Patrick Gildea                  Position: Volunteer Assistant (Distance - Men's)

Patrick Gildea is in his first season as a volunteer assistant for the track & field staff at Tennessee. A former Vol distance standout, Gildea will aide his college and post-collegiate coach, George Watts.

A 2003 UT graduate with a degree in psychology, Gildea competed for the Big Orange from 2001-03, garnering All-SEC and All-South Region accolades in cross country. During his career, he competed in three NCAA Championship meets (two cross country, one track), charting personal bests of 14:01 for 5,000 meters and 29:09 for 10,000 meters.

After completing his degree, Gildea continued to train with Watts and competed in numerous USA Track & Field and Road Championships, posting numerous top-10 finishes. He ran in the 2006 World Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, finishing 51st in the world. He also was selected for the 2008 World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and owns a PR of 1:03:43 for the half marathon and a post-collegiate 10K best of 28:38.

Gildea, who married former Lady Vol Brooke Novak in February 2009, is a certified personal trainer and plans to return to school in January 2010. He will begin working on his master's degree in teaching and pursue an elementary education track.