THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — After being interim this past year, alumnus Brett Halvaks has been promoted to head coach for the California Lutheran University men's and women's cross country and track and field programs. 

"I am extremely thankful to be named head coach for cross country and track and field at Cal Lutheran," Halvaks said. "The programs have a very bright future, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of that future. It has always been a goal of mine to be a head coach and I couldn't be more excited to achieve that goal at my alma mater."

This past season, with Halvaks at the helm, the track and field teams set one school record and had a total of 15 top-10 marks. The Regals finished fourth at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship. They placed top-four in back-to-back years for the first time since 2013-14. 

"Coach Halvaks has proved himself to successfully lead our Cross Country and Track and Field programs," said Director of Athletics Holly Roepke. "Brett has a deep desire to create championship experiences for our student-athletes and build leaders as influenced by his time serving with Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to and through national SAAC. I am excited to work with Brett and support his vision. 

Halvaks graduated from Cal Lutheran in 2011 with a degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine with an emphasis in Pedagogy. Halvaks also received a teaching credential in Physical Education in 2012 from CLU. Halvaks is a USA Track and Field (USATF) level one certified coach.

As a Kingsmen, Halvaks was named to the SCIAC All-Academic Cross Country team in 2011 and served on the NCAA Division III Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) from 2010-2013. He was SAAC president for the SCIAC (2010-11) and at Cal Lutheran (2010-12). While at CLU, he was a four-year member of the cross country and track and field teams.

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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director