University of Wisconsin La Crosse Athletics

Julianne Merkes begins her ninth season as assistant coach for the UW-La Crosse women’s track & field team in 2026-27.  The Eagles won their 14th straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) outdoor title in 2026 as Jaydn Roden placed third in the hammer throw and Alyssa Pierce third in the sht put. UWL won its sixth consecutive WIAC indoor title in 2026 with Madilyn Vander Sanden winning the shot put title and Ella Puls placing second in the weight throw. 

The Eagles captured the WIAC outdoor crown in 2025 with Puls winning the league championship and Gabby Johnson finishing third in the javelin throw. Roden placed third in the discus throw. UWL won the 2025 WIAC indoor crown as Vander Sanden won the league crown in the shot put.

At the 2024 outdoor conference championships, UWL's Johnson was second in the javelin throw and Izzy Carroll third in the shot put.  Carroll earned National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Outdoor All-America honors in 2024 with a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw as UWL placed second overall. Carroll captured the shot put crown at the 2024 indoor league championships. Vander Sanden was second in the shot put while Alexys Scheuerell placed third in the weight throw. The Eagles finished 12th at the 2024 NCAA III Indoor Championships. 

Merkes has been a member of UWL's staff in earning the, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 WIAC Indoor and Outdoor Coaching of the Year Awards. She was also a member of the 2020 WIAC Indoor and 2021 WIAC Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year. 

The Eagles captured the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship with 53.0 points as UWL earned 25 All-America honors. Roden earned All-America honors with a 12th-place finish in the hammer throw. UWL placed fourth at the 2026 NCAA III Indoor Championships with Roden picking up All-America accolades with a 10th-place finish in the weight throw and Vander Sanden earning honors after finishing 14th in the shot put. 

UWL swept the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The team secured 18 All-America honors at the indoor championships and 20 at the outdoor championships. The Eagles placed second at the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships. UWL earned 16 All-America honors at each of the championships. UWL was second at the 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships, its best finish since placing second in 1997. UWL earned 17 All-America accolades at the 2021 national meet.

Merkes was a member of the UWL women’s track & field team from 2011-15.  She placed sixth (2014) and seventh (2015) in the hammer throw at the WIAC Championships.  During the 2014-15 season, Merkes was a team captain and earned various recognitions including UWL Scholar-Athlete, WIAC All-Sportsmanship Team, and U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team.

She served as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council for both UWL and the WIAC.

Merkes graduated with honors from UWL in 2015 with bachelor’s degree in biology.  After college, she worked at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, as a technical specialist for the Genomics laboratory.  She is currently working on her Master’s in Clinical Microbiology at UWL.