South Indy News

Earlham track and field, cross country welcome new head coaches

The Earlham College athletic department welcomes a new face as well as a returning coach to lead the track and field and cross country programs for the 2022 school year.

Brian Simpson will be joining the Quakers as Head Track and Field Coach after serving as guidance counselor and track coach at KIPP Tulsa University Preparatory School since 2019. In addition to leading the track and field program, Simpson was responsible for helping graduating seniors prepare for their post-high school education or careers.

Prior to his time in Tulsa, Simpson built the first ever track and field team at William Peace University in 2017-18. While with the Pacers, Simpson recruited the first conference champion athlete in university history. Simpson has also served as Head Track and Field Coach for Eastern Mennonite University where he produced two All-Americans and three national qualifiers as well as nine school record holders while growing the roster by 39 percent. When not on the track, Simpson enjoys writing books and short stories, and has recently published a novel.

Shane Mills will take over the cross country program after serving as an assistant coach with the team for the past two seasons. With the help of Mills, the men's program earned its first ever HCAC Championship in the fall. Mills began with the program in the fall of 2020 and has coached five all-conference athletes in cross country and track during his tenure. Last track season, he guided freshman Connor Del Carmen to school records in the 5k and 10k events. Prior to joining the EC staff, Mills was a four-year member of the cross country and track and field teams at Albion College in Albion, Michigan.

The Quakers earned four all-conference results and one event win in the outdoor HCAC Championships at Hanover College last May. The cross country teams finished in first and sixth place at the championship event with three all-conference performers.

^{Source: https://www.heartlandconf.org/news/2022/7/5/mens-cross-country-earlham-track-and-field-cross-country-welcome-new-head-coaches.aspx}