Bob Babiak is in his third season with the Hawks? coaching staff. He primarily oversees the development of Monmouth?s hurdlers and jumpers, as well as multi-event athletes. Babiak brings with him more than 15 years of coaching experience, in addition to his years as an accomplished competitor.
In his first season with the Blue and White, Babiak coached senior Ashley Huffman to two Northeast Conference titles in the high and long jumps. He also had three hurdlers tally points at the NEC indoor championships as Huffman finished second in the 60 meter high hurdles, Zekara Riggsbee finished fourth in the same race, and on the men?s side senior Matt Dahms placed third in the 60 meter high hurdles. During the NEC outdoor championships, he coached Dahms and senior Jeff Elisca to third place finishes in both hurdle races on the way to the second-consecutive NEC title for the men?s squad. On the women?s side, Riggsbee notched a second place finish in the 100 meter hurdles while Huffman captured her third NEC title of the year with a jump of 6.15 meters in the long jump.
Babiak arrives at Monmouth after serving as the head track & field coach at Manasquan (N.J.) High School for the past year. Prior to his tenure at Manasquan, Babiak spent nine years as a cross country and track & field coach in the Toms River (N.J.) school district, where he was named 1999 Ocean County Coach of the Year. Babiak also boasts collegiate experience, serving as the graduate assistant and acting head coach at the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif., from 1991-1992.
Previously, Babiak logged an impressive record as a competitor. In 1997, he placed seventh in the National Drug-Free-For-Life Body Building competition. As a collegian at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa., Babiak won the 1990 NCAA Division II Decathlon National Championship and was a Division II All-American in the Decathlon in 1988. While with the Bears, Babiak also set the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Decathlon record (7,292) in 1990, a mark that still stands. He earned a bachelor of science in education from IUP in 1990. He resides in Freehold with his wife Lori, daughter Jaiden (2) and stepchildren Trevor (10) and Cassidy (8).
