Kyle Dreibelbis enters his fifth year as an assistant coach for the Pioneers cross country and track & field programs in the fall of 2026.
Lewis & Clark put together a strong year for distance running with six long distance runners earning All-Conference accolades. In the Fall, men's cross country placed fourth overall and the women's team came in sixth. Senior Malia Heien earned All-Conference and All-Region honors and became the fifth student-athlete in school history to qualify for three Cross Country National Championship Meets. Juniors Quinn Higgins and Sam Garcia each earned their first career All-Conference awards on the men's side. During the Outdoor season, junior Evan Markelz won his first career NWC Title when he placed first overall in the Men's 5,000M at the NWC Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet. Heien added titles in the 800M and 1,500M and junior Emil Miller won his first career All-Conference award in the 3,000M Steeplechase (second place).
The Pioneers enjoyed a banner campaign during his third year on Palatine Hill. Both cross country teams finished in the top-nine at the NCAA DIII West Regionals and three student-athletes punched their ticket to Nationals. Senior Riley Buese finished 17th overall at Nationals, to tie the program record for highest-finish and earn her second-straight All-American honors. During the outdoor track & field season, the Pioneers set six program records, with the majority coming in distance events. Buese won the 10K and 5K at the Northwest Conference Championship Meet - becoming the first student-athlete on the women's side to win three 5K-10K doubles in conference history. The Pioneers had 10 student-athletes earn All-Conference honors - including five distance runners. Buese posted five All-American performances during her senior campaign to wrap up her career as the most decorated student-athlete in school history (8 All-American honors).
In his second season with the cross country program, Lewis & Clark put together their best season since the 2012 campaign. Both programs finished in the top-two of the conference and top-10 in the region and the Pioneers had a runner earn All-American honors for the first time since 2007. Lewis & Clark had four student-athletes named to the All-Conference team and three runners recognized on the All-Region team. Junior Riley Buese posted the top time/finish by a women's runner in program history at Nationals when she finished 17th overall with a time of 21:25.0. Freshman Evan Markelz posted the top-time in program history by a men's runner on October 14, when Markelz crossed the line in 24:08.4. During the track & field season, Dreibelbis continued working with Buese who earned First Team All-American honors during both the Indoor (7th in the 5K) and Outdoor (3rd in the 10K) track & field seasons.
During his first season with the Pioneers, Dreibelbis helped the women's cross country program post their best finish in over a decade at the NWC Championship and the men's team combine for the best-average team score at at an NWC Championship Meet in program history. During the outdoor season, Dreibelbis worked with the program's long distance runners, including program-record setters Riley Buese (5K and 10K) and Max Aldrich (5K).
Before becoming a coach, Dreibelbis was a four-year cross country and track & field athlete at fellow Northwest Conference school, George Fox. In 2014, Dreibelbis finished runner-up at the NWC Track & Field Championships steeplechase to earn All-Conference honors. Additionally, he was a three-time conference scorer for the Bruins in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
In the Fall of 2014 and Spring of 2015, Dreibelbis worked as an assistant coach for the George Fox cross country and track & field programs.
Dreibelbis graduated from George Fox in 2015 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
In addition to coaching, Dreibelbis is a product engineer for Rejuvenation Inc. Kyle resides in Beaverton, OR with his wife, Abby.
