Duval Times

University of North Florida  issued the following announcement on Sept. 13.

North Florida cross country and track & field will be adding on Jonathan Besselink to the assistant coaching staff to help with recruiting operations. He will be joining Rachel Levy, Lauren Hirneisen, and Tyler Stahl, who were all recent additions to the team's staff as well.

"It's an honor to be coaching under someone with vast knowledge and experience as Coach Pigg," said Besselink on joining the UNF coaching staff. "I'm excited to be joining a team with an amazing culture and atmosphere. Something special is brewing in Jacksonville!"

The Kingston, Ontario, Canada native ran for Wagner's cross country and track teams through his undergraduate years from 2016-2019. He transferred to Butler in 2020 to run with their outdoor track team for his graduate season.

Besselink brings many accolades with him to UNF, as he selected Northeast Conference Student-Athlete of the Year at Wagner in 2020, outdoor All-Big East at Butler in 2021, and qualified for the NCAA East Regionals twice in the 3000m steeplechase. He also holds eight school records at Wagner was a 10x selection for the All-Northeast Conference team.

During his time at Butler, he recorded a personal-best time in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 8:51.40 and finished seventh, which was his best finish as a Bulldog. He placed 19th in his qualifying run in the 3000m steeplechase at the East Preliminary round as well.

As a cross country runner, Besselink finished in the top three in three meets during his career, as he won first in the Hofstra Quad his sophomore year in 2017. The other two finishes in the top three resulted in best times for him in the 5k and 8k.

He also had 13 first-place finishes while running track at Wagner in seven different events. The most first-place finishes came in the 4x800m with four and he set a personal-best time of 2:28.04 for his first-place finish in the 1000m at the 2020 Spartan Invite his senior year.

Besselink has also been recognized multiple times for his performance off the track, as he was a three-time selection for Northeast Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year. His decorated collegiate career will help in many ways when begins coaching for the Ospreys this season.

Original source can be found here.