Head Cross Country Coach 1984-Present
Head Track Coach 1980 - Present
Associate Professor
Will Freeman came to Grinnell in 1980 as the men's track coach. In 1984 he added cross country to his coaching duties. Since then he has led the Pioneers to an amazing record, winning 19 of the past 20 Midwest Conference cross country championships, while the track and field teams have claimed three league titles. In 1994, his Grinnell teams claimed a conference first, becoming the first school to win "the triple crown" of cross country, indoor track and outdoor track in the same year.
In addition to being a full-time coach, Freeman is an associate professor of physical education. Among those courses he instructs are Psychological Foundations of Sport, Wellness I, Wellness II and Theory of Cross Country and Track and Field.
As an undergraduate, Freeman attended the University of Florida where he competed as a nationally ranked pole vaulter receiving All-America recognition and competing at two Olympic Trials. Freeman was a member of the US National Track & Field team and a National Masters champion in both the pole vault and decathlon. After graduating from Florida in 1976, Freeman subsequently received a master's degree in biomechanics from the Indiana University, and has nearly completed a Ph.D in sport psychology at the University of Iowa.
Freeman devotes much of his time in the summer to instructing at various coaching clinics across the country. He has been the National Chairman for Coaching Education for the USATF and holds Level III certification. A much sought-after clinician speaking at clinics both around the U.S. and internationally, he has also written three books and has authored 19 coaching videos.
Will Freeman is married to Grinnell women's track and cross country coach Evelyn Freeman. The Freeman's have three children: Cameron (19), Deidre (17), and Nicolette (13).
Assistant Track and Field Coach 2009-Present
Jennifer Jacobsen '95 returned to her alma mater last summer and is serving as an assistant coach with the Pioneer track and field program.
A 12-time letter winner in track and field here, Jacobsen was team captain as a junior and senior and won the Honor G Service Award for the graduating female with the most varsity letters. A versatile performer, she ran every distance between 200 and 5,000 meters, including the 400 hurdles, and still holds the school record in the 6,400 meter relay.
She has eight years of head college coaching experience at Methodist University, Franklin and Marshall College and Lawrence University. She has coaching experience in every event and has coached four NCAA All-Americans as well as three NCAA Academic All-Americans.
Jacobsen, who also is the College's Director of Wellness, earned a master's degree in Sport, Health, Leisure and Physical Studies from the University of Iowa in 1997.
Assistant Track and Field Coach 2009-Present
Assistant Track and Field Coach 2009-Present
|
