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

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

'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 a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

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 or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

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 fift ...

for service in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. 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 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 officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

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—Nick Willis for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

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 won the NCAA indoor championship in the 60-meter hurdles. Sprinter Adam Harris 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. To the current date, he currently coaches the athletes at Skyline High School and of the Very Nice Track Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warhurst, Ron Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Michigan Wolverines track and field coaches Western Michigan Broncos men's cross country runners United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War