Tom Eisenhauer enters his third year as the head cross country coach and his second as the head track & field coach at William Jewell. Tom is a USATF certified coach and a 2006 graduate of William Jewell, earning a degree in history with a minor in coaching and performance enhancement. Tom received a master of science in health and physical education from Northwest Missouri State University in 2009 where he served as a graduate assistant for the men’s track & field team and in the Student Recreation Center.
A native of Manitou Springs, Colo., Tom started his track & field career as a hurdler competing for Manitou Springs High School. Some of his high school career highlights include a second place finish in the 300m hurdles at the 2002 Colorado State Championships meet, as well as several top three finishes in the 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400 relays at the state meet. Tom also competed for the Colorado Springs Striders, a USATF club, where he competed in the USATF National Junior Olympic Championship meets in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay in 2001.
As a Jewell student-athlete from 2002-2006, Tom was a national qualifier in the 400m hurdles, an All-Conference athlete in the 400m hurdles, 600m and 4x400m relay, and a college record holder in the 4x400m relay and the 600m. He was also a four-time recipient of the Cardinal Scholar-Athlete award.
After graduating from William Jewell, Tom stayed on for the 2006-2007 season to serve as a volunteer assistant coach working with the long hurdlers and middle distance runners where he coached his first conference champion (400m hurdles) and his first national qualifiers (women’s 4x800m relay).
In 2007, Tom accepted a graduate assistant position at Northwest Missouri State University working under Bob Lade, Rich Alsup and Scott Lorek.
In 2008, Tom was invited to return back to the Hill to serve as the head coach for the cross country teams and as an assistant coach for the track & field teams. Since taking charge of the cross country program, the Cardinals have experienced a turnaround celebrating the first national qualifier in almost a decade in 2009. At the conclusion of the 2008-2009 season, Tom accepted the position of head coach for the track & field programs. In his first year as head coach there were 7 national qualifiers, 8 college records broken, three more tied, two conference champions, and a conference Most Valuable Athlete winner.
Since concluding his collegiate career, Tom has been competing in endurance events. He has competed in the Jingle Bells 5K, the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run, the Hospital Hill Half Marathon, the Kansas City Triathlon, and most recently, the Pike's Peak Ascent. He has his eyes set on the Pike's Peak Marathon next year.
Tom is happily married to Ashley (Hughes ’08) and they reside in Liberty.
