KatelynCiarelliis in her 16th year as a member of the UC Irvine men’s and women’s track & field staff, and 11th as an associate head coach.
Ciarelli was named UCI’s associate head coach in November 2014, after serving as an assistant since August 2009.
Ciarelli works with the throwers, and her efforts have developed the Anteaters into a throwing powerhouse in The Big West.
Since Ciarelli’s first season in 2009-10, the 'Eaters have produced 36 NCAA West regional qualifying marks, 51 All-Big West honors,15conference champions and three Junior All-Americans in the throwing events.
This past season, Ciarelli’s student-athletes had a banner season, claiming the Big West title and establishing school records in three of the four men’s throwing events. Liam Miksic defended his conference crown in the javelin before breaking the school record with a toss of 68.34 meters (224-2) at the NCAA West First Round. Justin Willingham set the program standard four times in the shot put with the last coming in an individual victory at the Big West Championships where he hit 18.74m (61-5.75). Jacob Hawkins was also the conference champion in the discus and broke a 41-year-old school record earlier in the year with a best of 59.03m (193-8) at the Challenge Cup. Overall, the men’s throwers accounted for 48 of the team’s 89 points at the conference meet.
Ciarelli also helped coach Josh Farmer to a Big West title and second-team All-America honors in the decathlon. At the NCAA Championships, Farmer set a personal record in the javelin.
On the women’s side, Deandra Tyler earned her third career All-Big West award with a runner-up finish in the shot put. Tyler tied for first but ended up taking second based on her next best throw. She was also the MPSF Indoor Champion in the shot put. Nyla Baker added an All-Big West performance during the outdoor season, placing third in the shot put at the conference meet. In addition, Jolie Robinson won the Big West Heptathlon for the second year in a row.
Ciarelli saw five of her student-athletes qualify for the NCAA West First Round - Hawkins (Shot Put & Discus), Mikisic (Javelin), Logan Peyton (Javelin), Tyler (Shot Put) and Willingham (Shot Put & Discus).
In 2023, Ciarelliled Liam Miksic to the program's first Big West men's javelin title. His conference-winning mark of 64.23 meters (210-8) also qualified him for the NCAA West Regional meet for the second year in a row. Deandra Tyler added all-conference honors in the women's shot put where she was the Big West runner-up.
In 2022, Ciarelli guided the throws squad to five all-conference awards. Noah Holm won the men's shot put title andfinished third in the discus, whileLiam Miksicalso took third in the men's javelin. On the women's side, Kassidy Sani (Javelin) and Deandra Tyler (Shot Put) claimed runner-up honors in their respective events. Holm, Miksic and Sani advanced to the NCAA West Regional.
In 2021, Ciarelli's student-athletes combined for five All-Big West honors, including two individual conference titles. Kyle Tsu won the shot put at the Big West Championships, while Brianna Villanueva secured top honors in the discus. It was the third year in a row an 'Eater brought home the women’s discus title. Villanueva was also the runner-up in the hammer and was named the Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Meet. Tsu (Shot Put) and Jack Pickard (Javelin) qualified for the NCAA West Regional.
In 2019, Ciarelliled the women's throws squad to 41 of the team's 64 points at the Big West Championships. Barbara Coward accounted for 20 points as she defended her title in the discus while becoming UCI's first conference champion in the women's hammer. Villanuevafinished third in both events, while Elizabeth Akindele was the runner-up in the shot put.
Coward capped a remarkable career, bettering her own school records in the discus (56.79m/186-4) and hammer (59.91m/196-7), while breaking the weight throw record twice during the indoor season (58-4.75). She advanced to the NCAA West Regional in the discus for the fourth consecutive year and made her second-straight appearance in the hammer.
On the men's side, Tsu (Shot Put) andPickard (Javelin) both earned All-Big West honors and qualified for the NCAA West Prelims. Pickard established a program record in the new javelin with a toss of 67.36m (221-0) at the Big West Challenge.
In 2018, Ciarelli's four throwers on the women's side combined for a conference-best 33 points at the Big West Championships. Coward led the way as she claimed the Big West title in the discus while finishing second in the hammer. Akindele also made it onto the podium with a third-place showing in the shot put. Earlier in the season, Coward shattered the school record in the hammer at the Steve Scott Invitational, and went on to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims in both the discus and hammer.
In 2017, three ‘Eaters combined for four all-conference awards. Matt Seawright took second in the hammer and third in the discus, while Melanie Speech (Javelin) and Coward (Discus) were the runner-up in their respective events. Seawright and Coward also qualified for their second-straight NCAA West Regional. In addition, Coward bettered her own program record in the discus at the Ben Brown Invitational.
In 2016, Ciarelli was not slowed down by a young group as she led Coward to her first school record in the discus. Coward qualified for the NCAA regional meet as one of the top freshmen in the country. Seawright also scored in three events at the Big West Championships, moving to No. 3 in UCI history in the hammer throw and No. 4 in the discus. He went on to compete at the NCAA West Prelims in both events.
In 2015,Ciarelliguided Mason Miller to UC Irvine’s first Big West title in the men’s shot put in 25 years. Miller also broke a 38-year-old school record with a personal-best 18.44m (60-6).
At the 2014 Big West Championships,Ciarelliproduced conference champions in the women’s discus, shot put and javelin. Itohan Aikhionbare, who won league titles in the shot put and discus, was named the Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Year. Aikhionbare was also a two-time Big West Scholar Athlete of the Year, and in 2013, she was an alternate for the Junior Pan Am team.
Eight school records are currently held by Ciarelli-coached athletes -- Barbara Coward in the women's discus, hammer and indoor weight throw,Itohan Aikhionbare in the women’s shot put, Jacob Hawkins in the men’s discus and Justin Willingham in the men’s shot put. Liam Miksic and Lacey Surak also hold the top men's and women's javelin marks, respectively, since the specifications changed.
As an athlete, Ciarelli was a two-time Big West champion in the discus at Long Beach State, winning league titles in 2006 and 2008.She placed fifth in the discus at the 2008 NCAA West Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships.
Ciarelli competed in the discus, hammer, javelin, shot put, and indoor weight throw while at LBSU. In 2006, she scored a total of 19 points at the Big West Championships. She was a two-time team captain, and was named the 2006 Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.
Ciarelli, who also oversees the strength and conditioning for the throwers, has been involved in Olympic weightlifting since the age of nine. She was a Junior All-American in Olympic lifting while in middle school.
After graduating from Long Beach State,Ciarelliserved one season (2008-09) as an assistant throws coach at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, where she worked alongside Mac Wilkins, the 1976 Olympic gold medalist and 1984 silver medalist in the discus.
Ciarelli, who earned her master's in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University, Irvine, in 2010, also has her undergraduate degree in sociology.
