Lepkowski comes to Queens after most recently spending time at the University of Minnesota.
"It's always exciting when you get the opportunity to welcome an alum back as a staff member to help with the continued growth of our department," said Jeannie King, director of athletics. "We are very eager to see the levels of performance that our student-athletes reach under the leadership of Mark this upcoming season."
Lepkowski spent the spring semester at Minnesota participating in the hands on implementation of triphasic training for the men's and women's ice hockey, baseball, men's swim and women's soccer teams. He also had a hand in implementing linear periodization for the wrestling and track and field teams, as well as the implementation of tier system training for the volleyball, softball, and women's swim teams. Lepkowski did a lot of the same things with the athletic teams at Belmont University and Vanderbilt University as well during the fall season.
During the 2014 spring season Lepkowski served as an intern at Queens working with the Royals and SwimMac Carolina's Team Elite.
"I'm very excited and grateful to be back at Queens," said Lepkowski. "I would like to thank Coach King for giving me the opportunity to work with the coaches and athletes and build upon the foundation Darin Tyson has already established for the strength & conditioning program."
Lepkowski attended the University of Akron from 2007-2009 before transferring to Queens to compete on the men's lacrosse team from 2009-2011 and earning a degree in biology. Additionally, Lepkowski is the President of Hoover High School Lacrosse Alumni Association, and a member of CSCCA and the NSCA.
Ben LaChance was named assistant sports performance coach for Queens University in September 2017. His Primary training duties are with baseball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s soccer.
Prior to Queens, LaChance was a strength and conditioning coach for the Minnesota Twins Baseball Organization for the 2017 season. Coaching in the Twins Minor League organization, he was in charge of implementing all facets of strength and conditioning as well as pre and post-game nutrition for the Appalachian League Champions, Elizabethton Twins.
Before joining the Twins, LaChance was a strength and conditioning assistant at North Carolina State University from August 2015 to February 2017. While there he worked primarily with baseball, wrestling, men’s and women’s swimming, and tennis. He also assisted with men’s basketball, track and field, and gymnastics.
LaChance earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he served as a student assistant coach to the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team and was an intern to the strength and conditioning staff.
He is certified (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and Functional Movement Systems (FMS) certified level 1.
D.J. joins the Queens staff after most recently working as the strength and conditioning coordinator for football at Hanover College. Haas was solely responsible for the strength and conditioning of the Panthers football team and was the first strength and conditioning coach in Hanover history.
Before Hanover, Haas interned at Marshall University. He assisted with the implementation of workouts for 12 Olympic sports teams primarily men's cheer, men's and women's soccer, women's golf, volleyball, swimming and diving and rehab for injured athletes. While interning at Marshall, he also worked as a sports performance coach for youth and high school athletes.
Haas received his B.S. in kinesiology from IUPUI where his focus was pre-physical therapy. After graduation, he decided to pursue a career in strength and conditioning and spent two years working as a personal trainer after graduating. Haas has competed at the national level in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling as well as powerlifting and strongman competitions.
A recent graduate of Queens, Caspar completed his degree in sports and exercise science while also spending four years serving the men's lacrosse team. He competed two years as a player before being medically disqualified and transitioning to a student assistant for his junior and senior seasons.
Most recently Caspar completed an internship at Charlotte Country Day School working under Darnell Clark, who also serves as the Southeast Director of the NSCA. During his time at CCDS, Caspar worked with all fall sports teams which included football, basketball, soccer, field hockey, and cross country.
Prior to working at CCDS, Caspar was an intern with the Queens Sports Performance department for the 2016-2017 school year gaining experience working with men’s lacrosse, softball, tennis, golf, basketball, and soccer.
During the summer of 2016, Caspar interned with the Clemson University Strength and Conditioning department for Olympic Sports where he was able to gain experience working with the baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, track and field, and volleyball programs.
Caspar is CSCS certified through the NSCA and CPR/First aid certified through the Red Cross.
Travis Sullivan was elevated to assistant sports performance coach at Queens University in August 2018 after previously serving as an intern during the 2017-18 academic year. During his time at Queens, Travis has acquired both his USAW and CSCS certifications. As an intern, he assisted alongside the sports performance staff with all the Queens athletic programs and the day to day operations. Currently, his direct team responsibilities include both Women’s Rugby and Cheerleading.
Prior to joining Queens in the fall of 2017, Travis interned at the Cannon School in Concord, NC under Coach Shaun Powell from January 2016 to May 2016 and worked with all athletic programs during this time. In addition, he volunteered as a coach for their summer camps where he was directly responsible for the strength & conditioning sessions. From June 2016 to November 2018, Travis also worked as an assistant football coach primarily working with the wide receivers.
Travis earned his bachelor’s in Exercise Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in May 2016.