Track & Field

Blair’s winter track program is designed to accommodate both experienced and novice runners at distances from 200 to 3,200 meters. Athletes also participate in track-and-field events, including horizontal jumps and indoor shot put. The season places significant emphasis on preparation for the spring athletic season for both track and non-track and field events.

We train on campus in our seasonal winter sports complex. In the “bubble,” all of our equipment, including jump mats, hurdles, weights, pulleys, sleds, medicine balls and bands, is readily available, and there is plenty of room to practice jumps, throws and running events. Weather permitting, we also train on local roads and on our all-weather track, all in preparation for open meets at various universities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In addition to our open schedule, we also compete in the state prep and Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) championship meets held in the Lavino Fieldhouse at The Lawrenceville School. Interested runners should contact Coach Thornton.   

Meet Coach Thornton

Edward Thornton joined Blair's History Department in 2022 and began coaching the school's Track and Field Teams. He launched his teaching and coaching career at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark after earning a BA in Historic Preservation from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 2012, he earned an MA in Educational Leadership, Management, and Policy from Seton Hall University. Prior to Blair, Edward spent thirteen years at Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, where he coached both Cross Country and Track & Field, and collaborated with the Athletics and Admission offices on marketing and recruiting. On campus, Edward is joined by his wife, Ashley, and their sons, Felix and Casey.  

Contact Coach Thornton at thorne@blair.edu with any questions.

Meet Coach Williams

Assistant coach Mark Williams has been on the track and field coaching staff since 2020. An active runner on the Master's track and field circuit, Williams has earned several honors that include multiple state and national championships in the 800m, 1500m, and the mile for both indoor and outdoor track. He is also a member of the 4x800 indoor relay team who has the M40-44 world record with a time of 7:49.90, and is personally ranked as one of the top middle distance runners in the United States and in the world in his age group. 

Meet Coach Browse

Assistant coach R. Latta Browse, appointed in 1982, graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1978 from Middlebury College with a BA in mathematics. In 1989, he earned an MALS in Islamic studies at Columbia University and, in 1991, received his CAS in mathematics from Wesleyan University. Latta taught high school mathematics as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia from 1978 to 1981. For two years, he taught at Antwerp International School as an international baccalaureate math teacher. Over the years, Latta has served in a variety of capacities, including housemaster of Davies, West and Mason Halls, dorm resident in Locke, and sophomore class monitor. He has also served as head or assistant coach for a myriad of sports, including JV soccer, JV baseball, varsity soccer, varsity baseball, winter track and boys' cross country. Latta is currently head coach of the girls' cross country team. He is married to Carolyn Conforti-Browse '79, a veteran English teacher at Blair. They have two children: Tyler '08 and Annelies '13.

Meet Coach Ince

Stirling Ince serves as a Spanish teacher in Blair’s language department, bringing to the role 30-plus years of experience teaching, coaching, advising and dorm parenting, most recently at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts. Beyond his teaching responsibilities and serving as an advisor and dorm head there, he was head coach of boys’ and girls’ varsity cross country and track and field. Students and faculty honored his many contributions by electing him Teacher of the Year in 2024. In addition to leading Cushing’s summer session as dean of faculty and teaching in the summer program at TASIS England and in Jiangsu Province, China, Stirling has worked in similar roles at Solebury School in Pennsylvania, Prep for Prep in New York City and a number of schools in Ecuador. During college at Wesleyan University, he ran cross country and indoor and outdoor track; his accomplishments include competing in two national championships, being named an All-American in indoor track, holding the university’s outdoor track record in the 800 meter for 34 years, and continuing to hold the indoor record at the same distance. Stirling completed his undergraduate work in 1992 and graduated from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1998 with an MsEd in Second Language Education. He also studied at Dulwich College in London and St. Mary’s College in Trinidad and Tobago (the island nation where he grew up).

View directions to athletic events. To read recaps about past events, go to the "Team News" tab above.

View more photos from the most recent season here.

The "bubble"-enclosed winter sports complex is a seasonal landmark on Blair's campus during the coldest months of the year. Created by enclosing a portion of the tennis center under an air dome, the facility features two tennis courts and a turf field, giving teams plenty of room to practice. 

The winter track team has found the extra space and ability to set up hurdles at further distances a huge advantage as athletes train for competitions.