Fredonia University

Tom Wilson, a State University of New York at Fredonia alumnus, became the head coach of the track and field and cross country programs in 2011 after nearly a decade long stint as the program's pole vault instructor.
 
Along with taking over the oversight of the entire program and maintaining his traditional pole vault duties, Wilson has also successfully taken on the training and mentorship of the student-athletes competing in the middle and long distances at Fredonia.

In his first year at the helm, Wilson guided Nick Guarino (Class of ’11) to three NCAA national championships -- the 1,500 meters and 800 meters outdoor, and the mile indoors. Wilson was named the 2011 SUNYAC Men’s Head Coach of the Year after his men finished third at the SUNYAC Outdoor championships and won six individual events. Four years later, Wilson was named 2015 SUNYAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the Blue Devils to a second-place finish.
 
Since taking over the program in 2011, Wilson’s resume includes nine All Americans, 29 NCAA qualifiers, 19 All Atlantic Region honorees, 36 SUNYAC conference champions, 26 women’s track and field school records, and 13 men’s track and field school records. For cross country, eight of the top 10 fastest women’s 6,000-meter times were set under his coaching, including the school record by Laura Morrison of 21:46 in 2015. On the men’s side, three of the 10 fastest 8,000-meter times came under his watch, including a school-record 24:22 by Kyle Collins in 2015.

Wilson remains a fixture in the Western New York pole vault community, helping introduce the event to hundreds of athletes over the years through his pole vault clinics. Those he has coached hold both school records and account for 31 of the possible 40 athletes on the Fredonia men’s and women’s Top 10 performance lists. Highlighting these is 2012 graduate Broncho Rollins, who set indoor (16’3.25”) and outdoor (16’4”) school records and was an All American in the event at both the 2012 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor championship meets.
 
Wilson graduated from Fredonia State with a double major -- Computer Science and Graphic Design -- and an Athletic Coaching minor. He was a SUNYAC scorer in the 800 meters and on the 4-by-400 meter relay, as well as the the 2002 SUNYAC champion in the pole vault at the outdoor meet. Wilson holds lifetime personal-bests of 15’ 9” in the pole vault and 1:54 in the 800 meters. 

He lives in Fredonia with his wife and alumna, Jen (Martin) Wilson, and their two children, Donovan and Briana.