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Kenyon College Athletics

JJ Hunter

J.J. Hunter

J.J. Hunter, a former assistant at the University of Pennsylvania, was hired as head coach of both the men’s and women’s track and field programs at Kenyon in July of 2020. Hunter spent the previous four seasons at Penn, where his coaching focus was on sprints, hurdles, horizontal jumps and multi-events.

Under his leadership, Hunter developed nine Ivy League sprint/hurdle champions, eight NCAA regional qualifiers, three Penn record holders, and 10 Academic All-Americans. Additionally, his athletes produced 23 top-10 all-time Penn performances and combined to form the No. 1-ranked 100m and 200m event groups in the Ivy League two years in a row (2018-2019).

The 2018-19 was season was one of Hunter's most successful. He was named the men's USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year for the indoor season. During that campaign, Calvary Rogers set the 200m program record (21.05i) and subsequently captured his third consecutive 200m Ivy League title. Marvin Morgan ran the fastest 60m dash (6.75) in program history and won his first Ivy League title in the same event. Led by this duo, Hunter’s group scored 55 of the 110 total points logged by the men’s team. Hunter’s indoor 200m event group finished the season ranked No. 1 in the Ivy League.

Moving to outdoor competition, Morgan ran the program’s fastest all-conditions 100m (10.36w) since 1984 and led a one-two finish (with Rogers) in the Ivy League 100m dash final. Rogers continued his dominance of the 200m by recording the third-fastest all-conditions time in Ivy League history (20.54w) in March and later secured his third straight 200m outdoor Ivy League title. Rogers was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the outdoor Ivy League Championships and finished his career as one of the most decorated sprinters in Ivy League history with six individual championships. Anthony Okolo had another strong season in the 400m hurdles in advancing to the NCAA East Regionals quarterfinals on the strength of a 51.10 performance that ranks fourth all-time at Penn. Okolo’s run was the fastest at Penn since 1987. Cristian Constantin continued to lead the horizontal jump group by placing 17th at the NCAA East Regional with an outdoor personal-best mark of 15.54m.

In the previous season, Hunter’s 100m and 200m event groups finished ranked No. 1 in the Ivy League by the USTFCCCA. He qualified three individual athletes for the NCAA East Region Preliminaries in the 200m (Rogers), 400m hurdles (Okolo), and triple jump (Constantin). At the Outdoor Ivy League Championships, Hunter’s group accounted for 60 of Penn’s 142 points scored, leading the men’s team to their best team finish (2nd) in 12 years.

Rogers earned his second consecutive Ivy League 200m championship and added a third-place finish in the 100m. Okolo, a sophomore, captured the 400m hurdle title in 51.79, which currently stands as eighth all-time at Penn and the first title earned in that event for Penn in 15 years. Morgan continued his strong freshman year by taking fourth place in the 100m and fifth place in the 200m. For the first time in 17 years, Penn had two podium finishes in both the 100m and 200m (Rogers and Morgan). Constantin, a freshman, leaped to 15.39m in the triple jump for third place. Earlier in the season, Rogers equaled the Penn 200m record of 20.90 and became the sixth-fastest athlete in Ivy League history. Rogers and Morgan each entered their names in the Penn 100m all-time top-10 at seventh and eighth, respectively. Morgan’s performance made him the fastest freshman in Penn history. Additionally, the 4x400m relay team of Jeff Wiseman, Ryan Bender, Okolo and Rogers posted Penn’s fastest time in 16 years, at 3:10.83, and the 10th-fastest in Penn history.

At the 2018 Indoor Ivy League Championships, Hunter’s group accounted for 50.5 of Penn’s 102 points scored, leading Penn to a second-place team finish, its best in 16 years. Rogers defended his indoor 200m title and equaled his championship record of 21.39 (on a flat track) to move to fourth all-time in the Ivy League. Morgan placed second at the Indoor Ivy League Championships and earlier in the season recorded the second-fastest 60m dash in Penn history (6.82). Sophomore Evan Lee took second in the heptathlon with a score of 5,330.

In 2017, his first year with the Penn program, Hunter guided Rogers to indoor and outdoor Ivy League titles in the 200m; the former was an unforgettable championship record solo run at the NY Armory. Both championships were Penn’s first in a sprint event since 2005. Rogers went on to qualify for the NCAA East Region Preliminary and earn Academic All-American Honors. Rogers finished the season second all-time at Penn in the indoor and outdoor 200m.

Hunter made his return to coaching at Penn in August 2016 following a successful corporate career in biotech clinical research. During his time in the private sector, he built and led teams of clinical data management professionals, primarily in oncology therapeutics. While at Amgen, Hunter’s team was responsible for the clinical trial data management for a drug (Kyprolis) that earned FDA approval in 2016 for patients with relapsed/refractory Multiple Myeloma.

Earlier in his career, Hunter had multiple successful collegiate coaching stints at the University of Miami, Florida International, and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). During a span of seven seasons, Hunter guided five student-athletes to individual Division I NCAA qualifying marks, 24 All-America honors and 11 school records. Additionally, his athletes earned over 100 all-conference accolades during this time frame.

Hunter served as the assistant coach for men’s sprints, hurdles, jumps, and multi-events at the University of Miami. Under his guidance, Lance Leggett placed 12th at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles. Leggett was the 2007 ACC runner-up in the 60m hurdles with a PR of 7.79 seconds. In 2006, Leggett was the ACC 400m hurdle champion and was runner-up in the 110m hurdles in a PR of 13.79.

Hunter signed the 2006 60m Hurdle National Scholastic Champion, Cory Nelms, and developed him into the fastest freshman in the ACC, finishing fourth at the 2007 ACC Indoor Championships. By the time he graduated, Nelms had evolved into the best overall hurdler in Miami history by setting the 400m hurdle school record of 50.75 and logging the second-fastest mark in the 110m hurdles at 13.65. Additionally, Roland DaSliva (heptathlon, 5466) and Elan Daviglus (high jump, 2.10m) gained NCAA qualifying marks. Furthermore, Hunter helped more than 10 student-athletes earn All-ACC honors.

Before Miami, Hunter spent one season as an assistant coach at Florida International University, where he guided Sheri-Ann Brooks to the NCAA Championships in the 100m dash. He also coached Gerald Waugh (110H) and Sonnii McBride (400m) to NCAA Regional qualifying marks. During his only season with the Panthers, Hunter’s athletes broke four school records and earned 15 All-Sun Belt accolades.

Hunter began his collegiate coaching career at TCNJ, where he was an assistant coach for sprints, hurdles and jumps. In two seasons at the Division III level, Hunter coached 24 NCAA All-Americans, 79 NJAC All-Conference honorees, 23 NJAC champions and seven conference and school record holders. He also led two student-athletes to USATF Junior Nationals and helped guide the 2002 and 2003 teams to top-10 NCAA finishes.

Hunter earned his Bachelor of Arts in biology from La Salle University and furthered his education at the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a master’s in business administration. As an athlete, Hunter competed professionally for Shore AC and Nike Atlantic Coast Club and was a three-time USATF Outdoor Championship qualifier in the 100m (PRs of 10.10w and 10.25).