Brian Stankiewicz '17 was named Head Coach of the men's and women's cross country programs at Saint Anselm College on Feb. 22, 2018. He enters his fourth season with the squad in 2021.
He helped Saint Anselm reach greater heights in 2019 as the men's and women's programs excelled throughout the season. The Hawks women took fifth out of 23 teams at the NCAA Division II East Regionals with the men's program logging its best finish since 2007, finishing 14th out of 26 teams. The women's team was ranked as high as fourth in the East Region, according to the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches' Association.Â
Competing in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship in 2019, the Saint Anselm women's program took third place as a team and were the only squad to feature two freshmen finishing within the top-15. Stankiewicz also guided a dramatic improvement with the men's team, who logged its first top-10 finish since 2010.
The 2018 season saw great success for both the men's and women's teams at Saint Anselm. The men's squad recorded its best finish at the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship in over a decade while the women's program finished ninth out of 27 teams, its first time in the top-10 since the 2011 season. The Hawks women were also regionally ranked during the season.
Stankiewicz served as the interim head coach for both programs in 2017 and guided the Hawks to impressive results. The men's program recorded a 12th place finish at the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Oct. 22 while the women's squad finished ninth in a crowded field of 15 programs. Both finishes were the highest for each team since the 2010 season.
The men's team also returned to the NCAA Regionals in 2017 after a year's hiatus and the women's program secured its best finish at the regionals since a 14th place team finish in 2015. Senior Shannon Conley also claimed her fourth All-Region nod after crossing the line in 14th place, recording a 6K time of 23:33.6.
Stankiewicz graduated from Saint Anselm in 2017 with a degree in accounting and was a member of the men's cross country team for each of his four years on the Hilltop. He was a team captain as both a junior and senior and ran in 24 races for the Hawks over his four-year career.
He earned Dean's List and NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition in all eight of his semesters on the Hilltop. He also served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and took an active leadership role as a class senator for Saint Anselm student government.
