Now in his 30th season as the head track & field coach and 28th year as cross-country coach at Whitworth University, Dr. Toby Schwarz has created and maintained a TEAM for nearly three decades that is devoted to helping student-athletes to reach their full potential in four areas - academically, athletically, socially, and spiritually. He is the longest-serving coach in the Whitworth University athletics department and has the longest tenure of any track and field or cross-country coach in the Northwest Conference.
Cross Country:
Since taking over the cross-country program Coach Schwarz has led the program to tremendous success.
· 110 Northwest Conference All-Conference honors
· 7 Northwest Conference Team Championships
· 2 Northwest Conference Runners of the Year honor
· 5 Northwest Conference Newcomers of the Year honors
· 7 Northwest Conference Coach of the Year honors
· 4 NCAA West Region Team Champions
· 4-time West Region Coach of the Year honors
· 124 NCAA All-West Region honors
· 77 NCAA Division III National Championships Individual Qualifiers
· 6 NCAA Division III Cross Country All-Americans
· 8-time NCAA Division III National Championships Team Qualifiers
Track & Field: Schwarz has built a powerhouse track and field program at Whitworth, sweeping the Northwest Conference men's and women's title in 2001, 2015, and 2016. The Pirate men won eight of ten NWC championships from 2007 through 2016. Since 2004, a combined 17 top 25 NCAA Division III National Team finishes.
· 214 Individual Northwest Conference Champions
· 12 Northwest Conference team Championships
· 12 Northwest Conference Athletes of the Meet honors
· 21 West Region Coaches of the Year honors
· 2009 National Coach of the Year
· 93 Indoor National Championship Individual Qualifiers
· 22 Indoor All-Americans
· 208 Outdoor National Championship Individual Qualifiers
· 96 Outdoor All-Americans
· 11 National Champions
· 7 Top 10 National Team finishes
Whitworth finished fourth in the inaugural Al Carius Men’s Program of the Year award that was based on the team’s overall finish at the NCAA DIII cross country, indoor and outdoor Track & Field national championships in 2008-09. The men’s team finished 9th in the Al Carius Program of the Year standings in 2011, while the women’s team finished 11th in the female counterpart, the Deb Vercauteren Program of the Year, in 2011. The Pirate program was also honored as the Scholar Team of the Year in 2008 and 2009 which is based on team overall GPA and national team finishes.
Dr. Schwarz is also a Full Tenured Professor in the Kinesiology Department, teaching Sports Psychology, among various other courses over his tenure at Whitworth. Schwarz lives with his wife, Sally, and their daughters Malya and Ruby in north Spokane’s Mead neighborhood.
If you are interested in more information on the Whitworth Track & Field teams, you can contact Coach Schwarz at tschwarz@whitworth.edu or 509.777.4361.
