BATON ROUGE — LSU track and field head coach Pat Henry filled the vacancy on his coaching staff Wednesday afternoon, announcing the hiring of Kent Pagel as throws coach.
“Kent is a great addition to our staff,” said Henry. “He brings a wealth of experience to our program. He comes to LSU with outstanding credentials and we’re delighted to have him join us.”
Pagel comes to LSU after serving as associate program director at Radford University (Va.) during the 2000-01 academic year. At Radford, Pagel coached all throwers in addition to working with pole vaulters and multi-event athletes.
Prior to his stay at Radford, Pagel spent five seasons as associate head coach at Kent State University (Ohio) where he worked with throwers, designed and implemented its strength and conditioning program and served as meet director at all home competitions.
A graduate of Chapman University (Calif.), Pagel coached extensively in the state of California from 1979-95, serving on staffs at Cal State-Long Beach, San Diego State and San Diego Mesa College.
Pagel has worked extensively with USA Track and Field as a national clinician in both the shot put and discus. Well-respected on the international level, Pagel has served on coaching staffs at major international competitions in Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and England. Pagel is married to four-time United States Olympian Ramona Pagel.