Brian Clymer joined the Kenyon College track & field program in 2013 after spending eight years as an assistant coach at Wake Forest University and one season as an assistant coach with Summit School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
In his first season at Kenyon, he made an immediate impact, especially with senior Sierra DeLeon. Under Clymer's guidance, DeLeon broke College indoor records in the 60-meter dash, the 60-meter hurdles, and the 200-meter dash, as well as College outdoor records for the 100-meter dash, the 100-meter hurdles, and the 200-meter dash. She went on to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, where she placed second in the 100-meter hurdles and fourth in the 200-meter dash. As a team, the Ladies claimed 16th place at the 2014 national meet--the second-best finish in program history.Â
In 2015, Clymer's second season, he guided Funmilayo Lawal to break the school's record in the discus at Denison's Last Chance Meet on April 24. Last season, he helped Duffy Lemire break the school's previous pole vault record during the NCACÂ Outdoor Championship. Clymer also saw junior Tanner Orr break the previous College record in the long jump during the Bob Shannon Invitational on March 3, 2018.Â
Overall, Clymer, while at Kenyon, has coached 12 individual NCAC and All-Ohio event champions, 69 All-NCAC and All-Ohio honorees, as well as 17 men's and women's College record-holders.
While at Wake Forest, Clymer coached six school record-holders in jumping events and helped his athletes claim several All-ACC honors. He assisted sprinters and multi-event athletes to numerous personal bests, school records, and NCAA Championship successes. Clymer’s recruiting efforts played a key role in the Demon Deacons highly-ranked 2012 female recruiting class, designated ninth-best in the country by Track and Field News.
Among his most accomplished student-athletes at Wake Forest were Jill Ahrens and Brent LaRue. Ahrens was a two-time All-ACC pole vaulter and former school record-holder in the event, while LaRue was an All-American multi-eventer and intermediate hurdler who currently holds the school record in the pole vault, heptathlon, and 400-meter hurdles.
Clymer has had great experiences working closely with national elite-level combined-event athletes who have finished sixth or better at the USATF National Championships and/or Olympic Trials, including two-time Liberian Olympian and record-holder in the decathlon and pole vault, Jangy Addy.
Rounding out his coaching experience, Clymer was also a volunteer assistant coach for two years at Kent State. There, he worked with the vertical jumpers including two All-Americans.
Clymer competed in the Mid-American Conference at Kent State University. He was a team captain as a senior while competing in the pole vault. During the 1997 season, Clymer competed for Mount Union College (now known as University of Mount Union), where he qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Nationals.
Clymer owns certifications as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist from the ISSA, USATF Level One, USTFCCCA Track and Field Technical and Meet Management certifications, as well as ALTIS Foundations, Short Sprints, and Pole Vault certifications.
He earned his Master's of Sports Administration from Ohio University in the spring of 2018 and earned his Bachelor's in Business Administration, with a concentration in Information Technology, from High Point University in 2008.
Clymer and his wife, Elizabeth, who is the Special Collections Librarian for Kenyon College, live in Mount Vernon with their two children.
