Andrew Ninow - Associate Head Coach - Throws - Track and Field Coaches

Andrew Ninow

Title:
Associate Head Coach - Throws
Email:
ninow@ou.edu

Andrew Ninow, pronounced (NIN-oh), enters his fourth year as the associate head track and field coach for throws at the University of Oklahoma. Regarded as one of the nation’s top throwing coaches, his event group has represented OU 13 times at an NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championship since joining the Sooners in 2021. His athletes have earned three NCAA First Team All-America honors, seven Second Team All-America awards and three honorable mentions. Ninow’s athletes have dominated the Big 12 conference, collecting six titles and amassing 287 points at Big 12 indoor and outdoor championships across the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Career Coaching Numbers:
2 Olympians
2 World Championship Participants
3 NCAA Championship Runner-Ups
3 International Championship Medals
18 School Records
18 Conference Champions (Seven-time Pac-12, six-time Big 12, five-time SEC)
53 NCAA All-Americans
60 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor National Championship Qualifiers
142 NCAA Outdoor Regional Qualifiers
NCAA All-American in every men’s and women’s throwing event
2014 Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year

Ninow coached the Sooners’ throws group to 10 Big 12 All-Conference honors, four NCAA All-America awards, 11 NCAA West First Round qualifications, a school record and an Olympic appearance during the 2023-24 season. Junior Paige Low emerged as a dominant force for Oklahoma, breaking the school discus record with a 191-7 (58.40m) toss and scoring in the shot put at the Big 12 indoor (fourth place) and outdoor championship (third place). She concluded the indoor season at the NCAA Championships where she finished 14th in the shot put, earning Second Team All-America honors.

Coach Ninow’s efforts aided three Sooners to 2024 NCAA All-America honors at the outdoor championships in Eugene, Ore.; Graduate Bayley Campbell, finishing 11th in the hammer throw, freshman Tuane Silver in the shot put (14th) and Diego Trevino with 20th in the shot put.

The throws group racked up 25 points across the men’s and women’s side at the 2024 Big 12 Indoor Championship, with help from a second-place finish by Kassidy Gallagher and a fifth-place finish from Kennedy Clarke in the hammer throw. Diego Trevino also earned a silver medal in the shot put. During the outdoor season, six throwers accounted for 33% of Oklahoma’s team score at the Big 12 Championship, amassing 34 points; Kassidy Gallagher (second, hammer throw), Diego Trevino (third, shot put), Bayley Campbell (third, hammer throw), Kennedy Clarke (fifth, shot put) and Tucker Smith (fifth, shot put).

Over the summer, Ninow worked with student-athletes participating in national and international competitions in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics. While attending the Jamaican National Trials, he aided senior Ralford Mullings to an Olympic-qualifying mark and a school record in the discus. Mullings would go on to finish ninth in Paris, becoming the first Oklahoma male to ever qualify and compete in the discus at an Olympic event. In the U.S., Ninow coached freshman Nailea Fields to third place in the discus throw at the 2024 USATF U20 Championships. At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Ninow supported three throwers: Paige Low, Kassidy Gallagher and Brendon See as they competed for a chance to represent USATF at the Olympics.

In 2023, Coach Ninow continued to build on the throwers outstanding 2022 season. At the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, senior Payden Montana claimed her third Big 12 title, this one in the shot put with a 17.65m (57’11”) toss. Sophomore Kassidy Gallagher won the Big 12 hammer title with a massive personal record, launching the implement to 67.62m (221’10”), the second-best mark in OU history. Gallagher then qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in her career. Freshmen Tucker Smith was runner-up in the shot put with a career-best 18.91m (62’0.5”), only one centimeter out of first place. Eleven individual men and women combined to score 68 points, more than any other throws team in the Big 12.

During indoor season, Moore earned her first Big 12 indoor title, winning the weight throw with a heave of 20.88m (68’6”). Montana, and graduate Diego Trevino, also earned runner-up finishes in the women’s and men’s shot put. Oklahoma was the only program to have three individual athletes score in a men’s and women’s throwing event. His event group combined for 40 points, more than any other school at the championship.

During Coach Ninow's inaugural season in 2022, Oklahoma's throwers showcased remarkable improvements and delivered outstanding performances. The Sooners totaled three Big 12 titles; Payden Montana (shot put), Bayley Campbell (hammer throw) and Lauren Jones (hammer throw). The throws squad earned three school records with Cooper Campbell’s 19.95m (65’5”) shot put mark, Lauren Jones 69.65m (228’6”) hammer throw and Bayley Campbell’s hammer throw to 70.15m (230’2”). The Sooners had 12 individual scorers combine for 125 points during the indoor and outdoor Big 12 Championship. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Oklahoma sent nine entries, tied for most in the country. All participants earned first or second team All-America honors. Lauren Jones finished fifth in the discus at the outdoor championship and Payden Montana finished sixth in the shot put at the indoor championships.

Before joining the Sooners, Coach Ninow made a significant impact at Washington from 2019 to 2021. In his final Pac-12 Championships with the Huskies, Elijah Mason earned a second Pac-12 title in the discus and the Huskies grabbed five top-four finishes. Washington was the only men's team to score in every throwing event, grabbing at least seven points in all four throws. The men's throws group totaled 48 points, twenty points more than the next men's group, accounting for nearly half of the men’s total team points. The men’s and women’s squads both placed third for the first time in UW history.

