Ben Niemann joined the Bulldog coaching staff in early 2018 as a volunteer assistant coach and transitioned into an assistant coaching role for the jumps and multi-event groups.
Niemann, a 2014 UMD graduate, was a four-year letter winner, three-time qualifier for the NCAA II National Championships, and an All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference athlete in the heptathlon and decathlon during his time at UMD. Niemann briefly held the school record in the heptathlon and current sits at no. 2 in the all-time list for both the heptathlon and decathlon.
Prior to returning to UMD in 2018, Niemann coached in Denver, Colorado for three seasons as the sprints and throws coach for Prospect Ridge High School where he helped guide the Miners to multiple school records in various events over his three years there. While coaching in Denver, Niemann continued to compete post-collegiately and train for the pole vault with Above the Bar T.C. out of Boulder, CO where he turned in a third-place finish at the 2015 Colorado USATF Indoor Championships and a top-5 finish at the 2015 Colorado USATF Outdoor Championships.
Niemann currently works as an Electrical Engineer and resides with his wife (and fellow UMD coach) Kari in Duluth.
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