Dan Lefever was named assistant coach for jumps and combined events in August of 2018.
Lefever arrived at BU from Stanford University where he assisted in the pole vault, jumps, and combined events. Prior to Stanford, Lefever spent 14 years at Missouri as a volunteer, assistant, and associate head coach.
During his tenure at the University of Missouri, Lefever contributed to 26 first team All-Americans, 10 Big 12 Conference champions, 37 NCAA Participants, 72 conference scorers, and 17 Missouri school recordsacross the jumps, pole vault, and combined events.
In his final year at Missouri, Lefever guided pole vaulters Alyssa Applebee (4.22m/13’10”) and Matt Ludwig (5.46m/17’10”) to school records and SEC scoring positions on their way to first and second team All-America performances. Ludwig was the highest placing freshman male vaulter in the country at the outdoor 2016 NCAA championships.
In 2015, Lefever saw the continued success of Katrine Haarklau as she finished her career with a 12th place finish to secure second team All-America honors. For Haarklau, this was her fourth All-America finish in the pole vault. An Outdoor NCAA Championships qualifier for each of her four years, Haarklau was 15th in 2012, 5th in 2013, and 6th in 2014. Additionally, in 2013, she broke the school record in the outdoor pole vault (4.35m/14-3.25)and Javelin (49.56/162’7”). Haarklau was also a Missouri Top Ten performer in the pentathlon (3699) and heptathlon(5374).
Under Lefever’s leadership, Morgan Whitson broke out in the high jump in 2014. Whitson was a second team All-America finisher; finishing 16th with a jump of 1.77m (5’ 9.75”). Additionally, Whitson held Missouri Top Ten marks in the pentathlon (3828) and heptathlon (5273). Also in 2014, Katrine Haarklau, Heather Green, and Shinelle Proctor qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the pole vault and high jump, respectively.
2011 marked the final year for Brian Hancock and Lars Rise. They together with Nick Adcock, who graduated in 2010, had a fantastic run at the conference, NCAA, and International levels. Included among the accolades were 13 first team All-American honors, an NCAA HeptathlonRunner-Up, 10 Big 12 Champion/Runner-up performances, 20 All-Big 12 recognitions, 6 school records, Big 12 Indoor Championship Meet record, Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year, USATF junior decathlon champion, USATF Indoor heptathlon champion, and Norwegian heptathlon national record (5902).
Additionally, Nick Adcock finished no lower than 5th at any NCAA competition and together with Lars Rise scored 52 points in 8 NCAA championships. Brian Hancock became the first male Tiger in 50 years to take home an All-American finish in the pole vault.
To conclude a strong year for Lefever he was also selected to coach the USA Track and Field Thorpe Cup Decathlon team on which Adcock competed for the third time.
2008 and 2009 served as the introduction of Adcock and Rise as a powerful duo in the combined events for the years to come. Additionally, senior heptathlete Kaela Rorvig put together a strong finish to her collegiate career. Rorvig finished runner up in the Big 12 heptathlon with a personal best of 5372 which also qualified her to compete at the 2009 Outdoor NCAA championships. This built upon her strong indoor season where Rorvig finished third in the pentathlon at the conference championships scoring 3922 points.
Lefever had strong years at the conference level in addition to the NCAA accomplishments in 2007 and 2008. He led the jumps and combined event groups to 19 All Big 12 performances with athletes scoring in the combined events, pole vault, and horizontal jumps.
In the fall of 2005, Lefever was promoted from a volunteer assistant coach to a full-time assistant coach position. He was charged to work with the decathletes, jumps, and pole vault. He mentored 2004 Norwegian Olympian Hans Uldalfor the remainder of his collegiate career. That year Uldalbroke indoor and outdoor combined event school records (5593/8018) and his decathlon score of 8,018 points was good enough to qualify him for the 2007 World Championships. Hans would finish his career with another All-America honor, 3 runner up Big 12 championship performances and 4 Missouri school records.
Beginning as a volunteer pole vault coach at the University of Missouri in 2002, Lefever started a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with emphasis in sport psychology. He mentored pole vaulter Jennifer Bennett (13’7”) to school record, Big 12 championship, and first team All-America honors.
Prior to his transition to the University of Missouri, Lefever completed a Master’s degree in counseling psychology and coached the pole vault at Boston College.
A graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2000, Lefever studied exercise science and psychology. While at NWU, Lefever competed in the pole vault where he was competitive at the conference and national level.
KEY ATHLETES
Alyssa Applebee, Pole Vault (’16): All-American ... Missouri School Record Holder (Indoor Pole Vault)
Matt Ludwig, Pole Vault: Second team All-American ... All SEC ... Missouri School Record Holder (Outdoor Pole Vault)
Katrine Haarklau, Pole Vault/Combined Events (’15): Four-time All-American ... All-SEC ... All-Big 12 ... Missouri School Record Holder (Outdoor Pole Vault/Javelin)
Brian Hancock, Pole Vault ('11): Five-time All-American ... Five-time All-Big 12 ... Missouri School Record Holder (indoor and outdoor pole vault)
Lars Rise, Combined Events ('11): Two-time Nordic Junior Champion // IAAF World Youth Championships qualifier ... 2011 Big 12 Champion (decathlon) ... Six-time All-American ... Seven-time All-Big 12
Nick Adcock, Combined Events ('10): 2007 Pan-American Junior silver medalist ... 2007 USATF Junior Decathlon Champion ... 2007 NACAC U23 silver medalist ... Five-time All-American ... Three-time Big 12 Champion ... Seven-time All-Big 12 ... Big 12 Indoor Championships Record Holder for the heptathlon (5,938 points) ... 2010 Midwest Athlete of the Year
Hans Uldal, Combined Events ('07): 2004 Olympian for Norway (decathlon) ... 2007 European Cup gold medalist ... Four-time All-American ... 2005 Big 12 Champion ... Seven-time All-Big 12 ... Missouri School Record Holder (decathlon, 60m hurdles, 60m, heptathlon)
Jennifer Bennett, Pole Vault ('05): All-American ... Big 12 Champion ... Six-time All-Big 12 ... Missouri School Record Holder (indoor, outdoor pole vault)
