The 2025-26 school year marks Northfield High School Coach Joey Bender’s fifth year as the head coach for the Nighthawk Men’s and Women’s Track team. Bender was named DPS Coach of the Year in five of his last eight seasons – two recognitions for cross country and three for track & field. He led both Northfield programs to top performances in school history at the state championships, including placement within the top 10 for women’s cross country two times, third place for women’s track & field, and a state championship for men’s track and field.
Coach Bender has eleven years of cross country and track and field coaching experience, including a year at Adams State University. In his first year as the head coach of Denver West, he led the Cowboys to their first track and field league title in more than a century. The following year, the school repeated league placement and finished runner-up at the state championship. Bender has coached state champions in multiple events, including cross country, men’s 4×800 at Northfield in 2025 and two Nike Cross Nationals qualifiers.
Bender ran cross country and track for Metro State University Denver and Adams State University, and holds a masters degree in Applied Sport Psychology.
In my time at Northfield, I have had more fun coaching than ever before and couldn’t have imagined a better fit. I look forward to creating and continuing relationships with the team and helping to continue to build a program that leaves a legacy extending far beyond running while teaching life values. Northfield is showing they can be a powerhouse in the state and is a program kids want to come out for! – Coach Joey Bender
Click here to email Coach Bender.
Wayne Vaden has served as a head track coach for Northfield High School since the 2016 inaugural track season. He has coached high school track since 1997, earning four (4) Colorado State Team Championships and coaching numerous individual event and relay state and national champions during his tenure at Montbello High School, East High School and Northfield High School.
Mr. Vaden won three individual Colorado state titles for Denver East in 1983 (100m, 200m, and 110m hurdles). He went on to earn multiple WAC championship titles at the University of Texas at El Paso under coaches Dan Pfaff and Tom Jones, later completing his collegiate track career at the University of Colorado in 1991. In high school, he was coached by world-class hurdler Marcus Walker, and he is the son-in-law of renowned coach Tony Wells.
In addition to his coaching, Mr. Vaden is the founder and managing attorney of City Park Law Group, LLC, where his legal practice focuses on real estate, estate planning, probate, general litigation, and commercial transactions.
Mr. Vaden began his legal career after earning his Juris Doctor (JD) from the Arizona State University College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master of Laws in Taxation (LLM) from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.