ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Director of Augustana Track & Field/Cross Country, Chad Gunnelson, has announced the hiring of Matthew Heinzman to lead the men's and women's cross country programs. Heinzman will also serve as an assistant coach with the track & field teams.
 
"Coach Heinzman cares deeply about building lasting relationships that drive excellence in running and life," said Gunnelson. "He has a familiarity with Augie from his previous time coaching here and the relationships he built coaching our rising seniors and recruiting our rising juniors will allow him to jump right in. This along with the experience he gained these past two seasons as a director will allow him to make an immediate lasting impact on our cross country and distance program. We are so excited for Coach Heinz and his family to join us on this journey."

Heinzman, a former graduate assistant with the Vikings, returns to Augustana after leading the cross country and track & field teams at Edgewood College for the past three seasons. With the Eagles, Heinzman oversaw all operational aspects of the men's and women's programs and supervised and supported multiple assistant coaches across all event groups. Under his guidance, the Eagles posted their highest point total combined since 2014 at the 2024 NACC Outdoor Championships, and also saw the first All-Americans in school history under Heinzman. Since he joined in 2023, a total of 24 school records have been set at Edgewood.
 
Prior to leading the Eagles, Heinzman was a graduate assistant with Augustana for the 2022-23 season. He helped recruit and coach distance runners and was a part of facilitating two of the largest Division III meets in cross country and track & field. 
 
Before Coaching, Heinzman competed as a student-athlete at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration and Health & Fitness Studies. While there, he was an 11x ARC all-conference, 6x national qualifier, 2x All-American, and helped play a role in winning Wartburg's first-ever NCAA Outdoor Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship in 2021. Along with that, he still leads Wartburg's most improved chart from being a 4:58 1600 in high school to a 3:49 1500 All-American & a 17:57 5k to a 14:29 5k National Qualifier.
 
Heinzman's duties with the programs will begin this summer.