Babson College

Russ Brennen is now in his 22nd season at the helm of the men’s and women’s cross country and track & field teams at Babson College in 2025.

His cross country teams have enjoyed success on the trails earning 14 all-region and 18 all-conference awards, nearly all of which have come since 2010. The Babson men posted seventh place finishes at the NCAA Regionals in both 2021 and 2022, a ninth place in 2023, and sixth place in 2024 for the first top-10 finishes in program history. Brennen guided the squad to six top-20 finishes at the NCAA regional championships between 2011-19, which includes placing 16th in 2013 and 17th in 2012. Brennen also led Babson's first runners to the men's NCAA Division III Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2024 as Anthony Rodriguez '24 M'25 qualified with three Top-16 finishes at the NCAA East Regionals and Julian Ivarra earned a berth with a 13th place in 2024.

Brennen’s men’s cross country squad also has posted 15 consecutive top-five finishes at the conference meet, with third-place finishes in 2016 and 2021-24 and scoring a program-best 73 points in 2024. The Beavers have placed fourth four times, the last coming in 2017.

The Babson women have recorded 13 top-25 finishes at the NCAA regional championships, highlighted by program-best 16th-place showings in 2022 and 2024. Brennen’s 2010 squad also set a school record with 152 points on the way to finishing sixth at the NEWMAC Championship.

The women’s cross country program experienced a program-first in 2013 when Marina Capalbo ’15 became the first harrier to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships. She finished 132nd in her debut on the national stage and qualified for nationals again in 2014 and placed 92nd overall.

Beginning with Capalbo in 2013, Brennen had at least one athlete qualify for the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships in six of eight seasons. His teams have earned at least one all-conference award in every year going back to 2012 and multiple NCAA All-New England accolades in every season since 2013.

Brennen, who earned NEWMAC Men’s Track & Field Coach of the Year honors in 2017 and 2023, guided the Beavers to their highest point total in program history at the 2023 conference meet, nearly double the previous high. The Babson men have posted each of their seven highest point totals at the NEWMAC Championships since 2015, and his athletes have collected 11 individual event titles and 31 all-conference awards, all but two of which have been earned since 2013.

Four-time NCAA All-New England honoree John Decker ’18 won NEWMAC Track Athlete of the Year honors and became the program’s first All-America selection with his fourth-place finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Division III Championships in 2017. Anthony Rodriguez '24 was a two-time NEWMAC Track Athlete of the Year (2023, 2024) and earned All-America second team in the 10,000 meters with a 12th place finish in 2024. Eric Bottern '24 was the 2024 NEWMAC Field Athlete of the Year and earned first team All-America recognition with an eighth place in the shot put. Overall, Brennen’s men have earned seven USTFCCCA All-New England honors, 12 NEICAAA awards and 39 NCAA all-region accolades.

Brennen’s women’s teams have recorded three of the five highest point totals at the conference championships since 2017. Five athletes have won an individual event title and the Beavers have claimed nine all-conference awards going back to 2007, which includes three by Marina Capalbo ’15, who became the program’s first NEWMAC Track Athlete of the Year in 2015.

Additionally, Brennen’s female athletes have garnered two USTFCCCA all-region awards and 18 NCAA All-New England honors since 2007.

A 1992 graduate of RIT, Brennen was a member of the Tigers’ cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field teams. After receiving his master’s degree from Syracuse University in 2001, he spent three years as an assistant coach at Babson prior to taking over as head coach ahead of the 2004-05 season.

Brennen, who has run seven marathons, including three in Boston, has enjoyed great success working for TRACS, Inc., a well-established athletic consulting company. He also has been involved with a wide variety of projects, including club-level coaching with the Cambridge Running Club and the Boston Running Club, a national powerhouse in cross-country and track. Additionally, Brennen has worked on national and international projects like the John Hancock Elite Village for the Boston Marathon, the U.S. National Masters Track and Field Championships, and FILA's Discovery Kenya project.