May 23, 2008

The personable and indefatigable Fletcher Brooks is returning to Williams College to assume the head coach of men's and women's track & field position. Brooks spent seven years at Williams (1998-2005) as the Ephs' strength and conditioning coach, an assistant and then associate head coach of men's and women's track & field, before taking the job of head coach of women's track & field and women's cross country at MIT.

Brooks just completed his third season as the head coach of the MIT women's track & field team this past weekend at the NCAA Championships and now he will be heading back to the Purple Valley this summer to lead the Ephs. "In some ways I feel like I never left Williams, said Brooks. "When I came back to the campus for my daylong interview in April, everyone was so welcoming and supportive. It does very much feel like coming home."

Brooks made a big impact on the MIT program in his brief tenure in Cambridge, guiding the Engineers to their first NEWMAC title (2007), and the highest New England indoor (3rd in 2008) and outdoor (2nd in 2007) finishes in program history. He also coached the Engineers' 2006 men's indoor and outdoor NCAA champion in the shot put.

"I am grateful for the experience I have had at MIT, but I look forward with enthusiasm to getting back to the NESCAC and Williams, the best Division III conference and athletic department in the country, as far as I'm concerned, and to the challenges in heading up the track and field program. Most of all, I look forward to working once again with a great coaching staff and a wonderful group of kids."

During his time at Williams, Brooks coached 46 Eph All-Americans and four NCAA champions and was instrumental in implementing effective strength and conditioning programs for the Williams varsity teams.

"Williams track & field, including both our returning athletes and assistant coaches, is excited to welcome back Fletcher, this time as head coach," noted long time Eph head coach Peter Farwell who served this past year on an interim basis. "Fletcher was a tremendous assistant coach at Williams for seven years in the throws, jumps, and strength-conditioning areas. Since then he has gained great experience heading up MIT's women's track & field team, and he will bring to Williams administrative expertise, top-notch event coaching, and a strong personal ability to guide and motivate our coaching staff and team. We are all looking forward to the 2008-09 year, and many more."

Brooks is a 1993 graduate of Allegheny College where he earned a B.A. in English and minored in women studies. He was also an All-American in the shot put and lettered in football.

He earned a master's degree in physical education and advanced level coaching from Springfield College in 1998 and he holds three national certifications:

--  Level II Jumps, Throws, Sprints and Combined Event Coach  (USA Track & Field)

--   Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (National Strength and Conditioning Association)

--   Level I Club Coach (United States Weightlifting Association)

Farwell was head coach of the Williams men’s and women’s track & field teams in 2007-08 after serving as head coach from 1988 to 2001. Farwell has been honored 16 times (12 for men's team, 4 for women's team) as New England Division III Coach of the Year and in 1995 was named Men's National Coach of the Year. When he was not the Ephs head track & field coach Farwell has served as assistant track coach of the distance runners 1980-1987 and 2002. He will again serve as an assistant beginning with the 2008=09 year.

When track was under his leadership the Ephs won 9 indoor and 10 outdoor New England titles for the men plus 6 indoor and 8 outdoor titles for the women, 10 men’s and 9 women’s NESCAC conference titles, 4 men’s and 6 women’s ECAC titles, and at the NCAAs the men placed 2nd twice and 7 times in the top 10 while the women also garnered 7 top 10 NCAA finishes, highlighted by two 3rds.

Altogether he has coached 65 different track All-Americans plus relay members (6 men and 6 women’s relays, 19 distance women (46 awards) and 17 distance men (36 awards), 12 women and 17 men in other events (34 women's awards and 36 men’s) including 21 National Champions (by 11 different athletes - 6 women distance, 5 men distance, 6 women and 4 men in other events).

Bringing to the sport a Williams ('73) liberal arts undergraduate education combined with a scientific knowledge of physiology (M.A. in P.E. Coaching, Central Michigan University ‘90), Coach Farwell has devised a training plan that improves runners of all levels. His devotion to every athlete on the team helps make Williams one of the deepest Division III teams in the nation.

Farwell's 23-year competitive experience included a 23rd-place finish (2:20) at the Boston Marathon and the 6-mile Williams school record.

Farwell is also the head coach of the ephs men's and women's cross country teams (men since 1979 and women since 2000). His men's teams have won 8 New England, 9 NESCAC  and 2 ECAC titles, garnering Farwell 5 regional coach of the year honors. He was named 1994 National Coach of the Year after leading the Williams to the first of its two NCAA championships.

Since 1993 the men’s teams have also finished 3rd, 4th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 7th, and 9th at the NCAA championship race.

