ROMEOVILLE, IL. -  Lewis University track and field coach Dana Schwarting has announced the hiring of Forrest Donnell to the program as the new assistant coach for multis, jumps and sprints. 

Donnell joins the Flyers after spending time at Millikin University as an assistant track and field coach. While there he acted as the sprints coach for both the men's and women's programs with several athletes competing for conference and national championships. Last year, Donnell coached two Millikin Athletes, De'Andranay Chis and Ibrahim Diakite, at the NCAA Division III National Championship.  

Prior to Millikin, Donnell joined the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) staff for the 2021-2022 season, coaching the combined events, hurdles, horizontal jumps and javelin. In his first season, the men's team finished as indoor and outdoor Southland Conference (SLC) champions, both program firsts. Additionally, the women were SLC runners-up during the indoor and outdoor seasons, making it the most successful year in program history to that point. Donnell coached a group that included the SLC Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year, SLC Indoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year, three conference champions, four runners-up, six third place finishes, and two athletes qualifying for the first round of the DI NCAA Championship. Donnell coached a decathlon group that ranked second in the NCAA, per USTFCCCA squad rankings. This was the first time the event group had ever been ranked at UIW and included two men scoring over 7000 points for the first time (7325 and 7093).
 
Prior to UIW, Donnell coached the combined events and field events at Ball State University from 2019-2021. At the 2020 Indoor Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship, the Cardinals placed third after placing eighth the previous season, including a runner-up finish in the pentathlon for Karlie Zumbro. At the 2021 Outdoor MAC Championship, Zumbro won the heptathlon and Charity Griffith (Hufnagel) added a runner-up finish in the high jump and qualified for the first round of the NCAA Championships in her freshman outdoor season.
 
For the 2018-2019 season, Donnell served as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma, assisting the horizontal jumps and men's sprints. The group ended the season with three All-American honors and the top ranked men's and women's triple jump teams in the nation, per USTFCCCA squad rankings.
 
Donnell coached four seasons at Lyons High School in Lyons, CO, before coaching in the NCAA. He also coached one season at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, NC. Donnell is a USTFCCCA certified combined events coach and has completed internships at ALTIS and Landow Performance.
 
A native of Lyons, CO, Donnell earned his bachelor's degree in Integrative Physiology from Colorado in 2017.