Jason Headman joins the Gators coaching staff for the 2010 fall season and will work primarily with Allegheny’s distance runners. Headman makes the trek to Meadville, Pa., after serving for one season as an assistant track & field/cross country coach at Heidelberg University.
While at Heidelberg, Headman was part of a staff that was named 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference Men’s Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year. Headman helped guide the Student Prince to the OAC league title, while Heidelberg finished 18th at the NCAA Division III Championships. Coaching 16 all-conference performers, including a school record-holder in the 5,000-meter run, Headman was again honored in the spring as a member of the OAC Outdoor Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year.
Prior to his appointment at Heidelberg, Headman was an assistant coach at the University of Akron, where he graduated as one of the Zips’ most heralded distance athletes. A captain during his senior season, Headman holds Akron school records for the indoor 5,000-meter run (14:41), outdoor 5,000-meter run (14:31) and outdoor 10,000 meter run. He was the outdoor track champion in the 2009 All-Ohio 10K (30:10) and earned All-Mid American Conference honors in indoor and outdoor track six times during his career. As a red-shirt, Headman posted a career-best 14:22 in the 5k.
As a member of Akron’s cross country team, Headman was a two-time first team All-MAC selection and ran a personal record time of 24:40 in the 8K. He holds the best individual cross country finish at the MAC meet in school history (fourth place) and earned All-Ohio honors in 2005 and 2006. Headman was also a team captain in 2007.
A native of Ashtabula, Ohio, Headman attended Ashtabula Edgewood High School where he ran on the 2003 cross country state championship team. He graduated with a degree in physical education at Akron and has worked the Northeast Ohio Running Camp for the past seven years. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education at Heidelberg.
