News release SWOCC. After 25 years of service to Southwestern Oregon Community College, Dan Neal will retire from coaching. Dan stepped down from coaching the Cross Country team after 11 years just last spring and has decided to step down from coaching the Track & Field team this spring after 26 years leading that program. Dan will remain at Southwestern for the 2017-2018 year as a full-time faculty member in the Physical Education and Health department. Dan began working at Southwestern as a part-time faculty member teaching various Physical Education courses until the day when John Speasl, retired athletic director, offered him an opportunity to coach the Track & Field team. Dan jumped at the opportunity and has been the head coach since 1991. Cross Country was cut in 1981 as an intercollegiate sport, but when it was brought back in 2005 Dan took the reins to resurrect that program. Dan has coached dozens of All-Americans during his tenure at Southwestern. Some that standout are David Turpin who was an All-American in the Decathlon where he set the current school record at 6220 points and scored 70 points in a track meet by himself. Turpin went on to compete for Washington State University and became Dan O’Brien’s (1996 Olympic decathlon champion) workout partner. Dan also coached Kelsea Johnson who has the Southwestern record in the Heptathlon at 3954 and went on to place 2nd in the nation while at the University of Alaska at Anchorage. He says that his best accomplishments were the many athletes that went on to participate in track at four-year programs and continued with their educational goals. Dan’s true passion is as an educator. He grew up in Myrtle Point and lived for a brief period in San Francisco, but returned to Oregon and received his degree in Physical Education from Southern Oregon University. He then attended the University of Idaho to work on his Masters of Education, and then moved on to the United States Sports Academy in Alabama where he received a Masters of Sport Coaching. In retirement Dan plans to spend time with his grandson Karson and return to teaching gymnastics at the local Boys & Girls Club. Neal says it has been a pleasure working at Southwestern where everyone is like family and all the employees take care of each other. He will miss all of the people he has worked with.
