|
|
|
|
|
Stephen Walsh
|
Position:
|
Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
|
|
City/State:
|
Williamsburg, Va.
|
|
Alma Mater:
|
Penn State
|
|
Graduating Year:
|
2001
|
|
Major:
|
Accounting
|
|
Experience:
|
2 Years
|
|
Phone:
|
(757) 221-3398
|
|
Email:
|
stwalsh@wm.edu
|
|
|
|
|
Stephen Walsh Bio
|
|
|
|
Courtesy: TribeAthletics.com
Release: 01/13/2011
|
Stephen Walsh enters his second year in Williamsburg as the interim Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, after spending his first year as the head men's and women's coach for the Tribe. Despite taking over just days before the start of the year in August of 2010, Walsh quickly proved himself worthy of the College's prestigious history, leading the men's cross country team to an unprecedented third-straight region title, and guiding Jon Grey to All-American status at 10,000m.
In the fall of 2010, Walsh led the men's cross country team back to the NCAA Championships despite the loss of 2009's top three runners. En route to the 19th place finish at the national meet, the Tribe won its 11th straight Colonial Athletic Association championship, and captured the Southeast Region crown for an unprecedented third-straight year. Walsh was honored as the Coach of the Year at both levels, and saw his athletes sweep the conference awards. Chas Gillespie was named the CAA Athlete of the Year after placing 58th at NCAAs, and Zach Gates won the individual conference title while leading a Tribe sweep of the medal stand. Redshirt-freshman Josh Hardin was the runner-up at the CAA Championships, and went on to be named Rookie of the Year.
The indoor and outdoor seasons were tried by several key and untimely injuries, but the return of Jon Grey at the end of the year helped make the season for the Tribe. Making his debut at the Penn Relays, Grey qualified for the NCAA Championships at 10,000m and went on to place 15th nationally, earning his third All-America nod in the process. He became the first men's outdoor All-American since Ed Moran in 2005, and first to become an All-American at 10,000m since Steve Swift in 1994. Also notable was the performance of senior Brian Sklodowski, who won the CAA title at 1,500m and qualified for the U.S. Senior Championships when he ran 3:44.69 in May. A total of seven male athletes earned All-East honors in track and field, and four won CAA titles.
The women's team went through a small retooling, but promised a bright future with several outstanding performances from the freshman ranks. Elaina Balouris became the first Tribe freshman in a decade to earn all-region honors in cross country with her 23rd-place finish at the Southeast Championships, adding to a season that also saw her take third at the CAA Championships and ninth at the ECAC meet. She was the College's top runner in all but one of her races, and was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Year at the end of the fall. Classmate Kathleen Lautzenheiser joined Balouris on the All-CAA team, and had a breakthrough run at the ECAC Championships to take fourth place. Senior Betsy Graney provided a steady presence on the trails, and wrapped up her career with her own All-CAA and All-East honors.
Like the men's team, the women's track and field squads had several outstanding individual performances through the winter and spring, culminating in Betsy Graney earning Academic All-American honors in June. The senior battled injuries all year, but still managed to turn in the best time in the mile all season long, and won the CAA title in the 3,000m steeplechase in her outdoor debut. Graney also managed to take fourth at the ECAC Championships in the steeplechase, in just her second race in three months. Balouris and Lautzenheiser continued to impress, with Balouris claiming freshman records both indoors and outdoors at 3,000m, as well as in the outdoor 5,000m. Lautzenheiser held the outdoor freshman title at 5,000m for a time herself, and had the top three 1,500m performances on the team all year. Both went on the race at the NCAA Preliminaries at 5,000m in May. Rounding out the most impressive performances on the year were 10,000m specialists Sara Lasker and Kelsey Budd, who turned in life-time best performances in the final weeks of the season. At the CAA Championships, Lasker was second and Budd third while both set career-bests, in Lasker's case by more than 30 seconds. Two weeks later at the ECAC Championships, she was third overall and the top CAA finisher, shaving two more seconds off of her previous best.
Walsh joined the Tribe after spending the previous four years at Providence College in Rhode Island, where he was the head men's track coach and assistant coach for the men's and women's cross country teams, as well as the women's track team. The 2006 cross country season was his first with the Friars, and he helped both sides win the Big East Championship before the women went on to place seventh and the men ninth at the NCAA Championships. Over the next four years, the Friars reached the NCAA Cross Country Championships every fall, and amassed 17 All-American honors, 12 Big East Individual Champions, 7 IC4A/ECAC Champions, and 15 New England Champions on the track and in cross country. Walsh was the assistant coach for Shelby Greany, who won the 2009 USAT&F Junior Women's Cross Country Championship and the 2010 USAT&F Junior Women's Steeplechase, while also setting the American junior record in the 3,000m steeplechase. Walsh also served as the assistant coach for Danette Doetzel, the 2009 NCAA 10,000m champion, as well as three sub-4 minute milers, and men's school record-breakers in the 400m, 500m, 4x400m, 4x800m, DMR, and javelin.
Prior to Providence, Walsh spent four years as an assistant coach at Pennsylvania, where he was responsible for coaching athletes from 800m to 10,000m. In the office, he planned and implemented workouts for his athletes, while also overseeing recruiting and was involved with The Penn Relay Carnival, the world's largest annual track and field event. On the track, Walsh's athletes collected four All-American honors, including the 2003 men's 800m outdoor champion, and 12 Ivy League titles.
Walsh was four-year letter-winner in cross country and track at Penn State, where he ran under Hall of Fame coach Harry Groves (himself a former W&M coach for 13 years, including 12 years as the head coach from 1956-1968). Walsh captained the cross country team to the IC4A Championships team title in 2000, and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors alongside all-region and All-East accolades in 2001. In total, he was a six-time All-East winner (three each in cross country and indoor track), as well as twice finishing in the top 25 at the region championships. On the track, Walsh was third in the Big Ten indoor mile in 2000, and sixth outdoors at 1,500m that same year.
A native of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, Walsh graduated from Penn State in 2001 with a degree in accounting.
|
|
|
|
Feature Label 1Featured Label 2
