the question: How has Pitt State been able to keep this national recognition year after year? 

For head coach Kyle Rutledge, it’s all about bringing the right athletes onto the team.

“We just get the right type of kids … getting the right kids to understand how to compete at a high level and how to compete when it matters,” Rutledge said. “Just setting the standard for our expectations each and every year.”

Recruiting the right athletes has been the key factor in why the Gorillas have been able to have success year after year. Rutledge said his coaches want to make sure that they find the right athletes with the right mentality. 

“We’re not big into selfish athletes that just care about themselves,” Rutledge said. “They have to care about the team and team success. That’s something that we look for as a characteristic of treating these kids.”

It is not easy to find the right kinds of athletes. Time and effort have to go into the offseason to be able to get the right team to get the job done. 

“It’s a lot of due diligence,” Rutledge said. “Making sure that we’re finding the right kids, talking to the high school coaches, and finding out what kind of personalities they have, the work ethic they have, and just mak[ing] sure it’s the right fit.”

Seeing what the athlete can do on the track and getting to see what personality the athlete has are two different things. It takes time to be able to tell if the athlete is the right fit for the team. 

“It’s not like a day or a week,” Rutledge said. “It is months of getting to know the kid, interacting with them, and talking to them weekly on the phone. Talking to their high school coach, and talking to the parents, and then talking to other people that know them.”

While track and field can be an individual sport, it is not one person who brings home the hardware. Their entire team has to compete at a high level to earn such high awards as MIAA Champions and Division II National Champions. 

Finding the right athlete to buy into the team mentality is why the Pittsburg State Gorillas have found success and will continue to find success at the highest level. 

“They have to want to compete, not only for themselves, but for a bigger cause, the team and their teammates,” Rutledge said. “That’s something that you have to have the right character, the right type of mentality. That’s what we look for.”