Coaching Staff

Dane Tobey
Assistant Coach

Alma Mater: University of Nebraska-Kearney (B.A. 2010)
Experience: 14th Year at UNK

Coaching Career

2012-Present: Nebraska-Kearney (throws)

Coaching Highlights

• Coached 21 All-Americans
• Coached 1 D2 National Champion
• Coached D2 Top 10 Performance
• Coached 52 national qualifiers
• Coached 7 conference champions
• Coached 32 conference medalists
• Coached 8 school-record holders
• Coached 2 event squads that were ranked #1 in D2 nationally (2019 shot put, 2024 javelin)
• Coached 44 USTFCCCA All-Academic award winners

Throwing Career Highlights

• Won D2 national title (shot put)
• Earned 8 individual All-American awards (most in UNK history, all Top-4 finishes)
• Named D2 field event athlete-of-the-year
• Competed in USATF Outdoor Championships (2010, shot put)
• Established 3 UNK school records
• USTFCCCA All-Academic award winner
• Led UNK to programs first RMAC outdoor championships by scoring in all 4 throwing events

Personal

• Married to Jessi (Vasquez) Tobey
• Coaches his children, Traxton, Blakely, Cooper, Landri and Ripken in a variety of youth sports
• Coached the Kearney Little League baseball team to 3 consecutive state championships
• Graduated from Utica-Centennial H.S. in Nebraska

J.R. Blackwood
Assistant Coach

Alma Mater: University of Nebraska-Lincoln (B.A. 2014)
Alma Mater: University of Nebraska-Kearney (M.A. 2020)
Experience: 8th Year at UNK

Coaching Career

• 2018-Present: Nebraska-Kearney (sprints, hurdles, and horizontal jumps)
• 2017-2018: Kingston College (assistant boys coach)
• 2016: Munro College (assistant boys coach)
• Certification: USATF Level 2 Track & Field Coach – Sprints/Hurdles/Relays

College Coaching Highlights

• Coached 5 All-Americans
• Coached 5 individual UNK school-record holders
• Coached athletes on 5 UNK school-record relay teams
• Coached 6 individual conference medalists
• Coached 13 USTFCCCA All-Academic award winners

Running Career Highlights

• Qualified 2 times for Jamaican national championships (400 hurdles)
• Three-time All-American for University of Nebraska-Lincoln (400 hurdles and 4x100 relay)
• Won the Jamaican high school national championships (400 hurdles)

Personal

• Graduated from Munro College H.S. in 2010
• Hometown is Pisgah St. Elizabeth, Jamaica
• Full first name is Jodi-Rae

Brayden Sorensen
Assistant Coach

Alma Mater: University of Nebraska-Kearney (B.S. 2024)
Experience:  2nd Year at UNK

Coaching Career

• 2024-Present: Nebraska-Kearney (high jump and pole vault)
• Certification: USATF Level 1 Track & Field Coach 

College Coaching Highlights

• Coached 1 All-American
• Coached 1 conference medalist
• Assisted in coaching 7 athletes to UNK all-time top ten marks
• Coached 5 USTFCCCA All-Academic award winners

Jumping Career Highlights

• Qualified 2 times for USATF national championships (high jump)
• NCAA D2 national runner-up (high jump)
• Earned six individual All-American Awards (high jump)
• UNK indoor and outdoor school record holder (high jump)

Personal

• Graduated from Kearney H.S. in 2019
• Hometown is Kearney, Nebraska

Tim Hedges
Volunteer Assistant Coach

Madison Shapland
Volunteer Assistant Coach – Vertical Jumps / Pole Vault

Hometown: Scott City, Kansas

Alma Mater

Fort Hays State University — B.S. Psychology with coursework in Health & Human Performance and Coaching

Graduate Student — M.A.Ed. in Kinesiology & Sport Sciences (Coaching & Sport Performance emphasis) at UNK

Coaching & Competitive Experience

• Competed in the pole vault at Fort Hays State University; followed a medical retirement and transitioned into assisting the vault program.
• Served as assistant/shadow coach at FHSU post-injury, developing technical-event experience in the pole vault.
• Coached pole vault at the high-school level (2023–24), guiding two state placers (3rd and 7th) and directing athletes to personal-best marks, including an improvement from 11’0" to 13'6" in a single season.
• Currently a volunteer assistant coach for vertical jumps at UNK, pairing athlete development with ongoing graduate research on pole-vault performance.

Additional Credentials

• Graduate Assistant in UNK’s Health and Physical Education Department, assisting with teaching, research, and departmental programs.
• Graduate Graduate-level coursework in Sport Psychology at Georgia Southern University