TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo sports medicine department announced the hiring of five new full-time athletic trainers today, as well as promotions for two current Rocket staffers.

Zach Vigliotti (football and men's tennis), Giselle Guasso (football and women's tennis), Jon Halsey (cross country), Abdel Ruhman Yusuf (track & field), and Sydnee Miller (volleyball) have all joined the sports medicine staff as full-time athletic trainers ahead of the 2023-24 season.

"Zach, Giselle, Jon, Abdel and Sydnee are fantastic young professionals that I have no doubt will all make an immediate impact in our program," said Senior Associate Athletic Director for Health and Wellness Brian Jones.

In addition, Adam Barta has been promoted to assistant athletic director for sports medicine and head football athletic trainer, and Mackenzie Springer has been promoted to director of sports medicine operations.

In its reorganization, three graduate assistant positions were converted to full-time assistant athletic trainer positions to provide more continuity for the student-athletes. A new position created this year, the director of sports medicine operations will be analyzing and tracking the business performance of the sports medicine department and acting as the insurance and hospital liaison. Springer will also provide direct care of the men's and women's golf team as well as oversight of the men's and women's cross country, track and field, volleyball and the cheerleading teams.

"During these challenging times for college athletics, I'm very humbled that Bryan Blair and Dr. Postel made the commitment to enhance the health & well-being of our student-athletes," Jones said.

Barta is in his sixth year as head football athletic trainer and seventh overall as a trainer for the football program. He spent the 2016 season as an assistant athletic trainer.

"I am extremely happy Adam continues to lead the healthcare efforts for our Rocket football team," Jones said. "His skills and leadership are a great benefit to our program."

Springer has been a full-time member of the sports medicine staff since 2018 and was a graduate assistant for two years prior to that. She had worked primarily with the volleyball program during that time while overseeing graduate assistants covering track & field and cross country.

"I'm excited to create this new position within our department to optimize the healthcare delivery to all our student-athletes," Jones said. "With Mackenzie's business background and recent MBA, it was a perfect fit for her to manage the operations of our program."

Vigliotti comes to Toledo after spending the 2022-23 season at Eastern Kentucky covering football, cross country, and track & field. Prior to that he was an assistant athletic trainer at Limestone University from 2020-2022 covering football and softball. He earned his master's degree in athletic training from Eastern Michigan and his bachelor's degree from Concordia University, where he played football.

Guasso comes to Toledo from the University of Indianapolis, where she was most recently a graduate assistant working on her master's degree in athletic training. During her time at the University of Indianapolis, she had clinical placements with athletic departments at the University of Indianapolis (baseball, football, and wrestling), University of Michigan (water polo and swim/dive), Marian University (football), and Butler University (football, women's basketball, and women's lacrosse) while also assisting at Decatur Central High School and Perry Meridian High school.

Halsey earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Michigan, where he worked with several of the Eagles' programs including women's lacrosse, women's volleyball, and football. Outside of athletics, Halsey served in the United States Army from 2004-18 as a ranger infantryman and special operation combat medic.

Yusuf was most recently an assistant athletic trainer at Mount Union where he worked with football, wrestling, baseball, and tennis from 2021-23. He earned his master's degree in athletic training from Kent State in 2021 and graduated from Youngstown State in 2019 with his bachelor's degree in biology.

Miller graduated with her master's degree in kinesiology with a concentration in athletic training from Temple this past spring. Prior to that, she earned her bachelor's degree in athletic training from Central Michigan in 2019.