Georgetown Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Announces Resignation
May 24, 2007
Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University Director of Athletics Bernard Muir announced today that Ron Helmer has resigned as Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, to take a similar position at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.
"While we are sorry to lose someone of Ron's ability and experience, we are grateful for his many contributions to the track program's success," Muir said. "Ron is someone who genuinely cares for and develops his student-athletes and we wish him all the best in his future. Our challenge, which we will begin immediately, is to find a top quality person to continue the track program's tradition of success."
Helmer spent 21 years at Georgetown, including the last eight as the Director of the Men's and Women's Track & Field and Cross Country program. Helmer's impact on the Georgetown program during his time on the Hilltop can be seen with 119 of his student-athletes earning a total of 341 All-American recognitions, including 43 student-athletes receiving 100 certificates since he became director in 1999. In addition, 219 student-athletes have won BIG EAST individual titles, including 67 since the start of the 1999-00 academic year.
At the NCAA Championships, he has guided 27 student-athletes or relay teams to a top-three finish, highlighted by four national champions. As for team accomplishments, Helmer has coached 20 top-10 finishes in NCAA Championship action, including a streak of 15-straight at the cross country championships that ended in 2003. In addition, under Helmer's reign six Hoya teams have won the Penn Relays Championship of America relay, the latest being the 2004 men's 4x800m squad with a time of 7:13.75, the seventh fastest time in collegiate history. He has been part of 38 BIG EAST Championship teams, including winning the BIG EAST Indoor women's title this year, and his student-athletes have been honored 11 times as the Robert A. Duffey Scholar-Athlete award winner