Josh Quintal joined the Chico State track & field program at the start of the 2025 season and works primarily with the Wildcats’ hurdlers and 400-meter sprinters.
Known as “Coach Q,” Quintal has helped Chico State’s sprint, hurdle and relay groups produce immediate championship-level results. In 2026, the Wildcats swept the CCAA men’s and women’s team titles, with the men scoring 263 points and the women edging Cal Poly Pomona with 213.5 points. Chico State’s success included major contributions from Quintal’s event areas.
On the men’s side, Brody Staley delivered one of the top sprint seasons in program history. He won CCAA titles in both the 200 meters and 400 meters, was named the CCAA High Point Award winner and Track Athlete of the Meet, and set Chico State records in both events with times of 20.93 in the 200 meters and 46.56 in the 400 meters. Staley went on to become Chico State’s first All-American in the men’s 400 meters and added another All-America honor as part of the Wildcats’ 4x400-meter relay team.
The Wildcats’ 4x400-meter relay also continued its rise under Quintal’s watch. The quartet of Logan Cole, Harrison Hubbard, Staley and Trey Suffredini ran 3:08.92 at the Franson Last Chance meet, the No. 3 mark in Chico State history, qualified for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, and earned Second Team All-America honors. Suffredini also placed second in the 400 meters at the CCAA Championships and moved to No. 2 in program history in the event, while Cole climbed into Chico State’s all-time top 10 in the 400 meters.
Quintal’s group also made an impact on the women’s side in 2026. Teresa Vasconcellos earned All-CCAA honors with a third-place finish in the 400 meters and helped Chico State place second in the 4x400-meter relay. Vasconcellos also moved into the program’s all-time top 10 in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. Emma Gaddy joined her in the all-time top 10 in the 400 meters, while Savannah Sawyer moved to No. 4 in Chico State history in the 400-meter hurdles and helped the Wildcats’ 4x400-meter relay climb to No. 2 on the program’s all-time list. Kylie Davis and Yanise Harris also added all-time top-10 marks in the 100-meter hurdles.
Prior to joining the Wildcats, Quintal served as an assistant coach at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, specializing in hurdles and sprints. There, he helped the program win a conference championship and coached multiple student-athletes who broke school records.
Quintal is a graduate of Humboldt State, now Cal Poly Humboldt, where he earned both multiple-subject and single-subject teaching credentials. As a student-athlete, he was a national qualifier in the 800 meters in 1997 with a personal-best time of 1:51.92. He also anchored Humboldt State’s 4x400-meter relay team to a time of 3:13.74, a mark that remains a school record.
Following his collegiate career, Quintal continued competing at a high level in masters track & field. At the 2007 USATF Masters National Championships, he won gold in the 800 meters and silver in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. He later added another national silver medal in the 800 meters in 2013.
