Dragan Pesic joined the Royals in January of 2022 after most recently serving as a graduate assistant at Angelo State University. Coach Pesic is responsible for coaching the multi athletes, javelin, high jump, and short hurdlers.
In his first season with the royals in spring 2022, Pesic directly coached 9 Royals who qualified for the NCAA National Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Of these included NCAA Indoor Track & Field All-Americans and 3rd place finishers Melanie Welsing (8.41 – 60m Hurdles) & Lucy Walliker (1.79m – High Jump) both of these marks were also school records. Lucy Walliker was named SAC Field Athlete of the Year. Pesic also coached 3 Royals over the 5,000 point barrier in the heptathlon including school record holder Simon Rey 5,427 points, #2 school history 5,219, and Stefan Jungmichel #3 school history 5,070. Rey qualified for NCAA’s in the Heptathlon while Klei declined the Heptathlon in favor for the 400m in which he also set the school record in a time of 47.49. With the assistance of Pesic and his group of multi talented athletes, the Royals won the 2022 men’s & women’s SAC indoor track & field championships. The women’s track & field team finished 10th at the NCAA indoor meet. Pesic was named USTFCCCA Southeast Region Women’s Indoor Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year.
In the outdoor season, the success continued as the Royals set numerous school records during the regular season including Lucy Walliker in the High Jump (1.81m) and Simon Rey in the Decathlon (7,335 points). Pesic’s group most notably earned the distinction of No 1 men’s squad ranking in the decathlon of all NCAA divisions. 3 Royals broke the 7,000 point barrier during the 2022 season including NCAA All-American who improved from 6500 points to 7303 points in one year with Pesic to place 3rd at the NCAA meet in Allendale, MI. Jungmichel and Rey also competed in the decathlon at the NCAA Championships. Walliker (HJ) & Welsing (100H) also qualified for the NCAA Championships which saw a record total number of Royals qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships (13). The Royals men’s team won the SAC championship.
While at Angelo State, Pesic served as the primary coach for the Ram and Rambelle javelin throwers, short and long hurdlers, and all the decathlon and heptathlon throwing events. In 2021, Pesic helped the program build the top Decathlon Squad in all divisions and had a National Champion in Javelin throw. In 2020, Pesic helped the team claim its first ever LSC Men's Indoor Title in school history.
Prior to joining the Rams coaching staff, Pesic competed for Angelo State University while in Graduate school earning USTFCCCA All-American First Team honors in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, Pesic was a part of the Men’s Outdoor Team that tied for the highest finish in school history, with a National-Runner Up spot at the NCAA Meet. Pesic earned 2 master's degrees - Master in Business Administration and Master in Coaching, Sport, Recreation, and Fitness administration from Angelo State. Prior to that, he attended Tiffin University where he obtained his bachelor's degree in International Business Administration. He also competed in track & field for the Dragons and was a provisional NCAA qualifier in the heptathlon and decathlon.
Pesic is currently a member of the Montenegro National Team. He earned a silver medal in the decathlon at the 2014 Balkan Championships and a bronze medal in the decathlon at the 2015, 2017, 2021, and 2022 Balkan Championships. He represented Montenegro at total of 6 European Team Championships from 2013 to the present day.
