Katie Wagner starts her 16th season as an assistant coach of the UW-La Crosse women's track & field team in 2025-26, coaching sprints, hurdles and relays. She served as interim head coach of the Eagles in 2016-17, leading UWL to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Indoor and Outdoor Championship.
UWL swept the 2025 WIAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships while finishing third at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Wagner was named the 2025 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) North Region Indoor and Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year.
UWL earned the 2025 WIAC Indoor and Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year Award.
Her student-athletes produced 110 points leading to the team crown at the 2025 WIAC Indoor Championships and eight athletes combined for nine total entries at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. Lauren Jarrett swept the 60 and 200-meter dash titles at this year's national championships while Makenna Zak also earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the 60-meter dash. UWL's 4x400-meter relay of Anna Plautz, Andie Otto, Morgan Jennings and Macy Reybrock earned All-America recognition with a third-place finish and school record time of 3:46.53.
Wagner's student-athletes accounted for 35 of UWL's 38 points at the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. Jarrett captured the 100 and 200-meter dash and the Eagles' 4x100-meter relay of Julie Yang, Anika Reiland, Zak and Jarrett also claimed the national title. UWL's 4x400-meter relay of Plautz, Alli Thomas, Jennings and Reybrock placed fourth.
The Eagles swept the 2024 WIAC Championships while placing 12th at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships and second outdoors. At the indoor national championships, Jarrett won the 60-meter dash crown while finishing sixth in the 200-meter dash. She was named the 2024 WIAC Indoor Track Performer of the Meet after winning the 60-meter dash and placing second in the 200-meter dash.
At the 2024 NCAA III Outdoor Championships, Jarrett won the 100 and 200-meter dash titles. Jarrett, Taylor Molling, Reiland and Zak won the 4x100-meter relay. Jarrett became the first sprinter in UWL history to win the 100 or 200-meter dash national titles.
UWL earned the 2024 WIAC Indoor and Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year Award.
Wagner helped guide UWL to a sweep of the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The Eagles won the indoor championship with 59.5 team points, capturing their second (2015, 2023) indoor title in school history.
UWL earned 18 NCAA III All-America honors in winning the 2023 indoor championship, including Skye Digman capturing the weight throw. The Eagles earned their fourth (1983, 1984, 2015, 2023) NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship in 2023 with 67.5 points. UWL picked up 20 All-America accolades at the outdoor championships with Digman taking the shot put crown.
For her efforts, Wagner was selected 2023 USTFCCCA National Indoor and Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year. She was also named the 2023 USTFCCCA North Region Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year.
UWL won the 2023 WIAC Indoor and Outdoor titles. The Eagles scored a conference record 324.0 points in securing the indoor conference title, breaking the previous record of 261.0 points by UW-Oshkosh in 1996. UWL scored at least 10 points in 16 of 17 events, including over 20 points in seven events. The team won 10 individual and one relay title.
At the 2013 WIAC Outdoor Championships, UWL finished with another league record with 363.5 points, breaking UW-Oshkosh's mark of 313.0 in 1996. UWL scored at least 10 points in 19 of 21 events. The Eagles secured 11 individual and two relay titles.
UWL earned the 2023 WIAC Indoor and Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year Award.
She helped guide the Eagles to the 2022 WIAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. UWL won its second consecutive WIAC indoor crown and 28th in school history. UWL finished with 244.0 team points, the most at a league championship since 1996. The Eagles won five individual and one relay title at this year's indoor conference championships while also recording eight second-place and seven third-place individual finishes. UWL was selected the 2022 WIAC Indoor Coaching Staff of the Year.
UWL won its 10th straight outdoor WIAC title in 2022, finishing with 293.5 team points in securing its 36th league crown in school history. The 293.5 points were the most since 1996. UWL won six individual and two relays titles at the outdoor conference championships while also recording 10 second-place and eight third-place individual finishes. The Eagles earned the 2022 WIAC Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year.
Wagner helped led UWL to a second-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The Eagles earned 16 All-America honors at each of the championships.
Named the 2021 USTFCCCA National Women's Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year, Wagner's athletes contributed 25.0 points to UWL's total of 56.0 as the Eagles placed second at the NCAA Division III Championships.
During the 2021 outdoor regular season, Wagner guided her sprinters, hurdlers and relay teams to top billing in the #EventSquad Rankings for the 100 and 200-meter dash, 100 and 400-meter hurdles. UWL won six event titles in her coaching area at the WIAC Outdoor Championships, including the 100, 200 and 400-meter dash, 100 and 400-meter hurdles, and 4x400-meter relay, and scored 130.0 of the team's 267.5 points at the meet.
Wagner was selected the 2021 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year for the second time (2014, 2021) in school history. Her athletes scored 130.0 points in helping lead UWL to the 2021 WIAC championship, its ninth straight title. Wagner has also been selected the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year on three (2010, 2014, 2015) occasions. She became the first coach in USTFCCCA history to earn the indoor and outdoor women's national assistant coach of the year award in the same season (2014).
One of three finalists for the 2020 USTFCCCA Women's Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year, Wagner helped lead UWL to its seventh WIAC indoor title in the last eight years in 2020. The 2021 indoor league championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 public health threat. The Eagles won 10 individual conference titles at the 2020 indoor conference meet while recording four second-place finishes and six third-place finishes. For its efforts, UWL was named the 2020 WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
Her jumpers and hurdlers scored 29 points at the 2015 NCAA III Indoor Championships, which would have been seventh in the nation as a team. Bria Halama captured the national title in the triple jump while Bailey Alston placed fifth in the long jump and seventh in the triple jump. Claire Gordee led three finishers in the top-six in the 60-meter hurdles with a third-place finish while Jaime Ludwigson placed fifth and Addie Korb sixth.
The Eagles scored 40 points in the hurdles, jumps and heptathlon in securing the 2015 NCAA III outdoor title. Halama captured the triple jump while Marissa Mahr won the 400-meter hurdles. UWL had three of the top-seven finishers in the 100-meter hurdles. The 40 points would have been third in the overall team scores.
Wagner helped lead UWL to the 2015 WIAC indoor title as her student-athletes scored 73 points. The Eagles finished first, second, third, and fifth in the 60-meter hurdles and second, third, and fourth in the triple jump. Erin McCauley to the pentathlon title with a school record 3,432 points. At the 2015 WIAC Outdoor Championships, UWL scored 86.5 points in the hurdles, jumps and heptathlon in winning the league title. The Eagles recorded five of the top-seven finishers in the 100-meter hurdles; three of the top-eight in the 400-meter hurdles; two of the top-three in the triple jump and three in the top-eight in the heptathlon.
The Eagles took three of the top-four places in the triple jump at the 2014 NCAA Division III indoor championships with Halama capturing the title. Wagner helped lead UWL to a third-place national finish at the 2013 indoor championships and fifth-place showing outdoor. The Eagles had three competitors in the long jump, two in the 60-meter hurdles, one in the pentathlon and one in the high jump at the indoor national meet. Three student-athletes qualified in the long jump and 100-meter hurdles as well as one in the high jump, 400-meter hurdles and heptathlon at the outdoor championships.
Prior to coming back to UWL, she served as an assistant cross country and track & field coach at State University of New York-Cortland in 2008-09.
After competing for UWL's track & field team for four years, Wagner was the Eagles' assistant coach for two seasons. She placed third in the WIAC pentathlon three times (2004, 2005, 2006) and fourth once (2003). Wagner captured the 2006 conference heptathlon and was 13th at the 2006 NCAA III Championships. She was third in the conference heptathlon on three different occasions (2003, 2004, 2005).
