Scott Kruetzfeldt enters his fourth season as a Chico State assistant coach in 2026–27 after previously serving as a student assistant with the Wildcats during the 2021–22 and 2022–23 school years.
Kruetzfeldt works primarily with Chico State’s cross country teams and middle-distance and distance runners on the track while also playing a major role in recruiting and the day-to-day operations of the program. Since joining the staff full time in the fall of 2023, he has helped the Wildcats continue one of the most successful distance traditions in NCAA Division II.
During Kruetzfeldt’s first three seasons as a full-time assistant, Chico State swept the men’s and women’s CCAA Cross Country Championships each year from 2023 through 2025. The Wildcat men extended their conference championship streak to 23 consecutive seasons while also capturing three straight NCAA West Region titles. On the women’s side, Chico State won three consecutive CCAA championships, captured back-to-back NCAA West Region titles in 2024 and 2025, and finished eighth at the 2025 NCAA Championships for the program’s best national finish since 2019.
Kruetzfeldt has also helped lead continued success on the track. In 2026, both the Chico State men and women captured CCAA Track & Field team championships, with the Wildcats’ middle-distance and distance groups playing a major role in both titles.
Following the season, Kruetzfeldt was named the USTFCCCA Men’s Track & Field West Region Assistant Coach of the Year after helping Chico State’s men’s middle-distance and distance runners capture four CCAA individual titles, earn five All-West Region honors and produce two NCAA Division II All-Americans.
Damian Garcia earned All-America honors in the 1,500 meters after a record-setting season in which he established Chico State records in both the 800 and 1,500 meters. His 3:35.61 in the 1,500 ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II during the season. Mario Giannini earned All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the NCAA 10,000 meters while moving to No. 4 in Chico State history in the 10,000 and No. 5 in the 5,000. Alex Lamoureux also climbed into the program’s all-time top 10 in the 1,500 meters.
The Chico State women put together one of the strongest distance seasons in Division II in 2026. The Wildcats finished No. 1 nationally in the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Chico State placed five runners among the top five in the 5,000 at the CCAA Championships and swept the top four places in the 10,000. Della Molina, Paulina Martins and Megan Malloy combined for four All-America performances across the two events at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships.
Recruiting has become another major part of Kruetzfeldt’s role with the Wildcats. He is heavily involved throughout the recruiting process, working with prospective student-athletes and their families, evaluating recruits, conducting recruiting calls and campus visits, and helping coordinate official visits. He also assists with practice planning and supervision, strength training, team travel, equipment and other aspects of the program’s daily operations.
Kruetzfeldt has also gained experience at some of the nation’s premier track & field events through his work with TrackTown USA. His event operations experience has included the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, multiple editions of the Prefontaine Classic and the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships.
Kruetzfeldt’s connection to the Chico State program began as a student-athlete. After competing at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, where he helped the Pumas capture a North Coast Section cross country championship in 2017, he came to Chico State and ran for longtime head coach Gary Towne.
After his competitive career, Kruetzfeldt transitioned into coaching as a student assistant under Towne, helping the Wildcats rebuild following the COVID-19 shutdown before moving into a full-time assistant coaching role in the fall of 2023.
Kruetzfeldt earned his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Chico State in 2022 and completed his master’s degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Coaching Science at Chico State in 2026.
