KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Head coach Kevin Cataldo and the Western Michigan cross country and track and field program have announced the hiring of Nathan Larson as an assistant coach. 

"I am excited to add Nathan to our coaching staff," Cataldo said. "His experience as a student-athlete and volunteer assistant coach will bring tremendous value as we look to build upon our success over the last four years." 

Larson spent six years at Michigan State as a student-athlete and volunteer assistant coach, competing for both the cross country and track and field programs, while coaching during last season's indoor and outdoor track seasons. He posted PR's of 24:46.5 in the 8K and 31:26.2 in the 10K during his career. In track and field, he competed in four events (1500, 3K, 5K and 10K). During his time in East Lansing, the Spartans never finished lower than fifth at the Big Ten XC Championships. 

The Dexter, Mich. native was also a standout in the classroom, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition. Larson earned his master's degree in sport coaching, leadership and administration back in May. 

"I am excited to be here and move into a full-time position with a new program," Larson said. "I'm looking forward to building on the success Kevin Cataldo and his staff have had over the last few years." 

WMU is coming off of a historic 2025-26 season, claiming four MAC Champions during the indoor and outdoor track seasons (Soniya Jones, Mabinty Kebe, Ava Kurczewski and Laurine Elisa Marimon). The Brown and Gold also had six All-MAC honrees, eight school records, 48 top-10 marks and 38 Academic All-MAC selections. In the community, the Broncos finished first in service hours among NCAA DI XC/TF programs.