J.P. Behnke

**J.P. Behnke** is in his second season as Little Rock's Director of Track and Field/Cross Country and head coach, taking over the reigns of the program on August 27, 2018.

A 13-year coaching veteran with multiple conference titles under his belt, Behnke brings a wealth of experience and championship credentials to Little Rock.

In his first season, Behnke began to make his mark on the Trojan program with a number of impressive showings. During the cross country season, Shanieke Watson was named a third team All-Sun Belt selection and was a two-time Sun Belt Runner of the Week, placing 16th at the NCAA South Central Regional.

The indoor season saw Little Rock produce three Sun Belt champions as the Trojan men posted their highest point total in seven years at the conference meet. Keshawn Andrews was Little Rock's first-ever 60 meter champion while Charles Okeze captured the 200 meters and Emilio Medina won the men's mile.

Watson had a strong performance, finishing second in the mile and fourth in the 800 meters as the four were named All-Sun Belt selections. Additionally, Max Holzmueller set the program record in the heptathlon, finishing sixth.

A number of program records fell during the outdoor season as well as Andrews earned All-Sun Belt honors by placing third in the men's 100 meters.

Behnke joins the Trojan staff after serving as a member of the Oakland University track and field staff since 2006 in a variety of roles. Most recently, he has served as the Grizzlies’ interim head coach since March of 2018, guiding Oakland’s men’s program to their first-ever conference championship at the 2018 Horizon League Outdoor Championships. While at Oakland he guided NCAA qualifiers in the long jump, 100m, 1,500m and high hurdles.

During his 12 seasons in Oakland, Behnke coached 37 conference champions in 13 different events and played a key role in helping lead the Grizzlies to seven Horizon League Championships from 2015-18, including two track and field championships and five cross country titles.

Behnke has been a mentor to a number of Oakland student-athletes, including the Grizzlies’ first All-American in distance runner Jason Bigelow in 2010. He guided Oakland’s middle distance group to eight consecutive 800-meter championships from the 2014 indoor season through the 2017 outdoor season.

A number of his athletes earned All-Horizon League honors, including Aaron Davis being named the Horizon League Outdoor Male Athlete of the Year after winning both the 100 and 200 meter runs. Behnke mentored Nick Girodat to the Horizon League record in the indoor 60 meter dash and worked extensively with Zach Stadnika, who registered a Horizon League record 39 points and captured first place in the decathlon in the 2018 outdoor championships.

Prior to his time in Oakland, spent one season as an assistant coach for both track and field and cross country at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan, from 2005-06. There he worked as the Monarchs’ recruiting coordinator and worked with Joe Dugall, the 2006 NJCAA Indoor High Jump national champion.

Benhke is a U.S.A. Track and Field Level II certified coach, earning the distinction for jumps in 2008 and for sprints, hurdles and relays in 2010.

On the track, Behnke was a three-year standout at Lake Superior State in Marie, Michigan, setting school records in the 800 meter run in both indoor and outdoor seasons and was a two-time All-GLIAC honoree in the event.

Behnke’s first two seasons of competition were at Lansing Community College where he was a member of the Stars’ 1998 NJCAA national championship cross country team. He was the NJCAA Super Regional champion in the 800-meters in 1999, being named an All-American as a member of the 4x800 meter relay team.

The Rochester Hills, Michigan native earned his degree in recreation management from Lake Superior State in 2002, then attained his master’s degree in health science from St. Francis University.