St. Francis College Women's Track

Mills 98 has been named the Head Coach of the Mens & Womens Track & Field/ Cross Country Teams, it was announced today by Director of Athletics Irma Garcia. Im confident that Chris is the right person to take the place of our long-time coach Kyle Brown, Garcia stated. Chris has done a great job of building two successful collegiate programs at Holy Family and ASA.  We look forward to him helping us attain a new level of success, both in the classroom and on the track. Im happy to be back home where my college career started, said Mills.  Success as a student-athlete takes dedication, commitment, perseverance and hard work. I plan to provide an equal level of support, direction and drive so that each student athlete achieves excellence. Mills had served as the Head Mens and Womens Track & Field Coach at Holy Family University for the past two years.  Under his guidance, many of his student-athletes turned in terrific performances, and the squad increased in numbers from 12 to 28. Last season, freshman Jaclyn Timoney became the school record holder in the triple jump, both indoor and outdoor, and she became the first athlete at the school to compete at Penn Relays in the event.  Wendell Hilliard set the school record in the 60m dash in 7.25, and Tauri Augustin established a new mark in the 1,000m run in 2:38.013.  He also broke the school standard in the 800m with a time of 1:58.01 in 2015. In addition, Sam ODonnell set a new record in the mile with a time of 5:47.01. 2014 was a memorable year as Shane King won the long jump (indoor and outdoor) while setting new school records.  The womens 4x400 team took 2 nd place at CTC indoor championships while the mens 4x800 team placed second at the same meet. Prior to his stint at Holy Family, the Queens native served in the same capacity at ASA College. In three seasons at ASA, Mills presided over one of the NJCAAs fastest rising programs after building the program from scratch. After having two student-athletes qualify for the NJCAA Indoor and Outdoor Nationals in 2011-12, Mills was able to help 13 Men's and Women's team members qualify for the National Championships in 2012-13.  His athletes earned NJCAA Division I awards four times in indoor track and seven times at the outdoor championships.  Many of those athletes earned All-American accolades under Mills tutelage. At the 2014 NJCAA National Outdoor Championships, sprinter Stephan James picked up his second and third NJCAA All-American honors by placing second in the 400m dash with a time of 46.15 and taking third in the 200m dash with a time of 20.94.  The mens sprint relay team placed sixth with a school record time of 3:08.41 in the 4x 400. The Lady Avengers took home sixth place in the 4x800 relay, setting a new school mark with a time of 9:42.48.  The 4x400 relay team placed fifth with a school record time of 3:44.24.  Sprinter Alita Moore placed sixth in the 400 m dash with a school record time of 55.63 earning her NJCAA All-American honors.  Middle distance runner Jevina Straker placed sixth in the 800m run with a school record time of 2:13.74. Mills gained his first collegiate coaching experience as an Assistant Coach at his alma mater from 1999-2001. Prior to returning to SFC, Coach Mills served as Assistant Coach for Holy Child High School (NY) in 2010-2011, along with being the Head Coach of the Middle School team. He was also the Head Coach at Friends Academy (NY) in 2007-08. Coach Mills' career in coaching began in 1998 as Head Coach of Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn. He has also spent time from 1998-2006 as a camp counselor at The Running School, one of the premier running camps in the nation. Coach Mills earned his Bachelor's Degree in Social Studies from St. Francis. As a student-athlete he excelled, earning two Northeast Conference (NEC) championships in the 800m (1996 and 1997) and also setting the 800m record. He was also voted NEC Athlete of the Week three times, team MVP twice and received the St. Francis Senior Athletic Award during his time on Remsen Street  

