NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale Athletics has announced that David Shoehalter, Mark T. Young '68 Director of Cross Country and Track and Field, is retiring at the completion of the season.
 
"I want to thank Shoe for his service and commitment to our student-athletes, our department, and our university over the past 30 years," said Victoria M. "Vicky" Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics. "He has been the consummate professional and an incredible colleague. I wish him the absolute best moving forward."
 
Shoehalter assumed the position of director in December 2010 following the retirement of storied Yale coach Mark T. Young. Shoehalter had been with Yale's track and field program since 1994 as an assistant coach and focused primarily on the sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers on both the men's and women's teams.
 
The Bulldogs' men's cross country team had their highest finish in 2015 (third), while the women's sides highest finish was in 2015 and 2016 (second). The men's indoor squad had their highest finish in 2017 and then 2020 (fourth), while the women's sides highest finish came in 2015 and 2022 (sixth). The men's outdoor team had their highest finish (fifth) in 2011, while the women's highest finish was in 2022 (seventh).
 
Under Shoehalter's direction, there have been a number of student-athletes who have achieved a high-level of success including multiple All-Ivy, All-East and All-American honorees. While an assistant, he coached Yale's first IC4A champion in the hurdles since the 1970s. Under his guidance, Joslyn Woodard '06 won eight consecutive titles and a total of 20 career titles at the Ivy League's Heptagonal Championships.
 
There have also been a number of successes since his promotion to the director position in 2010 including former captain Aliya Boshnak '23, who competed on the international stage while a student-athlete for Jordan at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey.
 
Kayley DeLay '22 was a two-time Ivy Champion in cross country (2019, 2021), placed 10^th at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships earning All-America honors and was named the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Athlete of the Year. In 2021-22, she was a 3k Ivy Indoor Champion, competed at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, and earned All-America honors. During the 2022 outdoor season, DeLay was the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the Ivy Championships after setting a meet record in the steeplechase and winning the 5000 meter run. DeLay also competed at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, placing 11th in the steeplechase.
 
In 2022-23, Matt Appel was an Ivy Outdoor Champion in the dicus, where he set a school record, and qualified in 2021-22 for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, garnering Honorable Mention All-America accolades form USTFCCCA.
 
During the 2023 cross country season, Sean Kay qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing in 13^th at the NCAA East Regional meet.
 
As director, there have been have been five track and field and cross country student-athletes who have been honored with Yale's most prestigious athletic awards, the Nellie Pratt Elliot and William Neely Mallory Awards, given to one female and one male student-athlete.
 
The Elliot Award goes to the senior women's sport student-athlete whose excellence in the field of athletics and in her life at Yale best represents the ideals of sportsmanship and Yale tradition, while the Mallory Award is presented to the senior man who on the field of play and in life at Yale best represents the highest ideals of American sportsmanship and Yale tradition.
 
Kate Grace (2010-11), Frances Schemiede (2016-17), Andrea Masterson (2018-19), and Kayley DeLay (2021-22) were Elliot award winners, while James Randon (2016-17) was a Mallory award winner.
 
In the classroom, both the men's and women's track and field teams have earned the USTFCCCA's All-Academic Team Award every year of his tenure through 2022-23, posting one of the top two team GPAs among Ivy League teams every year on the men's side and eight out of 12 years on the women's side. Both the men's and women's cross country teams posted their highest GPAs in the history of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Award program in the fall of 2020.
 
A search for the next head coach will begin immediately.