Now in his 16th season as the head Track & Field coach at Whitworth, Dr. Toby Schwarz has transformed the Whitworth Track & Field team into one of the top programs in the nation. In 2011 the Pirates captured the Northwest Conference men’s team title with 242 points, the squad’s third title in four years. The Pirates qualified their largest group ever to the 2010 indoor and outdoor national championships and came back in 2011 to surpass that number with 26 individual national qualifying marks, seven All-Americans, and five coach of the year awards. The Pirates have finished in the top fifteen in the nation three of the last four years, including a third place finish at the 2008 outdoor national championships, third place at the 2009 indoor national championships, and sixth place at the 2009 outdoor national championships. Schwarz was awarded as the national head men’s track and field coach in 2009.

Schwarz has built a powerhouse program at Whitworth, winning the Northwest Conference men's and women's title in 2001 and the men's title in 2008, 2010, and 2011. Over the last nine seasons more than 60 athletes per year (over 75% of the team) have qualified for the NWC championship meet. And over the last ten years Schwarz has coached 44 athletes to NCAA Division III All-American honors, including Kristin Shields to a national championship in the 100 meter dash in 2004, and two time national champions Emmanuel Bofa (800 meters) and Cody Stelzer (High Jump) in 2008 and 2009. In 2011 Coach Schwarz added his sixth national champion with sophomore Carter Comito winning the national title in the men’s discus.

Schwarz has earned eighteen Coach of the Year awards, including the Indoor 2011 NCAA West Region and 2011 Northwest Conference honors. In 2009 Schwarz was selected as the NCAA Division III Men’s Coach of the Year. Members of Schwarz’s coaching staff have also won the NCAA DIII West Region Assistant Coach of the Year awards for the past four years including the 2011 indoor men’s and women’s assistant coach of the year (Jeff Rahn) and 2011 outdoor men’s assistant coach of the year (Eloise Cappellano).

Following the 2006 season, a decision was made by the coaching staff to cease the continuous growth of the program and move to a philosophy of a smaller, more focused and committed group of student-athletes. Through a process of tryouts and cuts, a more streamlined group of student-athletes make up the current and future Whitworth program.

With a smaller, more committed group of student-athletes, the level of excitement at practice is high, leading to a national championship caliber program. Whitworth finished fourth in the inaugural Al Carius Men’s Program of the Year award that was based on the team’s overall finish at the NCAA DIII cross country, indoor and outdoor Track & Field national championships in 2008-09. The men’s team finished 9th in the Al Carius Program of the Year standings in 2011, while the women’s team finished 11th in the female counterpart, the Deb Vercauteren Program of the Year, in 2011. The Pirate program was also honored as the Scholar Team of the Year in 2008 and 2009 which is based on team overall GPA and national team finishes.

Schwarz has also been the head coach of the very successful Pirate cross country program since 1998. In addition to their national championship appearances in 2001, 2009 and 2010, the women's team won NWC crowns in 2001 and 2009 and finished as NWC runners-up in 2002-04 and again in 2008 and 2010. The Pirate women won the NCAA DIII West Regional title and finished 6th at the NCAA DIII national championships in 2009 and 17th in 2010. The Pirate men have improved dramatically, finishing third in the conference from 2002-07 and winning the NWC in 2008 and 2010. The Pirates earned an NCAA West Region title in 2008 while sending the Whitworth men’s team to their first ever NCAA national championships in school history with a repeat appearance in 2010. Schwarz has led Whitworth runners to the NCAA Division III championships every season since 2001.

Dr. Schwarz is also a Professor in the Kinesiology Department. Schwarz fills his "spare time" when he is not teaching and coaching by being very active in the community and in youth ministry, including being the advisor for Whitworth’s chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Schwarz lives with his wife, Sally, and their baby girl Malya in north Spokane’s Mead neighborhood.

If you are interested in more information on the Whitworth Track & Field teams, you can contact Coach Schwarz at tschwarz@whitworth.edu or 509.777.4361.

