Staten Island, NY- Wagner College Director of Athletics
Brendan Fahey has announced the hiring of
Patrick Waters as the school's next head women's triathlon coach.
Melanie Abbott will also join the staff as a graduate assistant with long-time Wagner men's and women's track & field coach Joe Stasi serving as Director of Triathlon.
Waters has 14 years of triathlon coaching experience and is a Lima 2019 Parapan American Games Silver Medalist and Canadian National Record Holder. The Kamloops, BC native earned his Bachelor's degree in Nutrition & Exercise Science from the University of British Columbia.
"I am looking forward to providing direction for Wagner's women's triathlon team," Waters said in a statement. "This is a historic year for women's triathlon as there are now 40 NCAA programs and are en route to becoming the newest NCAA championship sport. Wagner has had a strong team in the past. Looking forward, our future is bright. With the addition of Melanie Abbott as our graduate assistant, we are primed to thrive this season."
Waters is a Chartered Professional Coach and Certified Triathlon Coach with the Coaches Association of Canada. He attended Canadian's Sport Institute Victoria Campus to receive his Advanced Coaching Diploma. Waters' other certifications are as a certified Exercise Physiologist & certified Strength & Conditioning Coach.
"We are thrilled to bring Patrick on board as our head coach of the triathlon program," said Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator Katie Wassel. "Patrick's passion, experience and coaching abilities at this level of Triathlon are clear and we can't wait for our student-athletes to begin working with him. I truly believe in the strength of this coaching structure and new levels of success our triathlon program will reach with Patrick at the helm of our program."
Waters is a member of Canada's National Para-Swimming Team and is currently the Co-Chair of Swimming Canada's High-Performance Athlete Advisory Council. He inherits a program at Wagner that most recently saw two student-athletes receive All-American Honorable Mention recognition last fall (
Clara Normand and
Yasmin Rieger). They are the first two in the program's four-year history to receive this distinction.
Abbott arrives on Grymes Hill after graduating from Drury University this spring. She qualified and competed in the 2018, 2019, and 2021 NCAA Triathlon National Championships. Abbott's other accolades include being a member of a first-place team at the NCAA Division II Central Collegiate Regional; team captain for the 2021-2022 academic school year; 2018 Scholar All-American Triathlon; and a Drury Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Representative in 2018 and 2020-22.
