University of Vermont Athletics

Matt Belfield begins his 22nd season at the helm of the University of Vermont men's and women's cross country and track & field programs in 2024-25.

Belfield led the women's cross-country team to a seventh-place finish in 2024 as they hosted the America East Championships for the fourth time in program history. Vermont had one all-conference finisher in MegAnne Gilmore. His track teams did well and combined for 11 all-conference finishes between indoor and outdoor.

Belfield led the women’s cross-country team to a second-place finish in 2023 losing to champion Binghamton by eight points. Vermont had two all-conference finishers in Lily Porth and Clare Kelly. His track teams did well and combined for six all-conference finishes between indoor and outdoor.

Belfield has led the women's cross country team to at least a third-place finish in three of the last five America East Championships. The Vermont women's cross country team produced second-place finishes in 2019 and 2020, matching its highest finishes in Belfield's tenure. The Catamounts produced at least one All-Conference runner in each of those season's, with a program-best four All-Conference runners in 2018 and 2019. 

His track & field teams have also contributed to the America East All-Conference teams and earned individual championships in recent years. Vermont hosted the 2022 America East Championships at Livak Track & Field Facility, and saw combined events specialist Lauren Triarsi secure a championship in the women's heptathlon. In 2021, Lily Porth raced to a 10,000 meter championship in her rookie season. On the men's side, the Catamounts secured back-to-back decathlon titles with DJ Snide (2019) and Alex Parasky (2021). Men's track & field was successful indoors as well, with Dan DeBlieck earning a 500-meter title in 2019, and Zane Reservitz winning the 800-meter run in 2020.

In 2018-19, Belfield saw his Catamounts set several program records in cross country and track & field. The men's cross country team finished 13th in the NCAA Northeast Regional for the highest finish in program history. At the America East Indoor Track & Field Championships, senior captain Lauren Trumble shattered the 1000m championship record with a time of 2:45.36 to earn the meet's Most Outstanding Track Performer. Dan DeBlieck, Taylor Kracher, Justin Liechty, Blake Williams, and the 4x200m relay team of Will Juniper, Alex Parasky, Seth Beard, and Liechty set school records in 2018-19. Kracher capped off his career with an 800-meter title at the America East Championships.

At the 2016 championship meet, three individual runners earned All-America East honors for the fourth time since 2009. His teams have also earned a multitude of awards away from the course. In 2016, the men's cross country team was honored with a NCAA Public Recognition Award for the sixth straight year, while the men’s track & field squad garnered the same laurels for the third consecutive season.

During the 2014-15 track & field season, Martin Kallur was named an America East Scholar-Athlete for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Kallur won the Coaches Award at the America East Indoor Track & Field Championships after collecting the most points of any male athlete. The men's team placed fourth overall–its highest-ever team finish at the event.

In 2014, Vermont hosted the America East Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the first time at the new Frank H. Livak Track & Field Facility. The women's team placed second overall to mark its highest finish since winning the conference title in 2001, while the men placed fifth for their best finish since 1995.

Brittany St. Clair was named the America East Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer to sweep the honor in 2014, becoming the first Vermont athlete to accomplish the feat in a decade. UVM also received the America East Women's Coaching Staff of the Year award, closing the event with a total of eight titles and 16 all-conference performances.

The 2014 outdoor season also saw Nika Ouellette match the highest NCAA National Championship finish in program history after taking 13th in the women's javelin. Ouellette became the first female in school history to reach the 50-meter mark in the javelin and finished her career as a three-time NCAA All-American. She won four straight America East women's javelin titles, becoming the first athlete to accomplish the feat in conference history.

In 2012, a school-record three female student-athletes qualified for the NCAA National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Morgan Powers finished 13th overall in the 10,000-meter run and was a Second Team All-American with Nika Ouellette, who took 14th in the javelin. Kirsten Weberg placed 17th in the 3000-meter steeplechase to earn All-America Honorable Mention honors. Powers and Weberg both met the U.S. Olympics Trials B standard with their NCAA performances.

Belfield came to UVM from Ithaca College, where he was a five-time New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC) Coach of the Year and led the Bombers to three straight conference outdoor track & field titles. During his three-year head coaching tenure at Ithaca, Belfield's student-athletes broke 14 school records and recorded 11 All-America performances.

Prior to arriving at Ithaca, Belfield was head coach of the men's and women's cross country and track & field teams at the University of the Redlands in Redlands, California. Belfield coached a national champion hammer-thrower and a two-time national champion high jumper. Belfield served as an assistant coach at Redlands for three years prior to being named head coach in July of 1996. He has also worked on the coaching staffs at Colgate University and Catholic University.

A graduate of Catholic, Belfield was a six-time all-conference high jumper during his undergraduate career. He was the 1989 Mason-Dixon Conference champion in the high jump and still holds the school record in the event, set in April 1988 at 6 feet, 6 inches. In addition to track & field, Belfield also played football at Catholic after serving as quarterback of his high school football team.

He received a bachelor's degree in financial management from Catholic in 1990 and earned his master's degree in education with an emphasis in counseling from Redlands in 1994. He is USATF Level 2 Sport Science Coaching certified with Jumping Event Specialization.

Belfield lives in Jericho, Vermont with his wife Bonnie, who was an assistant coach for the Catamounts from 1993-97 and 2003-08. They have two daughters, Arianna and Brooklyn.