Cross Country
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Men's and Women's Cross Country
- Email:
- tgriff25@kent.edu
- Phone:
- 330-672-8440
Tyler Griffin was brought aboard the Kent State track and field/cross country coaching staff in early February of 2017.
“We’re very excited to have Tyler aboard the staff. I believe the experience and success he had at Mount Union is going to transfer well into improving our cross country and distance programs here at Kent State,” said Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Bill Lawson. “Tyler has been known as a tenacious recruiter and workaholic but the most important part of the interview process was the passion and energy he displayed to be a part of Kent State track and field and cross country.”
Before joining the Kent State staff, Griffin spent four plus years as an assistant track & field/cross country coach at his alma mater, Mount Union, where he developed training programs for student-athletes competing in the 800m run, all the way up to the 10,000m. With Griffin’s aid, the Purple Raiders men’s cross country team captured three consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Championships (2012-14) and were Division III National Championship qualifiers in 2014 and 2016. Mount Union’s women’s cross country team captured the OAC title in 2014 and qualified for the national championship that same year.
With a strong distance program, thanks in part to Griffin, Mount Union’s men’s track and field team captured the 2014 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship, the first in program history. Mount Union track and field was dominant at the conference level during Griffin’s tenure, winning the men’s and women’s OAC Championships in indoor and outdoor track and field in four consecutive years.
In his career as a student-athlete at Mount Union, Griffin was a nine-time OAC Champion, eight of which came in track and field and one in cross country in 2010. Griffin’s greatest individual feat came in 2009 when he was crowned NCAA Division III Outdoor National Champion in the 1,500m run.
A native of Massillon, Ohio, Griffin received a bachelor’s degree in history from Mount Union in 2011 and holds a USA Track & Field Level 1 Coaching Certification.
