By LIBERTY GOODNOW, Student Reporter
As a student athlete and now a coach, Sterlin Broomfield found a home at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Broomfield was born in Dodge City, Kansas, and moved to Wichita, Kansas, in 5th grade.
He grew up playing basketball, but because of his height, he said he realized he would be more successful as a runner.
Going into high school, Broomfield joined the track team and made the varsity team as a freshman.
At 17 years old, Broomfield lost his mother.
“It just made me grow up faster and look at life from a whole new viewpoint,” Broomfield said.
He began his collegiate athletic career at Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas.
There, he was a two-time junior college national qualifier in cross country.
Broomfield transferred to Northwestern in 2014, where he was named the Northwespy Junior Student-Athlete of the Year, and September Athlete of the Month. He held a school record in the 8k and 10k.
Upon graduating from Northwestern in 2017 with a degree in business administration, Broomfield pursued a master’s degree in education and sports administration, also from Northwestern.
He graduated in 2019.
During this time, Broomfield was a graduate assistant for the women’s track and cross country teams. He also worked in Student Support Services.
He is now a full-time assistant coach for cross country and track, specializing in distance running.
Broomfield also teaches classes in the health and sports science department.
Having the opportunity to work under Coach Jill Lancaster is what encouraged Broomfield to stay at Northwestern and coach, he said.
“She is a legendary coach with numerous years of D1 experience that could benefit me in the future,” Broomfield said.
Seeing athletes get personal records at meets is just one of the highlights of coaching, Broomfield said.
He said he enjoys coaching because he is given the chance to push athletes in the classroom and at practice.
It’s not about the top athletes getting better, he said. At the end of the day, he wants everyone on his team to get better.