Kevin Thompson begins his eighth season as an Assistant Coach focusing on Sprints and Relays. Thompson is a USATF Certified Level I and II coach for sprints, hurdles and relays. Kevin continues to be an instrumental part of the successful Big Red Track Program since 2001. Thompson previously coached the sprinters and middle distance runners at Ithaca College for 2 years. He has been involved in the field of running for over 35 years, including as a Coach for the last 17 years. In 1996, Thompson founded the Ithaca United Track Club which provided year-round developmental running for youth aged 9-13 years old. Student-Athletes competed in local, regional and national events including the USA Track & Field Olympics, National Track & Field as well as Cross Country events.
The men’s sprint event group had a very successful year. Outstanding performances helped the Cornell team win a 7th straight Heps championship for both the Indoor and Outdoor seasons. The sprint group was led by Senior and co-Captain Marcel van Eeden with unexpected help from Freshman, Nick Huber. Collectively, the sprint group made a large impact on the team finish by scoring in almost every event in Heps Indoor and Outdoor. While there were many noteworthy individual and team performances, the 4x400m relay played a significant role by winning another team title. In addition, Nick Huber and Marcel van Eeden captured gold and silver in the 400m, respectively. Standout freshman, Kenny McClain earned a hard fought silver in the 500m.
During the Outdoor Heps Championship meet, the team had another remarkable finish by scoring in every sprint event. Seniors led the way by earning team points with a 4th place finish by Nate Crabtree in the 100m and 2nd place finish in the 200m. The relays finished 2nd in both the 4x100m and 4x400m. Despite injuries that plagued the end of the season, an outstanding performance was provided by Senior Marcel van Eeden with a 3rd place finish in the 400m and he led the way to a 2nd place in the 4x400m relay. The Cornell sprints team provided a sparkling finish at the Penn Relays by winning the 4x400m relay in the Ivy League division.
In addition to coaching at Cornell, Thompson is also the Executive Director of Cross World Africa, Inc. a non-profit foundation that works with youth, families and communities in the central highlands of Kenya. In 2009 Cross World Africa, with assistance from Coach Taylor, former Heps Champions Aaron Merrill ’08 and Adam Seabrook ’08, as well as, Dr. Michelle M. Thompson’84, Phd’01 and Board Member Derek Alvez travelled to Kenya to provide sponsored SAT prep training as part of the inaugural international Let’s Get Ready Program, award a scholarship for a Kenyan youth to participate in the Kenyan Scholar Athlete Project, provide micro-finance awards to women in Kamobo, supplied computers and a construction award for the Kipkeino High School and met with Eldoret Mayor Sammy Ruto to expand the Ithaca-Eldoret Sister City program. Thompson will be expanding the SAT and Micro-Finance services in 2010. A ‘Kip Keino Mile and Health Fair’ is planned for November 2009 in Eldoret, Kenya in conjunction with the announcement of a new synthetic track in Eldoret with the assistance of the IAAF and Nike.
Thompson graduated with a degree in public finance from Syracuse University in 1981 and went on to obtain a master’s degree in regional planning from Cornell two years later. As an athlete, Thompson participated in basketball and track while attending Curtis HS on Staten Island, N.Y. At Syracuse, he competed in both track and cross country. He has participated in the masters’ division of the Empire State Games in the hurdles, 800, 5K and relays.
Thompson and his wife, Michelle (Cornell ’84, Ph.D. ’01), reside in Ithaca and New Orleans. His daughter Rei graduated from Princeton University and now attends the Syracuse University Masters in Public Administration. Mya Thompson attends Harvard University and is heading into her junior year.
