Ranger of the Week: Nick Maas

Parkside Athletics is excited to announce the promotion of Nick Maas to Director of Cross Country and Track and Field. Maas has been the head coach for cross country and track and field at Parkside since July 2019. This is why he has been named this week’s Ranger of the Week!

“I am thrilled to be able to take on the new title of Director of Cross Country and Track and Field,” Maas said. “This has been a part of my long-term plan in building a very strong program here at Parkside. We have seen tremendous strides in all avenues due to the hard work of our staff and administration. I am a firm believer that if you surround yourself with great humans, you can accomplish almost anything as a group.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have some great people to work with on the staff I work with every day as well as the amazing administration at Parkside. I want to thank our previous Athletic Director Andrew Gavin and Chancellor Ford for always supporting me and our program. Without their support of our vision, we wouldn’t be moving forward as well as we have. I also want to thank interim Athletic Director John Skalbeck for helping during our athletic transition and supporting me. Finally, my wife Mandi and daughter Katelyn who always support me in my daunting pursuits and keep me grounded, love you, girls! The future is bright for our program and our purpose isn’t even close to being fulfilled. We want to win championships and do it the right way! GO RANGERS!”

“I am a firm believer that if you surround yourself with great humans, you can accomplish almost anything as a group.”

– Nick Maas, UW-Parkside Director of Cross Country and Track and Field

The cross country and track and field programs have taken massive strides under the direction of Maas. The roster has grown from a combined 36 student-athletes to a combined roster of 82 going into the 2023-24 school year, representing the most extensive roster in school history. Maas’ program has gotten it done in the classroom, raising the team GPA from 3.11 to 3.41. Maas and his staff have had 84 team members on the Dean’s list, 95 on the Dean’s and Provost’s list, 24 named USTFCCCA Academic All-American, and garnered 14 USTFCCCA Team All-Academic Awards.

The programs have also made major strides in their athletic performances as well. Maas has coached student-athletes to 62 all-conference awards, 133 all-conference honorable mention awards, and four GLIAC Top Performers of the Championships. Under Maas’s direction, the Rangers have had four student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships. Student-athletes have also reached NCAA Provisional Standards 55 times and broken Parkside school records 61 times.

On the team side, the Parkside men’s track and field team scored the largest point total in school history at the 2023 Outdoor GLIAC Championships. They also had the highest GLIAC placement in school history at both the indoor and outdoor championships. The women’s track and field team scored their third-largest point total in school history at the 2023 Outdoor GLIAC Championships.

Maas has also been instrumental in helping Parkside secure bids for the 2022 and the 2025 NCAA Division II Cross Country Midwest Regional Championships. He also helped Parkside secure the bid to host the 2025 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships at Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course.

For more information about the Parkside cross country and track and field programs please visit ParksideRangers.com.