Aubrey Lewis begins his eighth season as the head coach of the Red Hawks men's track and field team turning Montclair State into one of the top teams not only in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, but on the national stage as well.
Since taking over the program in 2004, Lewis' tireless efforts in recruiting has produced some of the top talent the MSU has seen in its history.
Last season was proof of that as Montclair State added another national champion in hurdler Will Brown, who claimed the 55 meter indoor championship for the second time in three years. That gave Lewis five Division III national champions as he coaches shot putter Monique Riddick to NCAA Indoor titles in 2008 and 2009 and the outdoor national championship in 2009.
The outstanding resume that Lewis has built speaks for itself: Five NCAA Division III national champions; 17 NCAA All-Americans, an NCAA Regional Athlete of the Year; 17 NJAC Track & Field Most Outstanding Athletes of the Meet Award winners presented to the top performers at the NJAC championships and 11 MSU Most Outstanding Athletes of the Year honors (awards given to the most outstanding athlete of their class in reference to all sports at MSU). In addition to Riddick being the only sophomore ever to win the Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year for all sports at Montclair State University, Lewis has also produced 20 NJAC champions and over 90 All-Conference Award selections. In addition, Coach Lewis’ team set three new Track & Field meet records at the 2009 Indoor NJAC Championships, (1) the women’s shot put , (2) the men’s 55 Meter Dash and, (3) the 55 Meter Hurdles. Two of those records were set over seven years ago by former MSU Track & Field athletes .
Lewis' athletes have re-written the Montclair record books setting eight new MSU school records in the sprints, hurdles and field events. In addition to their prowess on the track, MSU athletes have achieved academic excellence as Montclair competitors are regularly found on the All-NJAC Academic Team as well as receiving several other Scholar-Athlete Awards.
In 2007, Lewis was named the NJAC's Men's Indoor Coach of the Year and led Montclair men's indoor squad to second-place showings in both the Collegiate Track Conference (CTC’s) and NJAC Championships, the best performances by the Red Hawks in several years. The CTC’s are comprised of over 17 teams from Division I, II and III schools and MSU has proven to be one of the top teams in that conference, placing 2nd in the 2007 and 2008 seasons. MSU has many CTC champions in various events in addition to over 47 all-conference track and field athletes.
The following year (2008), Lewis' Red Hawks put together their best showings at the NCAA Championships in six years as Riddick become the first MSU national champion since 2003 winning the NCAA Division III indoor championship in the shot put, while Brown placed second in the 110 hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. In addition, junior Eugene Asimou earned All-American honors as he placed in the Top 8 in the shot put at both national meets.
A graduate of Eastern Michigan in 1984, Lewis has coached at the AAU and Junior Olympic levels and possesses an expertise in strength and conditioning. Lewis, who also serves as an assistant coach with the MSU football team, was a scholastic standout at Montclair High School where he played both football and track in the late 1970s before earning a track scholarship to Eastern Michigan. At EMU, he competed in the 400 meter hurdles and the 800 meters for legendary coach Bob Parks, a holder of several NCAA Division I national records.
In addition, Lewis' father Aubrey Sr., was an All-American at the University of Notre Dame where the elder Lewis was an All-American in the 400 meter hurdles and held the world record in the event with a time of 49 seconds in 1956. Lewis, Sr. was also named New Jersey's Offensive Football Player of the Century.
Lewis currently resides in Montclair with his wife Marcia and the couple’s five children - Aubrey III, Tobias, Micaiah, Dasia and Malachi.
