Evan Gerish joined the MSU Denver track & field program as a volunteer assistant coach in August, 2020.
In his first year with the Roadrunners, Gerish helped reinvigorate the hurdles program by supporting Summer Jarolmen on her way to the women’s indoor 60-meter hurdles school record (9.81) in 2020. The 2021-22 season opener saw Riley Negrey reset the record (9.78), before Maya Ries lowered it three times (9.09) that same season. Ries then set the school record in the outdoor 100 hurdles (14.51) later in 2022, placing third at the RMAC Championships. On the men’s side, Anthony Martinez earned a fifth-place finish at the RMAC Championships in the 110 hurdles (14.90) in 2022, making him the second-fastest male hurdler in program history.
Gerish is also entering his second year as inaugural head coach at The Pinnacle, where he teaches middle school. In the Timberwolves' first year, both men’s and women’s programs placed fifth at the Frontier League Championships, while winning both the boys 110 and 300 hurdles with first-year hurdlers.
Before coaching at The Pinnacle, Gerish was the head coach for three seasons at Peak to Peak Charter School. In 2019, his first year, he grew the team participation by 30 percent through in-school recruiting, and supported the girls 4x200 relay school record (1:49.02). In 2021, he coached Division I Stony Brook hurdle recruit Aidan Graziano to a win at the Class 3A State Championship in the 110 hurdles. In 2022, Peak to Peak hurdlers Kourtney Rathke and Cole DiGiacomo earned second- and fifth-place finishes at state, in the 100 and 110 hurdles, respectively.
Prior to joining the Pumas, Gerish served as an assistant coach (sprints, hurdles, relays) for seven seasons at the all-boys Detroit Catholic Central High School, where Gerish mentored league and regional champions in multiple events, and oversaw eight of the top 10 times in school history in both the 110 and 300 hurdles. In 2018, he coached school record holder (38.42) Gavin Check to a sixth-place finish at the MHSAA D1 State Championships in the boys 300 hurdles.
Before his stint with Detroit Catholic Central, Gerish worked with the sprinters, hurdlers, and relays at Northville (Mich.) High School, his alma mater. Among his accomplishments with the Mustangs were the boys 4x200 relay school record (1:30.1) in 2010, as well as the development of University of Michigan hurdler Dr. Ali Arastu, who set school records in both 110 (13.95) and 300 (36.98) hurdles, placing second and first at state, respectively. Arastu went on to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400 hurdles, placing fifth overall.
Gerish earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Eastern Michigan, and holds the freshman program record in the 110 hurdles at Division I Winthrop, where he was All-Big South Conference in the 60 hurdles in 2009.
