NEW ORLEANS – University of New Orleans Interim Track and Field / Cross Country Head Coach
Ben Hibbert completed his 2023-2024 staff with the addition of a familiar face around the Lakefront – former Privateer student-athlete and assistant coach Clayton O'Callaghan has been named the program's new Associate Head Coach for Cross Country, and Track and Field Assistant Coach.
Clayton returns to UNO after serving as an assistant Track and Field / Cross Country coach and recruiting coordinator at Southeastern from 2021 to 2023. Highlights during his time in Hammond include coaching four individual Southland Champions (Noah Kiprotich – 2023 Indoor 800M, Bradley Makuvire – 2022 Indoor 3000M, Indoor 5000M and 2021 Cross Country), coaching eight All-Southland selections, and his student-athletes broke Southeastern's Distance Medley Relay, and Outdoor 10,000 meter records.
Makuvire was also the first
USTFCCA National Runner of the Week in Lions history, 2021 Southland Conference Male Athlete of the Year, 2021 Louisiana Sports Writer's Association Co-Runner of the Year and the 2022 Southland Conference Indoor Runner of the Year under O'Callaghan's tutelage.
O'Callaghan first joined the staff as an assistant coach at UNO as a graduate student in July of 2017. For two years O'Callaghan served a dual role at UNO – both as an assistant coach for cross country and a student enrichment specialist. In his role as student enrichment specialist, he helped organize community service events and projects for all student-athletes on the Lakefront.
Promoted to fulltime assistant in 2019 he was instrumental in the early development of former Privateer cross country great
Arina Kleshchukova. During his two seasons as a full time assistant, Kleshchukova was a named All-Southland twice, All-Louisiana twice, Southland Runner of the week five times, the 2018 Southland Newcomer of the Year, and was USTFCCCA All-Region in 2019. In 2019 Arina won four races, finished second at the Florida State Invitational and 10th at the NCAA South Central Regional to become only the second Privateer to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Aaron Albert,
Kolyn Saltzman (twice), and
Jaden Forester were also named All-Southland selections during O'Callaghan's first stint as a Privateer assistant. Saltzman also earned the first of his three USTFCAA All-Region selections with O'Callaghan as a member of the staff.
A former Privateer student-athlete between 2013 and 2017 was a member of the first school's recruiting class when the program returned in 2012. Clayton still owns the school record at 1,000 meters, and also held the third-fastest time in school history in the 10K and held a top-five mark in the 5K when he finished his time as a student-athlete on the Lakefront.
Excelling as more than just a distance runner while an undergraduate at UNO, O'Callaghan served as team captain and cross country representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and served as the
SAAC secretary/treasurer during his senior season. O'Callaghan finished his time as a student-athlete as a two-time Academic All-American and a seven-time member of the Southland Conference Commissioner's List. He also was the recipient of the Mr. Privateer award to close his career.
O'Callaghan graduated from UNO with his undergraduate degree in Human Performance with a concentration in Physiology as well as a minor in Psychology from the University of New Orleans in 2017. He followed that up by earning his MBA at the University in 2018.
O'Callaghan attended Catholic High School of Pointe
Coupee (La.), where he still holds multiple school records and was a two-time all-state selection in track & field and cross country. From August 2020 until July 2021, he served as the track and field / cross country head coach for the Hornets, in addition to serving as the junior high athletic director.
O'Callaghan is certified by the American Heart Association in CPR and AED, and has the following USTFCCCA certifications: Technical Certification, Strength and Conditioning Certification, Level II Endurance Specialist, and their Master's Endorsement in the Long Distances. He currently resides in Slidell with his wife Maddie.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up to date with everything New Orleans Cross Country and Track & Field. Follow
@PrivateersTFXC on Twitter,
@PrivateersTFXC on Instagram, like
/PrivateersTFXC on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
