Army hosting Crowell Open at Gillis Field House, Friday and Saturday.
Phone: 845-938-5072 Email: Rondell.Ruff@usma.edu
Rondell Ruff enters his second season with the Army track and field team. Head coach Troy Engle selected Ruff as the Black Knights' new sprint coach in August 2011. He also directs a pair of middle-distance groups and the relay units.
Ruff's first season at West Point was a successful one, highlighted by an Academy records and three Patriot League event titles. The women's outdoor 4x800-meter relay team snapped the Army record established in 1985, while the Black Knight men won three relay titles at the 2012 conference championships: the indoor 4x400 and outdoor 4x400 and 4x800.
In addition to the two West Point records established, Ruff's athletes added 11 finishes that rank in the all-time top 10, including Jennifer Comfort's third-best outdoor 800-meter time which was the best by a Black Knight since 1985.
Ruff came to West Point from Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa., where he coached the jumps, sprints and relays as a graduate assistant since August of 2009. Under his tutelage, the Red Flash boasted multiple student-athletes who competed in the postseason after achieving ECAC and IC4A Championship-qualifying marks.
The Saint Francis women's indoor and outdoor track and field teams made strides at the Northeast Conference Championships under Ruff in 2011, earning their best finish at the indoor meet since 2005 and best outdoor place since 2003.
Ruff, a 2006 graduate of the University of Michigan, captained the Wolverines' cross country and track teams in 2005-06. Originally a walk-on to the programs, the Detroit native went on to win a pair of Big Ten indoor distance medley relay titles (2002, 2005) before capturing the 2005 NCAA Indoor National Championship trophy in the event.
After earning his degree in general studies, Ruff returned to his alma mater to serve as a volunteer assistant coach with the track and cross country teams. He also coached three summers at Michigan's track and field camp.
Rondell currently resides in Newburgh, NY., with his spouse, Jacqueline, son Rondell Jr., and daughter Norah.
