Stephen Krupa - Track & Field Coach - Ball State University Athletics

Stephen Krupa

Title:
Assistant Coach (Field Events)
Email:
sgkrupa@bsu.edu
Phone:
765-285-8912

Stephen Krupa, a six-time Atlantic Sun All-Conference selection as a high jumper at North Florida, enters his second season as the field events coach for the Ball State track & field program in 2016-17.

In his first season with the Cardinals, Krupa helped seniors Marie Lumpkin and Michael Hull etch their name in the Ball State record books. Lumpkin concluded her career as the school record in the indoor weight throw (18.55m) and with the second-best individual effort in the outdoor hammer throw (55.40m). Hull turned in the second-best indoor shot put (14.34m) and fourth-best outdoor discus (45.87m) in program history.

Perhaps the biggest moment of Krupa’s first season came at the 2016 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championship when freshman high jumper Regan Lewis turned in a bronze medal finish by clearing the bar at 1.66m on her first attempt. With her effort, Lewis became the first medalist for the Cardinals at the MAC Outdoor Championship since 2012.

Ball State's success in the field events did not stop with the high jump, as Hull concluded her career with a seventh-place effort in the discus. Her best mark came in her second of six throws, when she launched the discus a career-best distance of 45.87m, which is the fourth-best individual effort in program history. Hull became the first Ball State student-athlete to score in the discus since the 2012 MAC Outdoor Championships.

Lumpkin also finished her career on a high note, placing eighth in the hammer throw at the MAC Outdoor Championship and eighth in the weight throw at the MAC Indoor Championship.

Senior Zenée Gadson provided another bright spot in the field events for the Cardinals at the indoor championship, placing sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 12.03m. Gadson became the first Ball State student-athlete to score in the triple jump since Terri Abraham placed sixth at the 2008 league indoor meet.

Prior to joining the Ball State staff, Krupa completed his four-year career at North Florida after serving as the Ospreys’ captain for his final two seasons. In addition to his six all-conference awards, Krupa garnered Atlantic Sun Academic All-Conference honors seven times over his collegiate career.

Prior to attending UNF, Krupa was a four-year letterwinner at Lemon Bay High School in Englewood, Fla., where he established the program record in the high jump. As a senior, he placed second at the state meet, following a fifth-place finish his junior year. A district champion as a junior and senior, he was also the regional runner-up both years.