Ron Warhurst (born c. 1943) is a former American track and field coach. He was the head coach of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

's men's track and field team from 2000 to 2008. Warhurst was also a member of the cross country teams at

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...

that won consecutive NCAA championships in 1964 and 1965. From 1968 to 1970, Warhurst served in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

and was awarded two

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s and a

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

for service in

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. He became the University of Michigan's cross country coach in 1974, a position he held for more than 35 years. He also served as assistant coach of the men's track and field team for 26 years. In 2000, Warhurst took over as head coach of the track team. Warhurst coached 44 All-Americans and 12 Olympians at Michigan. His 2004 team finished fifth at the NCAA indoor championship. In 2008, Warhurst's team won the school's first Big Ten outdoor championship since 1983. Michigan won six individual Big Ten event championships in 2008, and Warhurst was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year. During the Warhurst era, Michigan's middle distance runners excelled. In 2003, Canadian runner

Nate Brannen Nathan "Nate" Brannen (born 8 September 1982) is a Canadian retired middle-distance runner from Cambridge, Ontario, who competed at three Summer Olympics: 2008, 2012 and 2016. Brannen is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He is affiliated ...

won the NCAA indoor championship in the 800-meter run. In 2005, middle distance runner

Nick Willis Nicholas Ian Willis (born 25 April 1983) is a New Zealand middle distance runner and the country's only two-time Olympic medalist in the 1500 metres. He won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and bronze at the 2016 Olympics in R ...

from New Zealand won the NCAA indoor championship in the mile run. A third middle distance runner, Andrew Ellerton won the NCAA outdoor championship in the 800-meter run in 2007. Michigan also dominated the distance medley event in the mid-2000s, winning the NCAA indoor championship in 2004 (with a team of DarNell Talbert, Ellerton, Willis, and Brannen) and again in 2005 (with a team of Rondell Ruff, Stan Waithe, Ellerton, and Brannen). Three Michigan middle distance runners qualified for the 1,500 meter race at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

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—Nick Willis for

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and Kevin Sullivan and Nate Brannen for Canada. Willis won the gold medal in the 1,500 meter race at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

and the silver medal in the same event at the Beijing Olympics. Michigan's sprinters and hurdlers also excelled in the late 2000s. In 2007,

Jeff Porter Jeffrey Issack Porter (born November 27, 1985) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the 110-meter hurdles. He has a personal best of 13.08 seconds for the event. He gained a spot on the American Olympic team by coming third a ...

won the NCAA indoor championship in the 60-meter hurdles. Sprinter

Adam Harris C. Adam Harris (born October 14, 1975) is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 82nd District. He was elected in 2002 and served until 2018. Career After graduating from college, Harris joined the House ...

was named the 2008 Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year after winning Big Ten event championships in the 60 meters (indoors), 200 meters and 4x100 meter relay. Harris ran a personal best 20.68 seconds in the 200-meter race at the NCAA Mideast Regional and qualified to compete for

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in that event at the 2008 Olympics. Warhurst remained at Michigan as the head coach of the cross country team after 2008 and became the associate head coach of the track and field team in 2009. In July 2010, Warhurst announced his retirement from the University of Michigan at age 67.

References

External links

U of M Men's Track and Field
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warhurst, Ron Michigan Wolverines track and field coaches Living people Year of birth missing (living people)