Steve Sneide will take over the head coaching post of the Bemidji boys track program this spring.
The announcement was made today by Athletic Director Troy Hendricks.It was his first appointment in his second tenure as AD.
He appointed 15 new head coaches during the five years of his first term from 1999-2003.
Sneide will succeed Ryan Aylesworth who has held the post on an interim basis for the past two springs.
He stepped up fro his assistant's role when John Deden was activated by his National Guard unit for service in Pakistan.
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Deden, who guided the boys team for 13 seasons, has returned to his teaching post at Bemidji but did not wish to resume the coaching role.
Aylesworth since has become head cross country coach and is the top aide to Mark Walters in the Nordic Ski program.
He will remain with the track team as coach of the boys and girls distance crew, the position he held prior to Deden's departure.
Sneide is no stranger to the track program having served as an assistant for the past five years.
His specialties are the high jump, hurdles and sprints. He has produced two state qualifiers in the hurdles and one in the high jump.
The Middle School science teacher is a 1995 Proctor High School graduate who went on to track stardom at Minnesota-Duluth.
He was a 10-time All-NSIC performer in the decathlon, long jump, triple jump and high hurdles and also competed in the pole vault, javelin and 400.
He was an assistant track coach at Proctor his final two years of college and an assistant at Duluth from 2001 until coming to Bemidji.
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He coached the high jump and multi-event performers at UMD and had three All-NSIC performers in the high jump and one in the pentathlon plus a national qualifier in the high jump.
At Bemidji, he has taken over the Summer Recreation track program the past two summers, coaching all events.
