Carlson named OWU cross country coach

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Ben Carlson, head men’s and women’s cross country and track & field coach at Adrian (Mich.) College, has been named head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country teams and assistant coach of the men’s and women’s track & field teams at Ohio Wesleyan University, it was announced by athletics director Roger Ingles.

“I’m thrilled to be part of this program,” Carlson said. “Coach (Kris) Boey and Coach (Matt) Wackerly have done a tremendous job in building a program, and I hope I can continue that success. I’m excited for what the future holds.”

Carlson comes to Ohio Wesleyan after one season at Adrian. Last year, he guided the Bulldog men’s and women’s cross country teams to respective fifth- and eighth-place finishes in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In track & field, he coached 3 conference Most Outstanding Athletes as the Bulldog women finished third both indoors and outdoors, and the men improved on their fifth-place indoor finish with a fourth-place showing outdoors. One Adrian student-athlete went on to compete in the NCAA Division III outdoor championship meet.

Prior to Adrian, Carlson coached for one year as an assistant cross country and track & field coach at Hamilton (N.Y.) College. In cross country at Hamilton, he helped the Continental men finish eighth in the 2014 NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional and helped the Hamilton women send a runner to the NCAA Division III championship meet. Before going to Hamilton, he was an assistant coach for 7 years at his alma mater, Wartburg (Iowa) College, where he helped the Knights win 6 NCAA Division III team titles in track & field and record 6 national top-16 finishes in women’s cross country. He worked with 4 national champions and 51 All-Americans while at Wartburg.

“We’re ecstatic to hire a person of Ben’s caliber as a coach,” Ingles said. “His experience as a collegiate runner, his coaching experience with some outstanding programs, and the relationships he’s built with coaches make him a perfect fit for our program and our department.”

“We couldn’t be more pleased that Ben is joining our program,” said Kris Boey, OWU director of cross country and track & field. “He is a perfect fit for what we were looking for in a coach to lead our cross country program. As a student-athlete and a young coach he learned from two of the best coaches in the business, and that, coupled with his experience as a head coach, makes him a great choice to continue to grow the tradition of our program and best serve our student-athletes.”

Carlson is a 2006 graduate of Wartburg. During his undergraduate career, he was a 2-time all-region honoree in cross country and helped the Knights to 3 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division III championship meet. He graduated with a degree in communication arts with a concentration in public relations. He continued his education with a master’s degree in health education from the University of Northern Iowa in 2011.

Carlson is a native of Stanhope, Iowa.

Carlson
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Staff Report

OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.

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