Entering his 8th year as the Head Track and Field Coach, Masanet brings over 22 years of experience as a collegiate track and field / cross-country coach to North Park. A six-time conference “coach of the year”, Masanet has been part of 21 team conference championships with coaching stops at Eastern Illinois, Long Beach State, Missouri-Kansas City and Northeastern Illinois before joining North Park.
Since joining North Park, the record books have been re-written under his leadership. Twenty-Six school records have been set since 2012, across all event areas. North Park has shined at the CCIW conference championships, crowning 13 CCIW champions, 37 top-three finishers and over 130 All-Conference performances. NPU has had 10 NCAA-qualifiers over this time as well, including Rasmus Elfgaard, a two-time All-American in the Decathlon and Heptathlon and a four-time National Championship qualifier. Elina Gunnarsson was a 2017 All-American in the indoor Long Jump and David Johansson earned All-American honors in the Javelin in 2012.
The 2016 season saw the Vikings have the best combined place finishes in school history at the Outdoor CCIW Championships when the men placed 5thand the women 6th. In 2017, the squads combined to score 125 points at the outdoor CCIW championships (72 women, 53 men), the most points ever scored by the Vikings at the conference meet, dating back to the inaugural combined men’s and women’s championship in 1987. North Park has finished 6th or higher at the conference championships nine times since 2012 (indoor and outdoor).
With a well-rounded coaching background, Masanet is a noted mid-distance specialist having coached seven Eastern Illinois men’s 800m runners to 1:51 or faster clocking’s from 2008-2010, including Dave Holm (1:48.86) to a 12th place finish at the 2009 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. Also during his tenure at EIU, Masanet coached Dan Strackeljahn to a school record in the 1500m (3:43.94) and an eventual sub-4:00 time in the mile (3:59.77) as a post collegian. Masanet also coached Jillian Blondell and Jake Stout to school records in the steeplechase, and Dave Carlson (10000m) and the men’s distance medley relay team to NCAA qualifying times. The 2005 Ohio Valley Conference cross-country “Coach of the Year”, Masanet was part of a staff that hosted five conference championships and the annual Illinois High School State Track and Field Championships. He served as the NCAA Midwest Region representative for men’s cross-country from 2008-2009 after serving as the treasurer of the coaching association (USTFCCCA) from 2005-2008.
At Long Beach State, he coached Jenny Yadon to a school record in the steeplechase (10:33.99) and helped lead a resurgence in the cross-country and distance program at the school. Masanet also served as the NCAA West Region representative for men’s cross-country from 2003-2004.
During his tenure at Missouri-Kansas City, Masanet won the Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) coach of the year five times and as head track and field coach, oversaw four NCAA national qualifiers, including UMKC’s first All-American (Matt Voelker, High Jump) in 2002. His distance runners established every school record and set three Mid-Continent Conference records (women’s 800m and 5000m and men’s 1500m) while winning ten individual conference titles and ranking in the top ten in the Midwest region in cross-country three straight years (1998, 1999, 2000). For his accomplishments, Masanet was inducted into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame in January, 2016.
Masanet started his full-time coaching career at Northeastern Illinois in 1995 after a one-year stint as a part-time coach at UC Santa Barbara. While at NEIU, Masanet coached Daniel Silva to a runner-up finish at the 1996 Mid-Continent Conference cross-country championship.
Coaching Background
2004-2010 Eastern Illinois University Head Cross-Country / Assistant Track and Field Coach
2002-2004 Long Beach State University Assistant Cross-Country / Assistant Track and Field Coach
2000-2002 Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) Head Cross-Country / Head Track and Field Coach
1997-2000 Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) Head Cross-Country / Assistant Track and Field Coach
1995-1997 Northeastern Illinois University Head Cross-Country / Head Track and Field Coach
1994-1995 UC Santa Barbara Assistant Cross-Country / Assistant Track and Field Coach
Coaching Honors
2016 UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
2005 Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Cross-Country
2002 Mid-Continent Conference Men’s Indoor Track and Field
2000 Mid-Continent Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field
2000 Mid-Continent Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field
2000 Mid-Continent Conference Men’s Indoor Track and Field
1999 Mid-Continent Conference Women’s Cross-Country