Whitworth T&F Honors (1997 to present)
NCAA DIII Outdoor National Top 10 Finishes:	2008 (3rd) 2009 (6th)
NCAA DIII Indoor National Top 10 Finishes:	2009 (3rd)
USTFCCCA Scholar Team of the Year:	2008 (OD) 2009 (ID/OD)
NCAA DIII National Coach of the Year:	2009 (ID M)
NCAA West Region Coach of the Year:	2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
NWC Coach of the Year:	2000 (M) 2001 (M/W) 2008 (M) 2010 (M) 2011 (M)
West Region Asst. Coach of the Year:	2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
NCAA DIII Individual Champions:	6
NCAA Div. III Individual All-Americans:	44
NWC Team Champions:	2001 (M/W) 2008 (M) 2010 (M) 2011 (M)
NWC Individual Champions:	89

Assistant Coaches

Travis Howell - Head Assistant and Horizontal Jumps (7th year)
Travis Howell is in his seventh year with the Whitworth Track & Field program and in his twelfth year of coaching at the high school and collegiate level. Howell, the program’s first full-time assistant coach, is also Whitworth's Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities, Game Management, and Intramurals.

Howell is a graduate of Clarkston High School (2000), where he was a sprinter and jumper for the Bantams, and Gonzaga University, where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education (2004) and Master’s in Sport and Athletic Administration (2008). Howell spent five years coaching the horizontal jumpers at West Valley High School in Spokane, helping the Eagles win the Washington State 3A team title in 2005. Among the several horizontal jump success stories at the district, regional and state levels for both boys and girls, Howell coached four state champions in his five years and one high school All-American in the long and triple jumps, with individual bests of 52'-0.5" in the triple jump and 24’-1.75” in the long jump. His athletes still hold the Washington State 3A records in both the long and triple jumps.

Howell has helped guide the Whitworth horizontal jumpers toward the top of the Northwest Conference, qualifying 55 athletes in the horizontal jumps for the conference championships the past six years including twelve qualifiers in 2011. In 2011 Luke Mathews won the NWC men’s triple jump, and the Pirates scored 42 points between the long and triple jump on the men’s side on the way to the 2011 team title. In 2008 Kristen Dormaier broke the Whitworth women’s school record in the triple jump with a mark of 37’-9.5” and became the first female Pirate to qualify for the NCAA DIII Outdoor National Championships in the triple jump. In 2009 Whitworth freshman Allyssa Thompson broke the Whitworth Indoor school record in the triple jump while qualifying for the NCAA DIII Indoor National Championships with a mark of 37’-1”.

Howell also acts as the program's recruiting coordinator and works closely with Toby Schwarz on developing the Whitworth Track & Field program into one of the best in the nation.

You can contact Coach Howell at thowell@whitworth.edu or 509.777.3455.

Bob Omlin - Vertical Jumps (7th year)
Bob Omlin, a graduate of Quincy High School where he was a state-level standout Track & Field athlete in several events, rejoins Toby Schwarz after coaching with Schwarz at Pullman High School in 1996.

Since that time, Omlin became a Big Sky qualifier in the decathlon at Eastern Washington University and has extended his coaching resume as well. Omlin has coached multi-event competitors at Eastern Washington University, along with other jumping events.

Omlin has created one of the most successful vertical jump programs in the Northwest and nation. He has qualified nineteen vaulters and twenty six high jumpers to the NWC championships where fifteen vaulters and eighteen high jumpers have earned All-Conference honors while winning seven conference championships and setting one NWC high jump record. He has coached both the men’s (Cody Stelzer) and women’s (Jheri Gates) school record holders and has coached eleven NCAA national qualifiers, ten All-Americans, and in 2008 coached Cody Stelzer to the NCAA DIII Outdoor National title in the high jump and again in 2009 to the NCAA DIII Indoor National title.

Omlin is a personal trainer in Spokane, where he works with individuals from all demographics, including several professional athletes. Omlin lives in Spokane with his wife Teresa, and their two children.

Dr. Jeff Rahn - Long Distance (15th year)
Dr. Jeff Rahn is the senior member of the Whitworth Track & Field coaching staff. A graduate of Mead High School (1977), Whitworth (1982) and University of Nevada - Reno (1988), Rahn has an extremely impressive high school and college resume.

