KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Pittsburg State University's track and field coaching staff was once again honored as both the men's and women's MIAA Coaching Staff of the Year in the 2026 outdoor track and field season.
 
Pittsburg State's track and field programs swept the MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the third consecutive season. The Gorillas' programs also swept the 2025-26 indoor championships, marking the third straight academic year that Pitt State has claimed each MIAA track and field title.
 
Pitt State hosted this year's outdoor championship at the University's brand new Russ Jewett Outdoor Track & Field Complex in Pittsburg, Kan. The Gorilla women claimed their third straight outdoor crown with a team total of 208 points for an 84.5-point lead. The Gorilla men collected their sixth straight outdoor championship with 203.25 points for a 75.5-point lead.
 
Leading the Gorillas is head coach Kyle Rutledge and associate head coach/meet director Brian Mantooth. Assisting Rutledge and Mantooth is Ben Barrows, head men's and women's cross country coach, and assistant coaches Jason Crow and Jesse Miller. The staff is also accompanied by three graduate assistants: Chandler Barnett, Zach Chandler and Dalton Gleeson.

This is Pittsburg's fifth consecutive Coaching Staff of the Year honor on the men's side and the fourth straight on the women's side. In total, the Pitt State coaching staff has been honored as the MIAA Coaching Staff of the Year 19 times in the last four years between men's and women's cross country and men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field. Together, the Gorilla track and field teams have swept the last six MIAA track and field championships — indoor and outdoor.

The Gorillas will continue their 2026 outdoor seasons to the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, hosted May 21-23 at Emporia State University's Francis G. Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kan. Pittsburg State men are the four-time defending outdoor national champions. The Gorillas women placed third at the 2025 outdoor national championship.