Bio

In August 2011, Andrew Towne assumed head coaching duties of the Hillsdale College women’s track and cross country programs. His appointment serves as a “homecoming” for the 2004 Hillsdale College graduate, who previously served as a successful assistant track coach for three years for the Chargers.

In his first season leading the women’s program, Towne guided the indoor team to a program-best fifth place finish at the 2012 Division II national meet in Minnesota. He coached distance runner Amanda Putt to an unprecedented three individual national championships in the 2012 calendar year, and saw his athletes earn a number of All-Region, All-Academic and All-American honors.

Starting with the 2014-15 school year, Towne became the head coach of the Charger men's and women's track and cross country programs. Since then, he has led those teams to unprecedented levels of success.

The Charger women's cross country team finished second at the 2014 NCAA Division II championships, the highest-ever finish at a national competition for a Hillsdale College team at the Division II level. His 2015 indoor track team repeated that feat in March 2015, which saw the distance medley relay team and Emily Oren each capture national championships.

In the Fall of 2015, the Charger women's cross country team was ranked No. 1 in the nation for a month before eventually finishing third at the NCAA Championships.

On Feb. 16, 2016, the women's indoor track team ascended to the No. 1 spot in the Division II national poll, another program first.

With the program's transition to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the fall of 2017, the Chargers have become a powerhouse in the new conference in women's cross country and track and field under Towne, winning six of the 11 team conference titles up for grabs in their first four years as a member. In recognition of his team's success, Towne also has won six G-MAC Coach of the Year awards in cross country and track and field over that span. In 2021, Towne and the Chargers produced yet another national champion in an impressive recent run of them, as Kajsa Johansson won the indoor 200m dash title at the Division II level.

Towne returned to Hillsdale from Miami University in Ohio, where he was an assistant coach from 2009-11 for the RedHawks. While at Miami, Towne specialized in coaching sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers, and coached three athletes to Mid-American Conference championships.

Towne served as an assistant track coach at Hillsdale from 2006-09, and guided the careers of five different athletes who would go on to earn Division II All-American honors. He is a certified USATF Level II sprint/hurdles coach, and is an NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist, in addition to being a USATF Level II jumps coach.

Towne is a 2004 graduate of Hillsdale College, where he earned his degree in physical education, while earning a minor in math. He competed for the Chargers from 1999-2004, but also filled the role of student-coach during his career. He was an All-GLIAC athlete for the Chargers, and earned GLIAC All-Academic honors during his collegiate career.