Get to know me...

My name is Taylor Cudequest, and my journey in track and field started back in high school... although not exactly by choice.

My father made me go out for the track team and told me, “If you don’t like it after two weeks, you can quit.” At first, I mostly enjoyed being around my friends. I was not exactly the hardest worker in the beginning. In fact, I earned the nickname “Lazy Boy” because I was usually the first one to leave practice and the last one to show up.

I started out as a sprinter and high jumper, but everything began to change after my sophomore year when I started working with Coach Tony Ciccone to improve my high jump. I quickly realized that I wanted more than just one event. I got bored doing the same thing over and over, so Coach Ciccone encouraged me to try the pentathlon.

Luckily, our county hosted one, and I decided to give it a shot. As a junior, I scored around 2,800 points in my first pentathlon. That same year, I competed in my first Vertical Adventures Decathlon at Colts Neck High School during the summer, and that was when I fell in love with the combined events.

From there, my mindset completely changed. I trained harder than I ever had before, and by the following year, I qualified for both New Balance Indoor and Outdoor Nationals in the pentathlon and decathlon. I went on to finish third at nationals, earn All-American honors in the decathlon, and improve my personal best by nearly 1,000 points.

What started as something my father made me try became the sport that shaped my life. Track and field taught me discipline, resilience, and the power of committing fully to something bigger than myself. That foundation eventually led me into college athletics and, later, into coaching - where I now get to help athletes discover their own potential the same way my coaches helped me discover mine.

After college, I knew my journey in track and field wasn't over. I believed I still had untapped potential, so I continued training and pursuing my own goals as a combined events athlete.

That decision eventually led me to work with Coach Christopher Richardson, whose mentorship had a tremendous impact on both my athletic career and my development as a coach. Under his guidance, I qualified for two USA Track & Field Championships, but more importantly, I learned what great coaching truly looks like. He taught me that coaching is far more than writing workouts, it's about building relationships, communicating effectively, understanding each athlete as an individual, and creating an environment where people can achieve things they never thought possible.

As I continued competing, I gained experience across every event in track and field. The combined events demand a unique understanding of sprints, hurdles, jumps, throws, strength development, technical execution, recovery, and mental preparation. That broad foundation is something I now bring into every practice and every athlete I coach.

Today, I serve as the Head Track & Field Coach at Edinboro University, where I've had the opportunity to help transform the program in a remarkably short time. In just two years, our roster has grown from only 11 athletes to nearly 100, and our teams have steadily climbed the conference standings while establishing a culture built on hard work, accountability, and belief.

The results have followed. During my time at Edinboro, I've coached 4x NCAA All-Americans, 5x PSAC Champions, 2x USA Track & Field Championship qualifiers, and a USA U20 Championships top-three finisher. I've also had the privilege of continuing to coach my fiancée, Alysa Henry, beyond her collegiate career. Together, we've qualified for the USA Championships in both the pentathlon and heptathlon, achieved significant personal bests, and she has nowestablished herself among the top 30 combined-event athletes in the United States.

While I'm proud of those accomplishments, they're not what motivates me most. The greatest reward is seeing athletes grow in confidence, overcome adversity, and discover what they're truly capable of. Championships, records, and medals eventually become memories, but the lessons learned through sport can shape a person's life forever.

My long-term vision is to build Edinboro into one of the premier NCAA Division II track and field programs in the country while continuing to mentor athletes who are committed to pursuing excellence. Every day, I strive to be the kind of coach who inspires belief, leads by example, and leaves a lasting impact that extends far beyond the finish line.