Rice University Men's Track

Warren has helped his student-athletes achieve success in the classroom. Warren has had 16 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in his tenure as head coach, and Dan Sloat was awarded an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship in 2011. In 2012-13, Rice men's track and cross country had a combined seven C-USA Academic selections and 30 C-USA Academic Medal Winners or Honor Roll Recipients. Warren has been named conference coach of the year four times and has overseen the development of many student-athletes, including 20 All-Americans during his tenure as head coach. Ryan Harlan, a nine-time conference champion, won the NCAA Championship in Decathlon in 2004, under Warren's watch. Harlan earned 41 points as Rice went on to win the 2004 C-USA Championship, and Harlan went on to earn a spot for the United States in the 2011 World Championships. Warren helped Jason Colwick, an engineering major, win two NCAA Championships in the Pole Vault, and finish runner-up in that event in 2010. In addition, Warren has been the head coach for Philip Adam, a two-time All-American who earned the NCAA Elite 88 award for having the highest GPA at the NCAA Championships, and Marcel Hewamudalige, who was the C-USA Cross Country Champion in 2004 and the C-USA 5000m Champion. Overall, in Warren's tenure as head coach, the Owls have finished in the top three of the conference 21 times, and in the top 50 nationally eight times. A former cross country runner himself, Warren has coached the Owls to cross country conference championships in 1999, 2001, and 2004, and a 31st place finish nationally in 2004. In his time at Rice, Warren has helped several distance runners to conference championships and All-America status, including Brian Klein, who finished third at the NCAA Indoor Meet, Andrew Burrow, Adam Davis, and Pablo Solares. Warren is the sixth head coach of the program. All of the previous six coaches (Emmett Brunson, '29, Augie Erfurth, `49, Bobby May, `65, Steve Straub, `72, Raymond Davidson, `62), like Warren, are graduates of the University. A 1988 graduate of Rice University, Warren received his degree with a double-major in managerial studies and political science. He earned his master's of education degree from the University of Houston in 1991. Warren ran for Rice's track team from 1983-88, setting Rice school records in the indoor mile (4:03.05, 1987) and in the 3000m (8:06.66). He qualified for the NCAA Championships twice in cross country and once in the indoor mile. He was a part of a Rice team that finished 19th as a team in the 1987 NCAA Cross Country meet. He was a Texas 5A State Champion at Cypress Creek High School, winning the state meet in Cross Country in 1982 and the 1600 in 1983. Warren participated in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, and was a finalist in the Steeplechase in '92 and finished eighth in the marathon in '96. He participated for the US in the World Championships in 1997. As a runner, he has personal bests of 3:59.30 in the mile, 8:30.66 in the 3000 Steeplechases, 13:58 in the 5000, and 2:15 in the marathon. He is the only American to run a sub-4:00 mile and a sub-2:20 marathon in the same year, accomplishing both in 1994. Jon is married to the former Stacy Jones, a 1987 Rice graduate and former swimming athlete for the Owls. She was a two-time Catherine Hannah award winner given to the squad's MVP. The couple has a daughter, Katy. 07/25/2016 - On the heels of a 10th place finish in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Rice junior All-American Scott Filip will... 07/12/2016 - For the ninth time in the past 11 years, Rice University student-athletes earned the Conference USA Institutional Excellence Award in 2015-16 by... 07/08/2016 - Rice graduate All-American thrower Evan Karakolis took home a gold medal in the javelin at Fridays Canadian Track and Field Championships at... 07/06/2016 - Rice All-American thrower Evan Karakolis will be looking to earn a trip to the Olympic Games in Rio when he competes at the Canadian Championships ... 07/03/2016 - Rice junior track and field athlete Scott Filip placed 10th overall in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, highlighted by a fifth place ... 07/02/2016 - Rice junior track and field athlete Scott Filip will enter Sunday in sixth place in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials after racking up ... 06/29/2016 - The U.S. Olympic Team Trials returns to the University of Oregons Hayward Field this week from June 30-July 10 where current and former Owls... 06/24/2016 - Rice senior thrower Evan Karakolis was selected to the 2016 Academic All-America Division I Track & Field/Cross Country First Team for a second...

