Oberlin College Athletics

Ray Appenheimer File

Previous Position

20 Years Director of Track & Field and Cross Country

Alma Mater

Undergrad Colgate University

College Playing Career

4 Years Colgate University
Cross Country & Track & Field

Five NCAA All-American Awards

After 20 years of coaching and serving as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, Ray Appenheimer transitioned into the role of Associate Director of Athletics prior to the start of the 2024-25 academic year.

During his tenure, Appenheimer built Oberlin's track & field and cross country programs into perennial powers at the national, regional, and North Coast Athletic Conference levels.

Appenheimer led the Yeowomen to six straight NCAC titles and nine overall, while guiding the women's cross country team to six consecutive NCAA Championship appearances from 2009-14 and nine overall appearances. The Oberlin women achieved a program-best seventh-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championships and placed 11th nationally in 2019.

He coached All-American women's cross country runners Joanna Johnson, Molly Martorella, Emma Lehmann, and Kyle Neal, while leading Geno Arthur to All-America honors in 2014 and 2015, the program's first men's All-American since 1995. Appenheimer coached three All-Americans in 2014 and 11 total during his Oberlin career. He was named NCAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year 10 times and set an NCAC record with nine All-NCAC runners in 2012. In 2022, he led the men's cross country team to its first NCAC Championship.

In track & field, Appenheimer led the Oberlin women to three consecutive seasons of NCAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships from 2016-17 through 2018-19, marking the first time in program history that the Yeowomen claimed both titles in the same season. He coached eight All-Americans, including Lilah Drafts-Johnson, and earned USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Indoor Coach of the Year honors in 2017 and 2018. He also earned NCAC Women's Indoor Coach of the Year honors in 2009, 2010, and 2017-19, as well as Outdoor Coach of the Year honors from 2017-19.

Appenheimer's teams have earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors in each year of his coaching career. The Oberlin women placed eighth at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, marking the best finish in program history.

A six-time academic selection and 1994 magna cum laude graduate of Colgate University, Appenheimer earned a bachelor's degree in English and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He earned an NCAA post-graduate scholarship, won the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year award twice, and became a semifinalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. He also won five NCAA All-American awards in cross country and track.

Appenheimer joined the Nike Farm Team in Palo Alto, California, where he won the national title at the 1999 United States Cross Country Championships and followed that with a win in the 3,000 meters at the 2000 United States Indoor Track and Field Championships. He represented the United States at the 1999 World Cross Country Championships in Belfast and the 1999 World University Games in Majorca, Spain. He qualified for the 2000 United States Olympic Trials in the 5,000 meters with a time of 13:28.99.