Brian Falk enters his fourth season as Elizabethtown College's Director of Cross County and Track & Field in 2014-15. Within his position overseeing the entire program, Falk serves as the head coach for the men's and women's cross country teams. He is embarking on his seventh season with the women's cross country team and fourth with the men's team.
A perennial powerhouse in men's cross country since 1999, E-town claimed its fourth straight Middle Atlantic Conference title and 13th overall in 2012. For Falk, it was his second conference championship in as many seasons as head of the men’s program. Coupled with the women's championship, E-town swept the MAC Cross Country Championships for the fourth straight year and fifth time overall.
The Blue Jays had five runners in the top ten at MACs, with Matt Rever earning silver. Stephen Welsh was fourth, Dan Gresh fifth, Aaron Focht seventh and Matt Shenk 10th. A week later, at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional meet, Elizabethtown took sixth overall. Rever went on to earn all-region honors after finishing 30th.
The 2013 season did not produce the desired results as the MAC Championship streak ended, but individually Falk had several standout performances from his Blue Jays. Zach Trama and Matt Shenk were fourth and fifth, respectively, at the 2013 MAC XC Championships. Trama then went on to become an All-Region runner, the sixth straight season in which E-town has had at least one all-region performance. Trama was 30th at the regional meet.
Falk, a 1988 graduate of Temple University has paid his dues within the Elizabethtown family. His first year with the program came in 2007 as an assistant coach, a season in which the Blue Jays won a MAC Championship, took fourth at the NCAA Mideast Regional and finished tied for 23rd at the NCAA Division III Championships.
His experience and leadership continue to prove pivotal in the Blue Jays' sustained success within the entire cross country/track & field program. Falk assisted with coaching duties on the men's cross country team up until 2011, when he took over as head coach. He continues to oversee the distance runners on the track & field side.
Since coming to Elizabethtown, Falk has coached a pair of All-Americans in Reichert (cross country, 2011) and Matt Rever (outdoor 800-meter run, 2012). Combined with the seven All-Americans he mentored at Dickinson, Falk now touts nine All-Americans to his resumé.
Elizabethtown is Falk’s second head coaching stint at the collegiate level. He spent a season as the men’s and women’s cross country coach at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, leading the Blugold women to a 12th place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division III Championships in Wilmington, Ohio. Falk assisted with the track and field programs at UW-Eau Claire as well, overseeing individual qualifiers for both the 2007 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
Falk earned his bachelor of science in physical education and a Pennsylvania teacher certification from Temple, before obtaining a master of science in exercise science from McDaniel College in 2003. His UW-Eau Claire men’s and women’s cross country teams were named 2006-07 Academic All-Americans by the USTFCCCA for maintaining a team GPA over 3.10.
Prior to his time at UW-Eau Claire, he was an assistant coach with the cross country and track & field programs at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. He planned training programs for all distance-event athletes in the track and field program, and 11 of those athletes became individual champions within the Centennial Conference. Falk also had a hand in molding nine NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship qualifiers and seven All-Americans.
While at Dickinson, Falk also coached the cross country team at nearby Susquehanna Township High School. The veteran coach started at Susquehanna Township in 1991 and spent 10 seasons there. Falk has been in coaching for over 25 years. He built the Susquehanna program from three returnees in 1991 to over 50 athletes by his departure.
Under Falk’s tutelage, numerous Elizabethtown runners have excelled on the national level in both cross country and track. His list of NCAA qualifiers includes Dylan Rulander, Matt Rever and the 2011-12 distance medley relay team members Rever, Russell Speiden and Mark Weber on the men's side, as well as Eileen Cody, Tiffany Kulp, Traci Tempone and Megan VanDenHengel on the women's side.
Competitively, Falk placed second in the Harrisburg Marathon in 2003 and took third in the God's Country Marathon the same year. He has U.S. Track & Field Level 2 Certification in endurance, jumps and sprints/hurdles/relays.
Falk currently resides in Hummelstown with his wife, Amy, and the their three sons, Patrick, Owen and Clayton.
