COACHES

Travis Geopfert was named K-State's seventh full-time Director of Track and Field/Cross Country by Director of Athletics Gene Taylor on July 11, 2024.

Geopfert was a four-time National Assistant Coach of the Year during two stints at Arkansas across 12 years, with 22 total years of experience also at Tennessee, Northern Iowa and Central Missouri.

At Arkansas with the men's team, he was a part of two NCAA Championship teams (2013 indoor and 2023 indoor), 21 top-10 NCAA team finishes and 25 SEC Championships.

Individually, Geopfert coached three Bowerman Award finalists (track and field’s version of the Heisman Trophy) while at Arkansas, including a pair of winners in sprinter and long jumper Jarrion Lawson (2016) and triple and long jumper Jaydon Hibbert (2023) as well as 2022 finalist Ayden Owens-Delerme. In total, he has helped train 20 national champions (a combined 12 in the long and triple jump) in his career as well as 106 NCAA First Team All-Americans, 182 NCAA National Finals Qualifiers and 89 conference champions.

Geopfert has coached 15 Olympians and 1 Paralympian-- nine who competed in the 2024 Paris Games. Those nine athletes include Romaine Beckford (high jump/Jamaica), Tara Davis-Woodhall (long jump/USA), Jaydon Hibbert (triple jump/Jamaica), Jarrion Lawson (long jump/USA), Carey McLeod (long jump/Jamaica), Jah-Nhai Perinchief (triple jump/Bermuda), Wayne Pinnock (long jump/Jamaica) and Ayden Owens-Delerme (decathlon/Puerto Rico) and Hunter Woodhall (400m T62, 4x100 mixed relay/USA).

In Paris, two of Geopfert's athletes secured hardware in the long jump-- Davis-Woodhall claimed the women's gold medal at 7.10m/23-3.50 and Pinnock earned a silver medal in the men's with a distance of 8.36m/27-5.25. During the Paralympics, Woodhall claimed gold in the 400 meter dash (T62) in 46.36 seconds and also ran in the mixed 4x100 universal relay where his team earned bronze in 47.32 seconds.

In total, Geopfert’s athletes have qualified for the World Championships 30 times with five global medals. They have broken three American Junior records, three World Junior records, two NCAA all-time collegiate records and two NCAA meet records. They have combined to break 59 school records at Northern Iowa, Arkansas and Tennessee.

“My family and I are thrilled to become part of the Kansas State community,” Geopfert said. “Just look at every named facility on campus and it’s obvious that family and community are the framework of Kansas State. That may be the biggest thing that attracted us to Manhattan.

“I’d like to thank Gene Taylor, (executive associate AD) Kenny Lannou and (deputy AD) Jill Shields for giving me this opportunity to lead such a storied program - a program with multiple Olympians, Olympic medalists and NCAA champions, led for more than three decades by hall of fame coach Cliff Rovelto. 

“It’s not lost on me the shoes that I’m trying to fill in following a legendary coach. Coach Rovelto has built a foundation at Kansas State that makes this one of the most attractive opportunities in NCAA track and field. With that, I promise to work tirelessly for the alumni and current student-athletes here at Kansas State. I want to help make all of these individuals proud of where they are from. They built the foundation for our future success, and we owe it to them and this administration to get after it here with everything we’ve got.

“With that said, I cannot express enough appreciation to Gene Taylor for handing me the reigns here in Manhattan. His reputation precedes him in making great coaching hires. I’m humbled that he believes in me to continue to move this program forward. 

“Lastly, I’d like to thank my former student-athletes, bosses and colleagues at Central Missouri, Northern Iowa, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The last 22 years learning from all of them has given me the foundation I need to coach and mentor at the highest level. These coaching experiences along with the amazing support of my wife Nicole, our kids and my entire family gives me the confidence I need to be the next Director of Track and Field / Cross Country at K-State.”

Trey Brokaw was announced as an assistant track and field coach and recruiting coordinator by Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Travis Geopfert on August 2, 2024. Brokaw will assist with cross country in the fall and lead the middle distance runners in track and field, while also helping to recruit all event areas.

Brokaw spent the last three seasons (2021-24) as the director of track and field and cross country at Western Illinois University. This past season, he guided the men's track and field team to their highest conference finish in a decade. The women placed third indoors and outdoors at the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Championships, their highest team finish since 2007. In three years at the helm, Brokaw's teams produced 18 school records, 12 OVC individual champions and one NCAA Championship qualifier.

“Trey is a proven coach and recruiter that has proven himself at every stop that he’s made,” Geopfert said. “His mind understands the subtle nuances of our sport and he’s a veteran voice that I can count on. He’s been a head coach and understands every aspect of what it takes to run a highly competitive program. His knowledge of the middle distance and distance events has been proven multiple times and his eye for talent across all event areas is unmatched. I’m thrilled to have Coach Brokaw join us.”

At Western Illinois, Brokaw guided 2023 OVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Logan Lommel. Lommel set eight school records ranging from the 4x400 relay during the indoor track and field season to the 10,000 meters in cross country. Ackeen Colley set five school records including the men’s indoor and outdoor 800 meters. The Oklahoma transfer ran a 1:47.98 en route to ending his Leatherneck career with five conference titles, a Drake Relays 800-meter title, a conference record in the 800 meters and a sixth place finish at the NCAA Championship.

Prior to Western Illinois, Brokaw spent time at Akron (2018-21) as the head cross country coach, assistant track and field coach and recruiting coordinator. He guided middle distance runners to eight Mid-American Conference (MAC) titles. He also coached two-time NCAA qualifier Mackenzie Andrews in the mile and 3,000 meter steeplechase. Andrews won five individual conference titles as a senior in 2019 and clocked a mile time of 4:27.83 and 4:12.91 in the 1,500 meters as a post collegiate runner under Brokaw's guidance.

Brokaw started his coaching career at his alma mater, Emporia State (2012-13), before coaching three seasons (2013-16) at Northern Iowa while working towards a master's degree in Exercise Physiology. He joined the staff at Nebraska in 2017-18 as the recruiting coordinator for track and field, signing George Kusche who qualified for eight NCAA Championships. Kusche was named the 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year in cross country and won the 2021 Big Ten Championship in cross country. He set two school records for the Cornhuskers, in the mile (3:57.93) and 3,000 meters (7:50.93), as well as the South African indoor national record in the 5,000 meters (13:28.95).

Brokaw is the married to the former Stephanie Brown, who was an SEC champion, NCAA champion and eight-time First Team All-American at the University of Arkansas.