Courtesy of McNeese State Sports Information
LAKE CHARLES, La. — Russ Buller, one of the nation’s top pole vaulters, has signed on as an assistant track and field coach at McNeese State University. McNeese head coach Steve Baker announced the addition of Buller, adding that the appointment was subject to approval of the state’s board of supervisors.
A native of Westlake and a former conference champion and all-American at LSU, Buller will handle McNeese’s pole vaulter and jumpers.
“We’re extremely pleased to have Russ join our staff,” Baker said. “He is an outstanding athlete and our kids will be learning a lot from him.”
Buller, who obtained his degree in Kinesiology from LSU last year, won the SEC pole vault title a total of six times (four outdoor titles and two indoor) and was also the NCAA outdoor and indoor champion in 2000. Seven times he was named an all-American.
Buller’s vault of 19-3/4 is the fifth highest for any pole vaulter ever in the USA. Also he still holds LSU records of 19-0 1/4 outdoors and 18-8 3/4 indoors.
He also has two Penn State Relay titles to his credit as well as three Texas Relays crowns.
Besides coaching the Cowboys and the Cowgirls, Buller will also remain competitive himself, shooting for a berth on the US Olympic team for the 2004 Olympics.
At LSU, Buller was an honor roll student.