NIU track and field coach, Shantel Twiggs, has followed ex-NIU athletic director Cary Groth to the University of Nevada.

The announcement came Friday, to the shock of the NIU track and field team.

“We were all very surprised when she told us because she gave us no warning so we weren’t expecting it,” sophomore sprinter Latoya Friday said.

Twiggs was hired by Groth three years ago to resurrect a program that had not competed in 18 years. Since Twiggs’ hiring 14 school records have been broken.

Twiggs will now have a much different starting scenario as she inherits a Wolf Pack team that has won four conference championships since 2000 and has two individual All-American honors.

“I’m excited to be the next coach to carry the torch and to lead Wolf Pack track and cross country to greater heights,” said Twiggs in a Nevada press release.

Left behind is a NIU team with mixed emotions and no coach.

“At first we all didn’t want her to go, but now we are all extremely disappointed because we had a lot of future plans with coach Twiggs and now we don’t know what we are going to do,” said Friday.

Friday expressed her shock and said she doesn’t feel betrayed by the departure but stated that Twiggs’ credibility as a former college sprinter and coach had influenced her decision to come to NIU.

In the wake of the departure, new NIU Athletic Director Jim Phillips’ job will be to appoint a new coach to replace Twiggs. Until then the NIU track and field team will be under the guidance of assistant coaches Dave Jennings and Gretchen Folck.