Christensen to assistant coach. Christensen took over for former assistant coach Casey Thom, who left the coaching profession to enter into private business.   A volunteer assistant last season, Christensen oversaw the mens throwers and helped guide Duncan Dickerson to a historical season with the Owls. Dickerson established a new Rice record with a hammer throw of 62.21m (2011) to become the first Owl to ever win a conference title in the hammer throw. Dickerson also placed second in the weight throw at the C-USA Indoor Championships and established a new school record (17.33m) at the Howie Ryan Invite. Christensen earned a bachelors degree in Kinesiology in 2013 and a masters degree in 2015, both in Kinesiology at Sam Houston State, where he was one of the most decorated throwers in the programs history. The Cypress, Texas native won five events in his career, including a victory in the hammer throw at the Victor Lopez Classic in 2014. He also placed third in the weight throw at the Southland Conference Indoor Championships in 2014. Men's Track Home   Email this article   Printer-friendly format

Butler and the Rice pole vaulting corps. Junior Jason Colwick had an exceptional year winning the 2009 NCAA Indoor title and the 2009 NCAA Outdoor championship as well. Colwick also posted the nation's number outdoor one mark for the second straight year. In 2008, Colwick posted the NCAA's number one mark in the pole vault, 5.55m/18-2.5, at the Texas Twilight Meet. Colwick also won the Conference USA outdoor title with a meet record mark of 5.31m/17-5. At the 2009 USA National Pole Vault Summit, Butler was awarded the 2009 Sports Culture Award for his work in promoting the history of the sport in the education of USA athletes and coaches. This award was given by the North American Pole Vault Association and the USA National Pole Vault Development Staff. He was inducted to the Spring Branch Memorial Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004, and into the New Haven High (Ind.) School Hall of Fame in 2006. He was the feature speaker at the 2012 Somero (Finland) Pole Vault Carnival, and presented at the 2008 & 2009 Houston Pole Vault Coaches Symposium and the 2011 HISD Coaches' Conference. Butler's articles have been published in , , and recognized in and . He is the creator of the "Steel to Fiberglass" and "140 Drills and Exercises for the Pole Vault" instructional DVDs, and the Facebook page, "The Vault: How Bamboo, Steel & Fiberglass Changed Our Lives." One of his most accomplished vaulters was former Rice Owl Rachel Greff. In 2006, 2007, and 2008, Greff won both the indoor and outdoor C-USA pole vault titles. A Houston native, Greff earned All-America status in 2008 by placing fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship and she also placed second at the NCAA Midwest Regional. She is Rice's record-holder for outdoor with a mark of 4.20m (13-9.25). In her four years with Butler, Beth Hinshaw went from learning how to pole vault in 2001 to earning indoor All-America honors and winning both WAC indoor and outdoor titles in 2004. Hinshaw also won the 2004 NCAA regional crown en route to the NCAA championships and set the Rice outdoor record of 13-6.25. Ally Daum also flourished under Butler's guidance. The pair share the Rice indoor record of 13-3.5. Daum finished fourth at the 2004 WAC indoor meet and was fifth at the outdoor meet. In 2004, he coached Ryan Walsh to the WAC indoor crown and a third-place finish at the outdoor meet. His efforts also guided Ryan Harlan to second-place in the pole vault at WAC outdoors and contributed to his NCAA and WAC decathlon titles. In 2001, he coached David Jacobs to a second-place finish at the indoor conference championships, and guided Harlan and Walsh to fourth and fifth, respectively, at the WAC outdoor meet. Jacobs continued to flourish under Butler's guidance, finishing second again at the 2003 WAC indoor meet. In three years with Butler, Harlan evolved from a 10-6 beginner to a 16-7 competitor. Butler coached high school track and field for 23 years. He is recognized nationally for outstanding contribution to the development of the pole vault in the United States, and known as the "father of the girls' high school pole vault in Texas," for his work in bringing the sport to the Lone Star State in 2001. He was named the 1998 USA high school pole vault coach of the year and coached the 1998 high school indoor and outdoor national champion. Butler is an active member of the USA national pole vault developmental staff and currently teaches at Spring Branch Middle School. He has been a regular feature speaker at the USA National Pole Vault Summit (2001-2010), presentator at the 2010 European Pole Vault Conference in Cologne, Germany, and featured speaker at the 2008 NACACTFCA International Athletics Conference held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Butler was also appointed Development Chair for Emerging Elites for the USA Pole Vault staff in 2009. He is a former school record holder in the pole vault at Ball State. 07/25/2016 - On the heels of a 10th place finish in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Rice junior All-American Scott Filip will... 07/12/2016 - For the ninth time in the past 11 years, Rice University student-athletes earned the Conference USA Institutional Excellence Award in 2015-16 by... 07/08/2016 - Rice graduate All-American thrower Evan Karakolis took home a gold medal in the javelin at Fridays Canadian Track and Field Championships at... 07/06/2016 - Rice All-American thrower Evan Karakolis will be looking to earn a trip to the Olympic Games in Rio when he competes at the Canadian Championships ... 07/03/2016 - Rice junior track and field athlete Scott Filip placed 10th overall in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, highlighted by a fifth place ... 07/02/2016 - Rice junior track and field athlete Scott Filip will enter Sunday in sixth place in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials after racking up ... 06/29/2016 - The U.S. Olympic Team Trials returns to the University of Oregons Hayward Field this week from June 30-July 10 where current and former Owls... 06/24/2016 - Rice senior thrower Evan Karakolis was selected to the 2016 Academic All-America Division I Track & Field/Cross Country First Team for a second...