Babson College

Russ Brennen is in his 22nd season as head coach of Babson's track & field and cross country programs in 2025-26.

Brennen has taken the track & field programs to new heights in recent years, including a third-place finish for the men's squad at the 2024 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships with a program record 151 points. The Beavers had two athletes earn All-America honors in 2024, Anthony Rodriguez '24 in the 10,000 meters and Eric Bottern '24 in the shot put, and he coached several NEWMAC major awards winners, including two-time Track Athlete of the year Rodriguez, Field Athlete of the Year Bottern, and Men's and Women's Rookies of the Year Chris McDonough '27 and Colleen Corman '27. For his success, Brennen and his assistants were named NEWMAC Men's Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year.

Beginning with Marina Capalbo '15 in 2013, Brennen has had at least one athlete qualify for the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships in nine of the last 11 seasons, including a man and a woman in 2022. 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 his first NEWMAC Men’s Track & Field Coach of the Year honors in 2017, guided the Beavers to their highest point total in program history at the 2022 conference meet. The Babson men have posted each of their seven highest point totals at the NEWMAC Championships since 2015, and his athletes have collected eight individual event titles and 22 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. Overall, Brennen’s men have earned three USTFCCCA All-New England honors, 11 NEICAAA awards and 37 NCAA all-region accolades.

Brennen’s women’s teams have recorded three of the five highest point totals at the conference championships since 2017. Six athletes have won an individual event title and the Beavers have claimed 10 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. Babson earned its first women's All-America honor is 2022 as Katherine Jacobs '22 finished eighth in the 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships.

His cross country teams have enjoyed success on the trails earning 12 all-region and 16 all-conference awards, nearly all of which have come since 2010. The Babson men recorded eight top-20 finishes at the NCAA regional championships between 2011-22, which includes placing 16th in 2013 and 2016, 17th in 2012, and a program-best seventh in 2021.

Brennen’s men’s cross country squad also has posted 15 consecutive top-five finishes at the conference meet. The Beavers have placed fourth four times, the last coming in 2017 when they finished with a NEWMAC-era low 89 points, and came in third three times -- with 96 points in 2016, 90 points in 2021 and 92 points in 2023.

The men's cross country program established a program-first in 2021 when Anthony Rodriguez '24 became the first runner to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships. He finished 165th in his first appearance at the national level in Louisville, KY, and duplicated that performance in his second visit to the NCAA Championships in 2022.

The Babson women have recorded nine top-25 finishes at the NCAA regional championships, highlighted by a program-best 19th-place showing in 2010 and a 21st-place result in 2011. 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.

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.