HARTSVILLE, S.C. - Coker College has named Peter Early as its head track & field/cross country coach, Dr. Lynn Griffin, vice president of athletics and athletic facilities announced today. Early becomes the third coach in program history.
"We are excited that Peter will be taking over the cross country and track field program," said Grifin. "He has a proven record of success in recruiting and coaching at a very successful Division II institution and we are looking forward to watching him continue the success of our programs."
Early arrives at Coker after spending the last seven years at Merrimack College, where he was the assistant track & field coach. During his time at Merrimack, Early has personally coached every school record holder in the 800m down, including six-time National Champion Carly Muscaro. Under Early's guidance, Muscaro reached the semifinals of the 2016 United States Olympic trials, ran personal bests of 51.17 in the 400m and 23.22 in the 200m, and an NCAA Division II All-Time record of 51.78 in the indoor 400m, all while on her way to signing a professional contract with Saucony.
"I want to thank Dr. Wyatt and Dr. Griffin for giving me the opportunity to take the helm of the Coker track & field/cross country program," said Early. "I am extremely excited for this opportunity and I look forward to building off of the past successes this program has had. When I look at this roster, I see a lot of talent and potential, and I am anxious to get to work. I have high expectations for what this team can accomplish and I am very confident that we are going to achieve tremendous success in the near future."
Early has personally coached the Merrimack Warrior sprinters to six individual National Championships, 23 All-Americans honorees, five Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year awards, one Division II NCAA Indoor record, and one Division II Collegiate Women Sports award, which is handed out to the best female athlete in collegiate athletics for all sports. In March of 2017, Early was named USTFCCCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year for the East Region, as well as the USTFCCCA Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year. In addition to working with the team's sprinters, Early also worked heavily with recruiting potential student-athletes, where his efforts in the previous seasons have helped to expand the talent and depth of speed and power events.
A native of Haverhill, Mass., Early is a graduate of Haverhill High School, where he competed in both track & field and football. Early was named the MVC League MVP in his senior year for track & field and still holds several school records to include the indoor and outdoor high jump. He went on to graduate number one in the Francis E.Giard School of Business at Merrimack College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Early competed on the football and track & field teams as a student-athlete at Merrimack.