Bio

Brian Thill begins his second season as the sprints and hurdles coach at Hillsdale College in 2023-24, looking to build off a strong first season with the program.

In his first campaign at Hillsdale, Thill coached Shura Ermakov to a new school record in the 400m hurdles and All-American honors in the 2023 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships in the event, while also working with a record-breaking indoor 4x400m relay team for the Chargers as well.

Thill arrived at Hillsdale after five successful years as the head coach of men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs at nearby Adrian College, a Division III school. 

During his time with the Bulldogs, Thill recruited and trained several elite athletes at the NCAA DIII level, coaching 13 All-MIAA selections, nine USTFCCCA All-Region selections, eight MIAA Conference champions and eight NCAA Division III All-Americans.

Directly relevant to his new position leading the Chargers’ sprints and hurdles crew, Thill was instrumental in the development of five-time NCAA DIII All-American sprinter Randy Fry, and three-time NCAA DIII All-American hurdler Jordan Davis, both of whom still hold records at the MIAA Indoor Championships. Thill also coached Derek Plitt to three All-American honors, including marks in the 60 and 200-meter dash at the 2022 NCAA DIII Indoor Championships this past winter.

“We’re all really excited to get someone of Brian’s caliber to step into this position,” White said. “The biggest thing is that he’s a great human being who fits our culture and who is going to do right by our athletes.

“On top of that, he’s someone who has a proven track record of developing talent and working to bring out the best in athletes. The success he’s had in developing nationally competitive sprinters at the NCAA DIII level speaks for itself, and we’re really excited to see what he can do here with our sprinters and hurdlers.”

Thill's experience developing talent bodes well for a Charger squad that brings back several top athletes in the sprints and hurdles for the 2022-23 season, including 2022 Outdoor All-American hurdler Sean Fagan, three-fourths of a 2022 Outdoor All-American women’s 4x400m relay team, and several additional provisional qualifiers both indoors and outdoors.

In his college days, Thill was himself a talented track and field athlete at Wisconsin Stevens-Point, earning All-American honors three times at the NCAA DIII level in the heptathlon and decathlon. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics in 2013, Thill spent a year as an assistant coach at his alma mater for the 2013-14 season, coaching two national qualifiers and an indoor All-American.

In 2014, Thill earned a position as a grad assistant at Defiance College, coaching jumps, sprints and hurdles for two years with the Yellow Jackets while earning his master’s degree in Education, before taking the head coaching position at Adrian College.