Brown has been the Head Coach of the St. Francis-Brooklyn men and womens cross country and track & field programs since 2007. Brown had previously served as an assistant coach with the Terriers from 2003-2007.   Since 07, the Terriers have had a large number of athletes earn All-Conference honors in both cross-country and track and field, most recently with Luis Porto, Annais Cummiskey and Paul Clarke earning this level of recognition in 2015-16.   Under the tutelage of Coach Brown, the Terriers cross-country and track & field programs have continued to set new records with each passing season.   Over the years, male and female sprinters have shattered records in the 60, 100, and 200-meter races. Every major relay team: mens and womens 4x100, 4x400, and 4x800 meter units, were able to break through and record school records under the guidance of Brown and his staff.   The Terriers have also seen a vast improvement in their jumps, with men and women posting record breaking leaps in the long jump, high jump, and triple jump events during Browns tenure.   Other record-breaking performances under the leadership of Coach Brown and his staff include new benchmarks in womens hurdles, mens 400-meter dash, mens 500-meter dash, and womens shot-put.   For Terriers cross country, Brown has overseen the womens 5K and the mens 8K times consistently improve, with new school-best showings being put on display on multiple occasions.   Beyond rearranging the record books, numerous Terriers have attained a variety of significant accolades during their respective stints with Coach Brown at the helm.   Several St. Francis athletes have earned the privilege of showcasing their talents at the Intercollegiate Association Amateur Athletes of America, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships, some of which have gone on to compete at the NCAA Regional Qualifiers.   While at IC4As, the men have had participants in the mens 60, 100, 200-meter dashs among other individual races. For field events, men have earned spots in the high jump and javelin throw. Under Coach Brown, the mens 4x100 and 4x800 relay teams have also earned competitive spots at the IC4As.   At ECACs, the Terriers have also had women participate in the 60, 100, and 200-meter sprints. For field events, women have partaken in the triple jump and long jump, and with Coach Brown in charge; the women have also sent relay teams to ECACs, including a foursome who ran in the 4x100.   At NCAA Regional Qualifiers, the Terriers have had high jumpers and javelin throwers compete on multiple occasions.   In recent years, the Terriers have also gotten it done in the classroom with their cross-country and track & field teams earning the NCAA Public Recognition Award for Academic Progress Rate in the top 10% of all Division-I programs in 2016.   Coach Brown himself is a very accomplished runner, having been a stand-out at Monsignor McClancy High School in Queens before competing for LIU-Brooklyn for four years in Division-I athletics.   While at McClancy, coach Brown competed in track & field for all four years. His highlights include but are not limited to putting up record-breaking performances in the long jump and triple jump, both of which still stand as of 2016.   While at LIU, Coach Brown was also a superb athlete who also once held the NEC triple jump record.   Before arriving on Remsen Street, Coach Brown served as an assistant coach at Bishop Ford High School, and was also the head track & field and basketball coach at St. Gabriels Elementary School.   Brown earned his Bachelors degree in media arts from LIU-Brooklyn.   Away from the track, Coach Brown has been serving as the Youth Leader at Springfield Gardens Church of the Nazarene, where he is also in charge of the drama ministry, hip-hop ministry, and mens choir.  

Busch was hired in 2013 as the Terriers track & field recruiting coordinator.  Busch started his running career as a mid-distance runner at Ulysses S. Grant High School in Portland, Oregon, where he was a state competitor in 2001 and 2002.  He was also a team captain for cross-country and track & field during his senior year.   Busch transferred to St. Francis College in 2005 and competed in cross country and track & field for two years.  He graduated Manga Cum Laude, with a joint degree in Communications and English Literature.   Following his graduation, Busch started coaching marathon runners in 2006 as a founding member of RunUrban coaching. He was hired as assistant coach at St. Bernard's School from 2007-2009 and worked at Packer Collegiate in 2008 as an assistant coach before being promoted to the Director of Running Program in 2010.   Busch was voted PSAA coach of the year in 2010 & 2011, and guided the team to seven league titles, and coached Eddie Owens to a cross-country Footlocker All-American performance, New Balance National Champion title, and Jr. Pan American Games Silver Medalist finish. He also the co-founded the Williamsburg Track Club in 2009, a local sub-elite training group that competes in NY Road Runner Races. In 2009, Busch started working as an independent digital marketing producer, most notably doing work for adidas Running in multiple footwear launches over 2011 and 2012.   He is certified as a USA Track & Field Level 1 Coach and a Road Runners Club of America Certified Coach. He and his wife, Amanda, live in Brooklyn.