One of the best NCAA Division II throwers of her era, Jessica Bridenthal has been an important piece of the Hillsdale College track and field program's success since joining the coaching staff in August 2018. Her success propelled her to the top position with the Chargers track and field program, as Bridenthal was elevated to Head Track and Field coach with the Chargers in September of 2025.
In her first season in charge of the Hillsdale track and field programs, Bridenthal led the Chargers to their best campaign in a decade, as the Hillsdale women captured the 2026 G-MAC Outdoor Track and Field championship and posted their first top 10 team finish at a NCAA DII National Championship since 2016. Hillsdale athletes combined for three individual national championships, two by distance runner Allison Kuzma and one by thrower Ben Haas, and 11 total All-American honors. Haas and Kuzma also swept the G-MAC Athlete of the Year Awards, and Haas became Hillsdale's first-ever USTFCCCA NCAA DII Field Athlete of the Year in the indoor season.
Before taking over as head coach, Bridenthal ran Hillsdale throws program and achieved notable results in seven years running that event group. She recruited Haas, who brought home Hillsdale's first men's national championship since 2015 with a NCAA DII title in the weight throw in March of 2025, and finished his career with three national titles and eight All-American honors while setting school records in the weight throw, hammer throw and indoor and outdoor shot put.
Along with Haas, Bridenthal also helped recruit and develop All-American throwers Averi Parker (shot put), Eden Little (javelin), Dominic Scharer (weight throw), Amelia Lutz (shot put) and Sofia Boonzaaijer (discus) while at Hillsdale. All told, athletes coached by Bridenthal have won 23 G-MAC titles and hold 10 of the 12 Hillsdale school records in the indoor and outdoor throws.
Bridenthal came to Hillsdale after serving as the head coach at Keystone College in Pennsylvania. In addition to being the head coach there, she was also the strength and conditioning coach for the athletic department, enhancing the planning and execution of workout plans for teams across the entire department. Her coaching career also included stops at Duquesne University, the College of Wooster and Freedom High School. She's also worked as a personal trainer at Snap Fitness 24/7 and the YMCA.
In her undergraduate years as a thrower at Ashland University, she was an NCAA Division II national champion in the weight throw (19.71m in 2014), and racked up an incredible 12 All-American honors between indoor and outdoor competition. She qualified for the national championships 14 separate times throughout her career. To this day, she holds the freshman record in the indoor 20-pound weight throw at Ashland (19.60m).