Elijah Mason and Jonah Wilson both qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championship for the second year in a row. Wilson placed eighth in the shot put with a season-best 64’6.50” toss, the first Husky to score in the event since 1996. Mason made the NCAA Championships podium for the second time, taking sixth in the discus. Mason and Wilson also went on to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials that year.

Mason and Wilson were joined at NCAA Outdoors by freshman Jayden White, whose brilliant indoor season carried over to outdoor. White took fourth in the hammer throw at the Pac-12 Championships with a personal-record 66.65m (218’8”) toss.

During the 2021 indoor season, Jayden White and MaKayla Shelby broke a pair of school records that stood for a combined 75 years. White broke the weight throw record set in 1978 with a 21.85m (71’8.25”) toss. White was the No. 1 freshman in the NCAA and finished 10th at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He was the first Husky to earn All-American honors in the event since 1986. MaKayla Kelby broke the women's shot put record set in 1988, smashing it by full foot, recording 53’7.75”. Kelby would go on to earn the No. 2 spot in the discus on UW’s all-time outdoor list with an 183’3” mark. She took fifth in both the shot put and discus at Pac-12s in her first collegiate outdoor season.

In addition to White, Sam Van Peursem was the No. 1 freshman in the men’s shot put during the 2021 indoor season. Nationally, he ranked 19th with a season-best 62’10.75” throw.

Before their season was prematurely halted due to COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, Ninow’s throws group was on track for a remarkable season. Senior Angel Nkwonta shattered the weight throw school record, adding over six feet to her personal record with a 69’8.25” toss. Competing unattached in indoor season, Jonah Wilson launched what would have been the new UW record in the shot put, registering 65’10.50.” This mark would’ve also qualified Wilson for the NCAA Indoor Championship.

In 2019, several Husky throwers experienced significant breakthroughs under Ninow's guidance, particularly notable were several seniors who had only been coached by him for one year. Fifth-year senior Denham Patricelli added nearly 20 feet to his javelin PR over his final meets, advancing to his first career NCAA Championships. Patricelli placed eighth to earn First-Team All-American honors. He was the Pac-12 runner-up with a PR of 241’6”. He is the seventh javelin thrower to score at NCAAs in the past nine years for Ninow.

Fifth-year senior Onyie Chibuogwu also qualified for her first career NCAA Outdoor Championships under Ninow. Chibuogwu broke her own school record in the hammer throw and earned 16th at NCAA Indoor Championships for Second-Team All-American honors.

Redshirt freshman Elijah Mason made history in 2019. He won the Pac-12 discus title, the first Husky to earn the title since 1976. Mason went on to finish seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for First-Team All-American honors. Sophomore Jonah Wilson had a breakout season, adding seven feet to his PR in the shot put and 11 feet to his discus PR. He broke a 21-year-old shot put record, registering 64’7.25.” Wilson would finish in the top five of the Pac-12 in both events and qualify for NCAA Outdoors.

He concluded the season with an impressive performance, securing 16th place in the shot put and 20th place in the discus at the nationals—a remarkable achievement for the sophomore.

Prior to Washington, Coach Ninow spent six successful seasons at the University of Kentucky. His athletes broke seven school records, two freshman records, added 5 SEC conference titles and put 40 marks into the UK top-10 all-time performance list. Ninow was named the Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA in 2014. He also served as the throws coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2015 NACAC Championships.
While at Kentucky, Ninow guided Andrew Evans to third place in the discus at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The next year, Evans would break into the NCAA’s all-time top-ten with a career-best 217’9” mark. Evans would go on to make the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team for the Rio Games, grabbing 16th. He would compete again for Team USA at the 2017 World Championships.

Ray Dykstra, who landed in the top-five at NCAA Outdoors in the javelin for three straight years, finished his collegiate career with second place. He was also a 2014 SEC champion, school record holder and Canadian National Champion.

Beckie Famurewa earned First-Team All-American honors in two different events, taking seventh in the discus in 2015 and seventh in the indoor weight throw in 2016. She broke the school record in the discus, hammer and weight throw. At the SEC conference championship, she scored points in the shot put, discus, hammer and weight throw.
Ninow also coached Brad Szypka to two-straight fifth-place finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the shot put in 2014 and 2015. Szypka ended his career at No. 2 all-time on Kentucky’s top-10 list.

At Stanford, Ninow coached the NCAA Outdoor Championships’ women’s javelin runner-up in back-to-back years with two different athletes, Eda Karesin and Brianna Bain. In 2011, Bain tossed to a new school record with her second-place finish, registering 180’2”. Karesin took second in 2012.

Ninow also coached numerous athletes to NCAA Outdoor and Indoor Championships titles and scores between 2009 to 2012. Daniel Schaerer took bronze in the discus in 2009, Jaynie Goodbody was ninth in the women’s hammer in 2010 and Geoffrey Tabor earned ninth in the discus in 2012.

Over a span of four years, Coach Ninow added five Pac-12 titles to Stanford’s history books; Brianna Bain (javelin), Daniel Schaerer (discus), Jaynie Goodbody (hammer throw), Carter Wells (weight throw) and Geoffrey Tabor (discus).

A native of Sacramento, Calif. Ninow began his coaching career at the University of San Francisco in 2008 after finalizing his collegiate career in 2007. He competed at UCLA for legendary throws coach and Hall of Famer Art Venegas. Ninow was a Pac-10 scorer and regional qualifier in the hammer throw with a personal-best 207’4” toss. He earned his bachelor’s in of science in biochemistry.

Andrew is married to Kristen Ninow, a UCLA graduate, and the two have a daughter, Addison, and a son, Beau.