He took over the reins of the women's cross country team in 2000, and the Ephs won NCAA title in 2002 and 2004 and has recorded 3 runner-up finishes, a 4th and an 8th in the past 7 seven years! His women’s teams have won 2 New England, 3 NESCAC and 3 ECAC titles, and he has been chosen women’s regional coach of the year twice, NESCAC Coach of the Year twice, and National Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2004.  Altogether he has coached 15 Eph men harriers to 27 All-American placings (including 2 national champs) and 10 women to 18 All-American finishes.

Farwell's finished in 23rd (2:20) at the Boston Marathon and owns the 6-mile Williams school record.

Farley was the head coach of the Williams men's and women's track & field teams from 1973-1986 and served as an assistant to both teams in the outdoor season since 1986.

Under Farley the Eph men and women were 98-54 (.645) and won 15 Little Three titles.

Farley was star track & field athlete and football player at Boston University, and later played pro football with the San Diego Chargers. His specialty is the hurdles.

On being named the head coach of football at Williams in 1987, Farley remained involved with track & field serving as an assistant outdoor track & field coach for both the men's and women's teams.

In the fall of 2003 after retiring as the head football coach, Farley became an assistant track & field coach for both the indoor and outdoor teams for men's and women's and was named Director of Club Sports.

In August of 2006 Dick Farley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. 

Matt Campanelli coaches the throwing events for the men's and women's track and field teams. He has been a member of the track and field staff since the fall of 2003, having previously coached at Springfield College.

In the summer of 2005 Campanelli was named the Eph Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Athletic Department.

Campanelli, a 2000 Williams graduate, played varsity football team as a defensive lineman, as well as, competing on the indoor and outdoor track and field teams.

Campanelli received All-America honors in the hammer throw his senior year, finishing sixth at the 2000 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

In his six years of coaching at Springfield and at Williams Campanelli has had 14 athletes achieve NCAA qualifying marks. He has coached one athlete to two NCAA Championships (discus) and has had four athletes earn a total of 10 All-American finishes.

10 of Campanelli's athletes have completed in all five throwing events at NCAA Championships.

Kathleen Newton assists in sprints and middle-distance.

Newton was the head track & field coach at Mt. Anthony Union High School in Bennington, Vermont for seven years before coming to Williams.

Newton is a 2004 graduate of Southern Vermont College and she holds both the 5k cross-country and 5k track records there. Newton earned GNAC and All-Academic Team status twice at Southern Vermont.

Newton is also an accomplished Masters' runner, competing in races from a 5k distance to the marathon.

Mitchell Baker grew up in rural Macomb, IL, and competed in both cross country and track and field while at Williams College before graduating with a degree in art in 2004.

He captained the cross country squad in his senior campaign and earned All-New England honors in the fall, winter, and spring for his, or his team’s efforts, in the 3200 relay up to the individual 10,000 meters.

After graduation he relocated to New York City to intern with the Williams Club, organizing alumni events and establishing an art gallery. Following his work there, he interned with an architecture firm while coaching cross country and track and field at La Salle Academy in Manhattan. He spent the academic year 2006-2007 teaching and coaching at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx.

Baker primarily coaches the running events and will handle many recruiting and meet managing duties. The biggest influence in his own running and coaching is his father, Edward Baker, and his favorite memory of being an athlete at Williams, besides the long post-practice dinners, is competing for the school and team at several national championships.

Erica Clausen joins the Williams College cross country and track and field programs as an assistant coach for the 2007-08 season. 

Clausen was previously the assistant coach for the women's cross country program at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL from 2005-07 and assistant coach for boys and girls track & field at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL in 2005.

A 2004 graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, Clausen double-majored in English and Spanish before pursuing her Master's degree in Sports Administration at Northwestern University.  

While an undergrad, Clausen competed for the Oles in both cross country and track, qualifying with the cross country team in 2001 for the NCAA Championships.  She now trains for road races and marathons throughout the year.

Joel Williams is a Chicago native and earned his B.A. in physical education from North Central College (NCC) in Naperville, Illinois. At North Central he competed on the track & field team, helping the Cardinals win three consecutive College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) titles from 1996-98. Williams earned All-CCIW Honors (100, 200, & 4x100) each of those three years.
He was named team co-captain and qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in the indoor 55-meters and outdoor long jump, 100, 200 and 4x100-meter events (1996-1998), twice achieving All-American honors in the 200 and 4x100 Relay. In 1998, Williams capped his collegiate career as a member of the national champion 4x100 Relay as North Central won the NCAA team title.

While at NCC, Williams was also an assistant women’s varsity volleyball coach and head JV coach, guiding the Cardinals to a 106-63 overall mark and two berths in the conference championship match. He is currently assisting with the Williams College women’s volleyball team.

Williams has coached track & field at Division III institutions Elmhurst College (IL), Aurora University (IL), and US Merchant Marine Academy (NY) and at Division I Kent State (OH).

Williams has coached over 200 All-Conference athletes, dozens of NCAA qualifiers, several NCAA All-Americans, and one NCAA champion.