Josh Linker enters his third season in 2017 as an assistant coach for the men's and women's track and field team. Linker oversees the long jump, triple jump, pole vault, and assists with the multis.
The 2016 season saw Rodger Mantor earn his second-straight trip to Nationals in the pole vault. In the CCAA Track and Field Championships, Kyle Goodenough took home the title of Decathlon Champion, placing first out of seven competitors who qualified for the event. Mantor's bid to Nationals marks the sixth-straight season that Linker has sent a vaulter to Nationals. In those six years, he has sent nine vaulters.
In Linker's first season (2015) with the Broncos, his pole vault group had a record breaking season. Stealing the show, senior Justin Ellerbee took home the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship crown with a school record performance of 17-6.75. Joining Ellerbee on the All-American stand was Mantor. Mantor vaulted his way to a fourth-place finish and All-American honors. With a jump of 16-10, Mantor vaulted his way to the No. 2 spot on the Broncos all-time school record list. Rounding up the trio was Second Team All-American Austin Allen.
The Bronco vault squad posted 5 NCAA provisional qualifiers and a CCAA Conference Champion (Ellerbee) and Conference Runner-up Allen Black who posted a season best (4.91m/16'2"), narrowly missed nationals by one spot, and sits at the number four spot on the record book. On the women's side, heptathlete Erin Zwinger took home a CCAA Conference Championship (4978) in the heptathlon which punched a ticket to nationals and boosted her up to number 5 on the school record books.
Prior to coming to Cal Poly Pomona, Linker spent four seasons as an Assistant Track and Field Coach at the University of La Verne coaching the pole vault, long jump, triple jump and assisting with the multis. During that time, Linker mentored first hand: 5 All-Americans, 10 National Championship qualifiers, 7 SCIAC Champions, 26 All-SCIAC selections, 4 school records and 22 Top-10 school performances.
The 2013 season proved to be one of the best seasons Linker had coaching the Leopards. One of his athletes, a six-time All-American, leapt to a third-place finish in the triple jump at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships. Later that season, two more of Linker's athletes would earn school records in the pole vault, a mark which qualified both of them for the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships.
Linker earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Cal State University of Los Angeles, we he competed in the decathlon for the Golden Eagles. As a Golden Eagle, he was a 2009 Division II All-American in the decathlon and the 2009 CSULA Male Athlete of the Year/Most Valuable Track and Field Athlete. He continued his schooling to receive his Masters of Business Administration from the University of La Verne.
