Dirk Doehring is in his third season as the head track & field coach and his 11th overall with the Illinois College programs.

IC is coming off a milestone season in 2024-25 for both the men’s and women’s teams. In just his second season as head coach, Doehring guided the women’s program to its first Midwest Conference team titles at both the Indoor and Outdoor Championships. For their efforts, Doehring and his assistants were named the MWC Coaching Staff of the Year after both championships.

Individually, Aleese Trimingham was named the MWC Track Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season while McKenzie Murray was the league’s Newcomer of the Year.  Brooke Oakley earned the MWC’s Elite 20 Award, which goes to the senior with the highest grade point average.

On the men’s side, sophomore Dylan Doss continued to etch his name into IC annals as he earned All-American honors at both the indoor (200 meters – finishing fourth) and outdoor (long jump – finishing eighth, 100 meters – finishing 13th) NCAA Championships. Doss was also the MWC Track Athlete of the Year at the league’s indoor championships and earned All-Region accolades in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Freshman Sam Stimler earned the conference’s Newcomer of the Year at the indoor meet as well. 

Doehring’s initial season as the head coach was a success for both the IC men’s and women’s programs. 

The men’s team finished second at the Midwest Conference Outdoor Championships and boasted a second-team All-American in Doss, who placed 10th in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Doss was also All-Midwest Region after both the indoor and outdoor seasons, and freshman Adam Hernandez earned the Newcomer of the Year honor after the outdoor Championships. That duo combined to win a total of three conference titles during the season (Hernandez in the 60-meter and 110-meter hurdles and Doss in the indoor 200-meter dash). The Blueboys had a total of 16 All-Midwest Conference performances in 2024.

The IC women’s program enjoyed similar success during Doehring’s initial campaign. Freshman Deja Anderson was the conference’s Newcomer of the Year in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. The indoor 4 x 200-meter relay team of Mattie Brown, Haley Garrett, Fynesse Jones, and Anderson won the league indoor title and set a school record. Outdoors, the highlight of the season came when the 4 x 100-meter relay team of Brown, Mady Salisbury, Garrett, and Anderson cruised to the conference title, smashing both the IC and Midwest Conference Outdoor Championship records in the process. The Lady Blues had a total of 20 All-Midwest Conference honorees in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Prior to becoming Head Coach, Doehring coached both Andrea Hyde and Chris Moore to the 2017 MWC Newcomer of the Year award at one of the MWC Championships, and in 2018, Hyde and Brett Peifer were awarded the Outstanding Track Performers of the Meet at the MWC Outdoor Championships. Marshall Brown was named the Men's Newcomer of the Year at the Outdoor Championships in 2019. Hyde was an eight-time NCAA Championship qualifier in her career. The men's 4 x 100 Meter Relay also qualified in 2018 for NCAA Outdoor Championships. Hyde ended her 2018 season as an All-American after finishing sixth in the 100-meter dash. and was an All-American again in 2020, ending the year eighth nationally in the 60-meter dash and 17th in the 200-meter dash.

While on the Hilltop, Doehring has coached 50 individual conference championships and 142 All-MWC performances. Blueboy and Lady Blue athletes have set 34 school records during his tenure on the staff. 9 athletes have earned MWC Newcomer of the Year and 5 times an athlete has been honored as the MWC Track Athlete of the Year. Doehring has coached a total of 12 NCAA Championships qualifiers and 4 All Americans during his career with the Blueboys and Lady Blues.

Doehring came to IC from the University of Illinois, where he was a volunteer assistant for two seasons. During that time, the Illini had 41 Big Ten finalists in sprints, jumps, and hurdles. Illinois had 11 individual Big Ten champions, six first-team All-Americans, and five second-team All-Americans. The 2015 squad won the Big Ten Outdoor title and finished 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Before his stint in Champaign, Doehring was the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Millikin University for two seasons. The Big Blue boasted 14 CCIW champions and a pair of All-Americans in that span. Prior to becoming the Director, Doehring made stops as a volunteer assistant coach at Delaware State and Defiance College and began his coaching career as an assistant at Millikin.

Doehring graduated from Millikin in 2002 and received his master’s degree from Defiance in 2010. He has a USATF Level One Certification and a USTFCCCA Jumping Events Specialist Certification. He and his wife, Angie, live in Springfield with their children, Ayden and Madeline, and their dog, Max.