GUNNISON, Colo.  Justin Hastings returns to the state as the Head Women's Swimming Coach at Western Colorado University, as announced Wednesday by the Mountaineer athletics department.

Hastings arrives at Western after five seasons with the University of North Texas (UNT), where he helped lead the team to progressively stronger finishes over the past four years, including multiple qualifiers in nearly every individual event in the National Invitational Championship (NIC) meet.

During this time with the Mean Green, athletes set school records in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, 100 butterfly, and the 200 freestyle, 200 medley, and 400 medley relays. Hastings served as the lead coach for the sprint and 400 individual medley group, contributing to record-setting performances both in the pool and in strong academic achievements, highlighted by the women's swim and dive team earning the program's highest team GPA in the UNT athletics department.

Prior to joining UNT, Hastings served as the assistant swim coach and recruiting coordinator at Colorado Mesa University (CMU), where he worked with athletes across all training groups and oversaw recruiting efforts. During that time, he helped lead both the men's and women's programs to three consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) championships from 2019 through 2021.

Hastings is an alumnus of the CMU swim and dive program, where he competed for three seasons from 2014 to 2016. During his career, he earned five CSCAA Honorable Mention All-America honors across multiple events. Hastings also captured six RMAC conference titles, including a standout 2014 season in which he won three individual and two relay championships, helping lead the team to the program's first-ever RMAC team championship. In 2016, he added another individual conference title while setting a conference record in the 100 Backstroke.

"It is an honor and a privilege to become the Head Women's Swim Coach at Western Colorado University, and I'm absolutely thrilled to be returning to the Western Slope," said Hastings. "During my time in Grand Junction, I built strong relationships with many local club teams in the close-knit Western Slope swimming community. Those experiences, along with what I have learned during my time at UNT, have helped shape my coaching philosophy and the type of program I know I can build.

"Because of this foundation and support at Western, I'm confident we will create an environment where both the team and each individual athlete can elevate themselves in the water, in the classroom, and in life. I'm excited to come back and begin building the Mountaineers into one of the top programs in Division II."

Interim Director of Athletics Kaylee Summers noted, "We think this was a 'home run' hire and are excited to welcome Justin to Western. His knowledge, passion and holistic approach of the entire student-athlete experience made him stand out from a very deep pool of candidates, if you'll pardon the pun. I'd also like to thank Deputy Director of Athletics Greg Hinze for chairing the search committee and doing most of the legwork on this."

Western Colorado Athletics also currently has an opening for a full-time Assistant Swim Coach/Aquatics Coordinator position. Interested individuals can apply here.