Ben Barrows enters his ninth year of coaching at Pitt State, focusing on leading the cross country and distance programs. Barrows served as a part-time assistant coach from 2017-21 and was promoted to full-time status following the retirement of the Gorillas long-time mentor Russ Jewett on June 4, 2021. In January 2025, his position was updated to head men’s and women’s cross country coach.
Since arriving on campus in the fall of 2017, Pitt State cross country/track & field has won 33 team MIAA championships, 15 from the men and 18 from the women. Women’s cross country has won six MIAA championships and men’s cross country has won two championships since then. The fall of 2021 marked the first MIAA cross country championship in men’s program history. The women have also won the MIAA triple crown (cross country/indoor track/outdoor track in the same academic year) on four occasions (2017-18, 2018-19, 2023-24, 2024-25) and the men have won the MIAA triple crown on two occasions (2021-22, 2023-24). The 2023-24 academic year marked the first time any program in the MIAA has won both triple crowns since the 1987-88 academic year.
Â
Also since 2017, the program has seen many successes at the national level. Women’s cross country earned a bid to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on six occasions (2017-19, 2022-24) with a highest finish of 13th as a team in 2018. Men’s cross country has qualified to the NCAA Division II Championships on four occasions (2021-24) with a highest placement of 7th in 2024 which was the program’s highest finish ever in Division II. Men's track & field has earned eight national team championships (2018 indoor, 2022 outdoor, 2023 indoor/outdoor, 2024 indoor/outdoor, 2025 indoor/outdoor) in addition to two other top-4 podium finishes. Women’s track & field won the outdoor national championship in 2024 as well as the indoor national championship in 2025 and two other top-4 podium finishes.
Â
For the individual successes at the local level, Barrows has helped guide Gorillas distance and middle-distance runners to 40 MIAA championships, 167 All-MIAA performances, and 124 All-Region performances. Distance and middle-distance school records have been improved on 58 occasions including a historic season in 2025 where the men and women rewrote 15 of 20 of their school records.  Barrows has coached two Gorillas to a sub-4 mile including Mason Strader who first broke the barrier with his time of 3:58.47 in 2022 and then lowered his mark to 3:58.16 in 2025 along with Dylan Sprecker who ran 3:59.49 in 2025. Strader’s time in the mile ranks him 5th all-time in DII history and his 1500m mark of 3:39.34 ranks him 7th all-time with both marks being the fastest in MIAA history. Kate Strader’s school record times of 4:19.24 in the 1500m and 4:43.04 in the mile are the fastest times in MIAA history. Paige Mullen’s school record times of 16:11.62 in the 5000m and 34:22.37 in the 10000m are also the fastest times in MIAA history.
Â
On the national level, Barrows has also coached 22 individuals and five distance medley relay teams to 1st-team All-American status at the Division II Track & Field Championships. The distance medley relay team of Connar Southard, Graham Hudelson, Matt Wilson, and Mason Strader made Pitt State history by winning the event at the 2021 Division II Indoor Championship for the first time in program history with a time of 9:46.68. The 2025 relay team of Dylan Sprecker, Caden Williams, Jordan Kilonzo, and Mason Strader also won the DII championship with a time of 9:32.58 which currently stands as the fastest time ever run in DII. The 2025 women’s DMR team of Paige Mullen, Kinleigh Hall, Claire Bruening, and Kate Strader placed as national runner-up in the event with their time of 11:19.45 which ranks them as the 5th fastest program of all-time in DII.
Â
Barrows has had student athletes recognized as finalists on five occasions for the Ken. B Jones award which is awarded each year to the top student athlete in the MIAA. Piper Misse was recognized as a finalist and also the winner of the award in the 2019-20 academic year. Matthew Oglesby was a finalist in the 2022-23 academic year and both Mason Strader and Kate Dawson were finalists in the 2023-24 academic year with Strader winning the award. Strader was also named a finalist for the award during the 2024-25 academic year.
Â
Barrows’ athletes have been recognized with USTFCCCA All-Academic honors in cross country on 64 occasions and track on 45 occasions. The cross country award requires that the student athlete must finish in the top third of competitors at the regional meet of the top half at the national meet in addition to carrying at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA. The track award requires that the student athlete must hit a provisional qualifier and carry at least a 3.25 GPA. His athletes have been recognized with the MIAA Scholar Athlete award on 82 occasions which requires that the athlete earns All-MIAA honors during a season while carrying at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA. Two of Barrows’ athletes have earned the prestigious Elite 90 award which goes to the student athlete with the highest GPA at a national championship. Christina Metzger earned the honor during the 2017 cross country season and Marissa Dick during the 2023 cross country season. Athletes have been named to the CSC Academic All-American team on nine occasions.
A Smithville, Mo. native, Barrows came to Pitt State from his alma mater, the University of Central Missouri, where he coached for two years. In his time coaching at UCM, Barrows guided runners to three All-MIAA performances, three All-Region performances, one conference champion, two school records, and three national qualifiers in track. The men also won the team title at the 2017 MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
Â
Barrows competed for UCM as a distance runner from 2010-2015 where he was a part of seven MIAA team championships and two Division II national qualifying cross country teams. He ended his career for the Mules by placing as runner-up in the 5000m at the 2015 MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Barrows earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors on three occasions and garnered the NCAA Elite 89 award at the 2013 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship in Spokane, Wash.
Â
Barrows graduated from UCM with a 4.00 GPA, earning a bachelor's degree in mathematics education with a coaching minor in December 2013. He completed a master's degree in sport management at UCM in May 2015.
Â
