Vijay Saxena is in his seventh year with the McNeese track and field program and coaches the sprinters, jumpers, hurdlers, and the 800m runners.
During his time, he's coached 51 all-conference selections in both the indoor and outdoor seasons combined. He has been a part of 11 school records and has also coached 11 NCAA East Regional qualifiers.
That list includes most recently in 2021 Malaiya Jedkins who jumped 12.94m in the Triple Jump and also was on the record breaking women’s 4x400m relay indoors.
In 2020 despite the Pandemic, the cowboys had a successful indoor season with Kobe Nevills breaking the school record in the 400m indoors 3 times. Darion Dunn broke the school record in the 60mH on his way to a first place finish at the indoor conference championship. The women also broke the school record in the 4x400m relay twice indoors.
In 2019 the men’s 200m record was broken by Tyler Smith after it was broken in 2018 by Tyler Syrie.
McNeese triple jump record holder John Lemke who won gold at the 2018 outdoor championships and the 2017 indoor league meet and qualified for both the 2016 and 2018 NCAA East Preliminary Round. John placed 13th at the 2018 USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Also in 2018, he mentored jumper Lentz Similien who finished third in the high jump and triple jump at the SLC outdoor championships and third place in the high jump at the indoor meet.
The 2017 season saw him coach Cowgirl jumper Tijana Antic to a silver medal in the women's triple jump at the conference outdoor championships, and for the indoor season, Lemke won gold in the triple jump and bronze in the long jump.
In his first season at McNeese, he coached junior sprinter Maegan Moore from 11.92 to 11.68 in the 100 to make the podium at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships.
At the Florida Relays, the Cowgirls set a new school record in the Shuttle Hurdle Relay under his guidance. Also, Cowboys' freshman Tyler Smith improved on his 100-meter time from 10.84 to 10.42 to qualify for the NCAA East Regionals. Tyler Smith finished his career as a 4 time NCAA East Regional qualifier with personal bests of 10.27 in the 100m and 20.83 in the 200m.
In the jumps, he coached Kartavius Hamilton to the conference podium and the NCAA regionals in the long jump.
Saxena, a graduate of Springfield College where he earned NEWMAC All-Academic honors while competing in the long jump and triple jump, came from Westfield State where he helped lead the men's team to the MASCAC Conference indoor championships in 2014 as well as back-to-back outdoor titles in 2014 and in 2015. He also helped coach the women's team to the 2013 indoor conference title. In 2015, he coached the men's squad to a top 10 finish at the Division III New England meet and top 25 finish at NCAA Division III Nationals. His long and triple jump coaching skills helped WSU freshman Dereck Stone win the title at the All New England meet (Divisions 1-3) in the long jump and to a ninth-place finish at the Division III Nationals. At WSU, he also coached running backs and wide receivers in football.
He received his B.S. in 2010 in movement and sports studies with a minor in athletic coaching and earned his M.Ed. in athletic administration in 2012. Both degrees from Springfield College.
Saxena also holds the following certifications:
USATF Level 1 Certification
USTFCCCA Sprints, Hurdles, & Relay Specialist
USTFCCCA Combined Events Specialist
USTFCCCA Jumps Specialist
CSCS Certified by the NSCA
