Stonehill women's cross country and track & field Class of 2019 went 12 for 12 in NE10 Championships over their four-year career |
Boen steps down as head coach, will remain in charge of men's & women's cross country
Delgado elevated to head coach of men's & women's track & field
EASTON, Mass. (June 24, 2019) – Stonehill College has announced that Hall of Famer Karen Boen has stepped down as head coach of the men's and women's track & field programs, and has elevated assistant coach Michael Delgado to head coach for those programs. The announcement was made today by Dean O'Keefe, '94, Director of Athletics at the College.
Boen will remain as head coach of Stonehill's men's and women's cross country programs and also serve as distance coach for the track & field programs, with the 2019 fall season marking her 22nd year as head coach of the cross country programs.
"I have taken great pride in the program's development over the last 22 years and am grateful for the support provided to me by the athletic administration and community in that time," said Boen. "I truly feel that my vision for what a team should consist of has been realized and am fortunate to have intelligent, committed student-athletes who are not only talented, but understand the importance of what it means to be a 'team.'
"With everything in place, I feel it is the perfect time to hand over the reins of the men's and women's track & field programs. I look forward to continuing to be a mentor to the coaching staff, working with the men's and women's cross country programs, and those student-athletes during the indoor and outdoor seasons, while also having the opportunity to spend more time with my growing family away from the College. In the end, my vision has been realized and it only makes sense to pass the torch and watch the continued success of our teams."
Boen, inducted into the Stonehill Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014, has built the men's and women's cross country and track and field programs into one of the elite programs at the Northeast-10 Conference, East Region and NCAA Division II levels. The most successful head coach Stonehill has known, Boen has led the six programs to a combined 37 Northeast-10 Championships, including six women's NE10 indoor championships, five NE10 outdoor titles and one men's NE10 indoor crown. The Stonehill women's cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field programs have combined to win the last 12 NE10 Championships in those sports and 17 of the last 18 NE10 titles overall after sweeping the three seasons for the fourth-straight year in 2018-19.
While Boen has stepped down as head coach of the men's and women's track & field programs, she will remain head coach for cross country and continue to coach the track & field distance student-athletes |
Boen has collected an incredible 64 Coach of the Year Awards from the NE10 and U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) over her illustrious career. She is a six-time USTFCCCA East Region and NE10 Coach of the Year during the women's indoor track & field season, and a five-time East Region and four-time NE10 Coach of the Year for the women's outdoor season.
"Coach Boen has worked tirelessly since her first day at Stonehill to build a program which has become one of the most accomplished and respected throughout the NE10 and all of NCAA Division II," said O'Keefe. "We are excited for Karen as she transitions to a new coaching role at Stonehill, and are very fortunate to have her continue to lead and mentor our men's and women's distance student-athletes and develop their skills for success."
Boen has coached a combined 63 All-Americans for the men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field programs over her career, with Corey Thomas, '13 winning the 2011 Indoor High Jump national championship by clearing 7-feet, 0.50-inches at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Boen's programs have also produced in the classroom, culminating with recent graduate Alex Demeule, '19 being named the NE10 Man of the Year, producing 14 Google Cloud Academic All-Americans®, 46 Google Cloud Academic All-District®, 15 NE10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence recipients and 143 NE10 Academic All-Conference selections across the six programs.
Boen, featured in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated in 2017, will remain in charge of a men's and women's cross country program that have combined to win 25 NE10 Championships, including each of the last ten women's titles, and 20 NCAA II East Region Championships, including the last two men's titles. The programs have combined to reach the NCAA Division II Championships a combined 35 times, including 19-straight trips for the women and 16-straight for the men.
Delgado will assume the head coaching duties for the men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field programs after returning as assistant coach for the 2018-19 season, where he was in charge of the Skyhawks throws, hurdles, and horizontal jumps. He assisted Boen in guiding Stonehill to women's NE10 Championships during the indoor and outdoor championships.
"Coach Delgado has proven to be a valuable and impactful member of our Track & Field coaching team since rejoining Stonehill last year," said O'Keefe. "I am thrilled he will serve our student-athletes as our next head coach. His technical knowledge, strong ability to teach, and desire to serve our program is unmatched, and I am confident Mike will enjoy tremendous success in his new role."
Under Delgado's guidance, rising senior Shayla Lyons set school records for the shot put (43-feet, 7.25-inches) and discus throw (141-feet, 7-inches) during the 2019 outdoor season. Recent graduate Xavier Young, '19 set school records for the indoor (50-feet, 1.75-inches) and outdoor (54-feet, 8.25-inches) shot put this season, winning the NE10 shot put championship during the outdoor season and also earning All-New England honors this spring. He coached eight All-NE10, three USTFCCCA All-East Region and four All-New England performers this past season. During his first stint with Stonehill from 2005-07, Delgado trained the program's first All-American in a non-distance event with a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter dash from Torrey Price, '09 at the 2007 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championship.
Delgado will assume the reins of the track & field programs after coaching the throws, hurdles and horizontal jumps last year in his first year back at Stonehill following ten years at BU. |
"I would like to thank Dean O'Keefe for giving me the opportunity to lead our men's and women's track & field programs," said Delgado. "I am very excited to continue leading the programs to the high level of success that it has been accustomed to. I would also like to thank Karen Boen for the hard work she has put in to building this program to the level it is at today, and I look forward to continuing to work with her in the future."
Delgado returned to Easton last summer after ten years as an assistant track & field coach at Boston University, joining the institution in 2008. He coached Jason Biesma to breaking the Terrier's heptathlon record with a total of 5,041 points at the Patriot League Indoor Championships. Delgado was also recognized by BU in 2012 as the inaugural winner of the Terrier Staff Award, which is given out to a Terrier staff member who goes above and beyond his or her duties. During that year, he also coached Allison Barwise to a pair of All-America selections in the high jump, as well as seeing her qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Delgado was part of Robyne Johnson's staff at BU that was tabbed Women's Coaching Staff of the Year at the America East Indoor Championship twice while with the Terriers, once in 2008 and the second time in 2012. He also assisted in three NEICAAA champions, four ECAC Champions, six NCAA outdoor regional qualifiers, two NCAA Indoor Championships qualifiers, and two NCAA Outdoor Championship qualifiers. He also helped the women's track & field team to three Patriot League Championships during his tenure, two women's cross country titles, and one men's.
"I couldn't be happier for Mike Delgado and his new title," said Boen. "Mike has a deep knowledge of track & field and a true understanding of our athletic philosophy at Stonehill. He has been involved with track & field his entire life, and I have no doubt that his expertise, commitment and personality will be a great asset to the athletic department. I look forward to being a part of our continued success and the new energy these changes will bring."
With 21 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. Stonehill has won the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup five times, all coming within the last 14 years. The Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first eight years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 96% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for seventh among all NCAA Division II institutions, with eight Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked 11th in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings for Division II used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs.
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