A member of the first team to win a state championship at Mead High School, Rahn continued that success at Whitworth where he continues to hold the school record in the 1500 meters (3:47.34).

After returning to Whitworth as a coach, Rahn has helped to build both the men’s and women’s programs to a level where they can challenge for the conference championship and national titles each year. Among Dr. Rahn’s coaching accomplishments, he was honored as the 2011 NCAA West Region Men’s and Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year while coaching Tonya Turner (mile) and Emmanuel Bofa (800m) to All-American Honors at the 2011 NCAA Indoor National Championships, and Tonya Turner to school records (1500m and 3K steeple) and All American Honors (3K Steeple – 3rd place finish) at the 2011 Outdoor NCAA National Championships. Rahn is also the assistant coach for the Pirate cross country program where he helped the women finish 6th at the 2009 NCAA DIII national championships.

Rahn is a Professor of Chemistry at Eastern Washington University and resides in Spokane with his wife Annette and two children, Katherine and Daniel.

Derek Dewindt - Hammer (5th year)
Derek Dewindt enters his fifth season as a Pirates' throws coach. Dewindt was a very successful hammer thrower at Whitworth, where he was the Northwest Conference Champion in 2006 and an NCAA DIII Outdoor National Qualifier. Dewindt has instituted a quality strength and conditioning program that has helped guide the Pirate throwers in their dominance over the NWC competition in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2010 Dewindt was instrumental in helping the Pirate throwers dominate the Northwest Conference in the throwing events where his men’s hammer throwers took 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 8th places. In 2011 Dewindt had four of his Pirate throwers qualify for the NCAA DIII outdoor national meet with Erica Cox also breaking the Whitworth school record with a throw of 165’10”.

Eloise Cappellano - Assistant Throws - Javelin (5th year)
Cappellano, in her fifth season, brings a very long and successful resume to the Whitworth Track and Field team. A graduate from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), Cappellano competed two seasons on the track and field team while completing her degree in Special Education. Cappellano has coached at the high school level in New Jersey and Deer Park, Washington and most recently at the very successful program at Mead High School. Throwers under Cappellano’s teaching have gone on to earn many state and national honors. Under Cappellano’s guidance the Whitworth javelin throwers have developed into some of the top throwers in the country. In 2011 the Pirates had four Javelin throwers earn All-NWC honors while taking first, second, and third places on the men’s side and had four national qualifiers, a school and conference record holder. Cappellano was honored as the 2011 NCAA West Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. Coach El has accumulated eleven national qualifiers and five All-Americans in her previous four seasons of coaching the Pirate Javelin throwers. She is also very active in distance running and weight lifting and has USATF Level I and II certifications. Cappellano works as a Special Ed teacher at Mead High School and has two sons, Alexander and Sean.

Joey VanHoomissen - Discus (2nd year)
VanHoomissen joins the Pirate coaching staff for his second year after spending the 2011 season as a volunteer assistant working with the discus and hammer throwers. He will be elevated to the primary discus coach where he was instrumental in helping coach three national qualifiers to the 2011 NCAA Outdoor National Championships, including sophomore Carter Comito who completed the season as school and conference record holder, NCAA champion, and the nation’s (NCAA DIII) best throw by over 20 feet. VanHoomissen was an All-American javelin thrower and All-NWC discus thrower for the Pirates before graduating in 2009. He currently works for the Spokane Country Club.

Jordan Jennings – Graduate Assistant (1st year)
The Pirate track program is very excited and blessed to have Jordan Jennings joining the coaching staff for his first year as a graduate assistant in 2011-12. He brings with him a wealth of experience and talent as a member of NCAA DI Saint Louis University where he holds six school records in the 600m, 800m (indoor and outdoor), 1000m, 4x800m relay, and the Distance Medley Relay. Jordan, who has a degree in psychology and will be working on his Master’s degree in Counseling, will work closely with Coach Schwarz and Coach Howell on program development through recruiting, fundraising, administration, meet management and helping with coaching athletes in multiple event areas in both cross country and track.