Elliott Lightfoot completed his third season as the head coach of the Montclair State men’s and women’s track and field program in the 2014-15 academic year.
Since taking over the program in November 2012, Lightfoot has produced 39 NJAC All-Conference selections and 12 individual conference champions in addition to four All-Americans, including Heather Gearity, who captured her second consecutive NCAA outdoor national championship in the 400 meter hurdles in 2013.
This past season, Lightfoot guided Montclair State to success during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. MSU won four events at the NJAC Indoor Championships, including a sweep of the 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams. Montclair earned five spots on the All-NJAC Team including freshman Jocelyn Anderson who was named the women’s Rookie of the Year. Anderson also qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships however injury prevented her from competing. In the outdoor season, the Red Hawks won six events at the NJAC Championships and had nine athletes named to the All-Conference squad. Sophomore Rasheed Amilcar was chosen as the Outstanding Athlete of the Year, the first MSU athlete to win that award since 2008.
Montclair State also returned to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on the men’s side for the first time since 2011 as sophomore javelin thrower Robert Kessler and the 4x400 relay team represented MSU at the national meet in Canton, NY at St. Lawrence University.
In 2014, Lightfoot returned to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship with Gearity along with 2014 NJAC Outdoor Rookie of the Year Nicosia Henry and the 4x400 relay team. Gearity placed fourth in the 400 meter hurdles and the 4x400 relay squad placed seventh as each collected All-America honors. In addition, Montclair set several new school records for both the men and the women in the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Lightfoot came to Montclair State following a very successful coaching and administrative career at his alma mater, Lincoln University where he spent the last five years as Assistant Athletic Director handling all of the day-to-day functions of Manuel Rivero Hall, facility scheduling, coordinating game event management and supervising work study students.
In addition to his duties as Assistant Athletic Director, Lightfoot was also a dual-sport coach with both the Lions’ football and nationally-ranked track and field squads. He served as the special teams and wide receivers coach with the football team and was the sprint coach during the track and field seasons.
A five-time All-American during his days at Lincoln, Lightfoot was a member of the Lions’ first NCAA Division III national championship outdoor team in 1985. Lightfoot, who received a degree in physical education, ran the 100, 200, 400, 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 at Lincoln. Lightfoot was named captain of the team as a sophomore. During his junior year at the Colonial Relays, Lightfoot won the sprint-medley relay and the 4 x 200 race. Lightfoot ran in a Championship of America race at Penn Relays.
Lightfoot also served as head football coach at Sto-Rox High School in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee’s Harold S. Vincent High. Lightfoot earned City Coach of the Year honors at Vincent after guiding his team to the first round of the Milwaukee state tournament and winning the city championship.
Lightfoot also served as the assistant track coach at Vincent where he helped the 2003 and 2005 teams win Wisconsin state championships. Also, the 2002 and 2004 teams finished second. Lightfoot was an assistant coach at Valley Forge Military Academy.
