COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Rosalind Joseph announced the addition of Diego Flaquer to the full-time staff on Monday. Flaquer will serve as an assistant coach for sprints/hurdles.
“In addition to retained coaches, we add Coach Diego Flaquer to the staff with our sprints/hurdles group,” Joseph said. “I’ve known and followed Diego’s career at his previous stops and he has remained committed to the development of student-athletes, both on and off the track. I’m confident his values will align perfectly with ours as we continue to build championship teams.”
“This is a great privilege and honor for me to join the Buckeye family,” Flaquer said. “To have the opportunity to work under Coach Rosalind, who I’ve known for many years through our time and connection through Auburn University, as well as the respect I have for Coach Joel Brown and Victor Houston and the rest of the staff is something that not many people get and I’m blessed and thankful to be part of this journey of what Coach Rosalind sees for the future. Buckeye track & field is enriched with so much tradition, both regionally and nationally. This is something that is a great step for my future and my career as a track & field coach.”
“I couldn’t go without saying something about my six years with my friend and hall of famer, Coach Deem, at the University of Miami,” Flaquer said. “We won four conference titles on the women’s side in six years and the men’s side getting their best finish in the conference and being nationally ranked. It’s been a great journey and I’ve been so thankful to have that opportunity to be part of that group and Coach Deem’s Hall of Fame career during those six years at the University of Miami. I’m excited to take what I’ve learned in the other conferences I’ve worked in and bring that to the Big Ten. I’m excited for what the Big Ten has to offer and what the future of Big Ten track & field looks like. This is an exciting time and I’m looking forward to being a part of the future of Buckeye track & field.”
Flaquer joins the Ohio State staff following six seasons as the assistant men’s coach for sprints, hurdles and relays at the University of Miami. Flaquer coached two of the best sprinters UM has ever had as they posted the second-fastest and third-fastest times in program history in the 100m and earned all-conference honors. He also coached the men’s school record holders in the 60m in Raheem Chambers, the indoor 200m, Khamal Stewart Baynes, and McKinley Brown, who is both a school record holder and the reigning ACC Champion in the 400m hurdles. The men’s 4x400m relay squad made an NCAA regional appearance each of Flaquer’s years at Miami and also broke both the indoor and outdoor records. Flaquer’s squad posted many of the top-five times in program history under his direction.
Flaquer began his coaching career at his alma mater, Virginia Intermont College. He also spent time at Samford University, Troy University and Auburn before reaching Oklahoma State, where he coached for three years. Flaquer elevated Oklahoma State’s sprint program as he was a member of two Big 12 indoor conference championships and did not finish lower than third. The Cowboys scored points at the NCAA Indoor Championships in each of Flaquer’s three seasons, finishing as high as sixth in 2014, and earned two top-20 NCAA Outdoor Championship finishes.
At Oklahoma State, Flaquer coached John Teeters and Tyreek Hill in the men’s sprints, developing the duo into All-Americans. Teeters was the 2015 NCAA runner-up in the men’s 60m, while Hill was a 2014 NCAA finalist in the indoor 200m. Teeters went on to set the Oklahoma State school record in the 60m and 100m, earning three First Team All-America honors in his career. Hill was the 2015 Big XII men’s 200m indoor champion before placing fifth in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
In Flaquer’s coaching career, he has coached three NCAA runner-ups, two in the 60m and one in the 100m.
Flaquer was a member of the coaching staff for his native country, Colombia, for the 2011 Pan American Junior Championships and the 2014 World Junior Championships. He then went on to coach on Team USA’s staff for the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival in Mexico City and the 2015 World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia.
Flaquer is a 2007 graduate of Virginia Intermont College, where he earned a degree in health and physical education. He is a native of Samson, Ala. And is the son of Pedro Grajales, a two-time Olympian in the 400m and a previous coach of the Colombian national team.
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