Heidi Runyan, UC San Diego?s interim head fencing coach, was elevated to a full-time head coaching position, Monday, July 25. Runyan led the 2005 UCSD squad to an 18th place finish at the NCAA Championships, despite a roster filled with underclassmen. Both her men?s and women?s squads were 2005 champions of the seven-team Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California.

Runyan is a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. She has been the Tritons? interim head coach for one year after serving two years as an assistant coach.

In addition to the conference title, the 2005 Tritons also captured IFCSC squad championships in women?s foil, women?s sabre, men?s epee, and men?s sabre. Her team qualified four fencers to the 2005 NCAA Championships and the 18th place finish was UCSD?s best-ever (fencing has an open championship which pits institutions from all NCAA levels in one event).

She has over 25 years of competitive fencing experience and been a nationally-ranked senior fencer in both foil and sabre. Runyan is a former USFA Pacific Coast champion in sabre and California State Games champion in foil.