Walter Burn enters his second season with the Wildcat coaching staff after joining the department for the 2019-20 season working with the throwers.
Burn comes to St. Catherine as a former Division I student-athlete at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. At Belmont, Burn competed on the track & field team after spending one season at East Tennessee State from 2013 and finishing up his impressive career with the Bruins in the spring of 2017. In 2016, Burn took 4th place at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in shot put with a career-best mark of 15.39m. Burn also appeared in the hammer throw and discus, placing 10th and 11th, respectively. In his final season in the blue and red, Burn placed in the top-15 in each event he competed in, with three top-5 finishes. Burn also recognized as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioners Honor Roll.
Houilhan said about Burn, "We are very excited to have Walter joining our coaching staff and working with our throwers. Our throws group has consistently been a strong area for our team and we are confident that Walter can step in and continue the Wildcat throws tradition. He brings great knowledge of the throwing events and his energy and enthusiasm will be an asset for our entire track team."
Aside from Burn's successful tenure as a student-athlete, the Tennessee native spent one season at Cumberland University as an assistant track & field coach. Burn was responsible for the overall management and recruitment of the throwers at Cumberland where he tripled the roster size and improved the team academic and athletic success. Burn also volunteered with United States of America Track and Field summer program and the Tennessee Youth Run Club.
In addition to his coaching background, Burn worked for the Metro Nashville Parks as a Naturalist specializing in the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the parks. Prior to moving to Minnesota, Burn was a Park Interpreter for Tennessee State Parks where he developed environmental education and led outdoor recreation programs across the state. Furthermore, he managed sixteen grant funded run clubs for Tennessee State Parks and created a partnership with his alma mater's Physical Therapy Department to host a track & field day for youth with disabilities.
Burn currently resides in Baldwin, Wis. and serves as the Operations Lead at Sea Life at Mall of America and an instructor of the Outdoor Discover School at L.L. Bean in Bloomington, Minn.
