Vicente Blanco will enter his second season as assistant cross country and track and field head coach in 2025-26.
During the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach, the Lions saw much improvement from a season ago. With the track squads, he guided the team to a third-place finish at the Indoor Championships and sixth during outdoor. Blanco coached the OVC Female Track Athlete of the Year who finished first in the 200 meter and second in the 400 meter at the Championships. Her squad broke multiple personal and program bests during the season.
From 2021-24, Blanco was the assistant cross country and track and field head coach at Maryville University. During that time, Maryville's teams broke 70 program records. Blanco guided GLVC All-Conference and All-Region Cross Country performer Caleb Pyle in 2021, GLVC Cross Country Freshman of the Year Lyric Ford in 2023. In addition, The program garnered individuals on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Men & Women Teams from 2021-2024.
Prior to Maryville, Blanco spent one year at Friends University as a graduate assistant. During his time at Friends, Blanco was able to coach two individual National Champions, three All-Americans, and helped the women finish top four at the NAIA indoor championships in 2021.
Blanco started his coaching career at Lindbergh High School. There he was able to assist the men’s cross country and track programs in their success having athletes qualify for state in both distance events and the pole vault.
As a collegiate athlete Blanco competed at Lindenwood University-Belleville, where he was a 2x All-American in the 4X800m relay and 2x Academic All-American while being named the Lindenwood-Belleville Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor’s in Physical Education.
