Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Derick Lawrence enters his fourth season as head cross country coach and third year on the track and field coaching staff at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for the upcoming 2025-26 academic year.

In Lawrence's first year at Rose-Hulman, he led the Fightin' Engineers to their 13th HCAC Championship on the men's side and a 4th place finish on the women's side. He led two teams that featured 10 All-HCAC runners including 5 All-HCAC First-Team members.

Lawrence brought more than a decade of successful NCAA Division III head coaching experience to Rose-Hulman.  He has earned two USTFCCA Regional Coach of the Year honors throughout a decorated career.  He previously spent two years as head coach at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas; five years as head coach at Albion College in Michigan; and three years as head coach at Earlham College in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference before coming to Rose-Hulman.

At Trinity, Lawrence was coach of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship teams in men's and women's cross country during each of his two seasons at the helm.  The women's squad captured back-to-back regional titles and later went on to finish 12th and 20th place at the NCAA Division III Championships, and he was named NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region Women’s Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013.  His women's squads achieved a perfect score of 15 points by sweeping the top five finishing placements at the SCAC championships in both 2012 and 2013.  The men's squad also reached the NCAA Division III championships for the first time in the 2012 season, placing second in the regional and 32nd at the National Championships.  The men's squad also became the first and currently the only Texas based NCAA Division III institution to qualify in the 48-year history of NCAA Division III for men's cross country.

In all, Trinity has produced one regional individual champion, 19 all-region, two individual conference champions, and 32 all-conference performers in cross country during Lawrence’s first two years as head coach.  As an assistant track & field coach, Lawrence trained a runner who qualified for the 10,000-meter run in the NCAA Division III Championships. Lawrence helped guide the men’s track & field program to back-to-back SCAC titles in 2013 and 2014 along with the women’s team to a 2013 conference title.

Lawrence then spent five seasons as head cross country coach at Albion College (2014-2018).  His efforts included coaching the first men's and women's cross country individual All-Americans in school history.  His efforts helped Jessica Shaw (30th in 2016); Andrew Bill (39th in 2017); Cassandra Vince (10th in 2018) earn All-American honors.  The men's team also placed in the top five at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Great Lakes Regional Regional in 2017 an 2018.  

On the track, Lawrence guided Cassandra Vince to two NCAA Division III all-time top 10 performances in indoor track and field during the 2019 season in the 3,000 meter (6th all-time with a 9:31.07) and 5,000 meter (4th all-time with a 16:27.99) runs.  Vince became the first Albion female distance runner to achieve an All-American performance when she placed 5th in the 5,000-meter run at the 2019 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. During the 2016 outdoor track and field season, Lawrence helped Jessica Shaw become the first female distance runner to a national qualifying performance in the 10,000-meter run. 

Lawrence spent the 2019-21 seasons as the head coach at Earlham College.  The men's team won the 2021 HCAC championship by a 6-point margin over Manchester University, while the women finished with its best ever HCAC finish at fifth in 2019.  The men's championship was the first conference cross country title in 25 years for Earlham and the college's first as a member of the HCAC.  Both teams also received U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team recognition for posting a 3.10-or-higher team GPA, emphasizing Lawrence's commitment to seeing his student-athletes achieve both athletically and academically.

Prior to his head coaching roles, Lawrence was a graduate assistant coach for two years at his alma mater.  He helped DePauw produce two cross country and six track & field NCAA All-American performances in 2008 for teams that finished 26th and 20th in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in 2008 and 2009, respectively.  The women's squad also finished 16th and 18th at the 2010 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships, resepectively.

Lawrence got his start in the coaching profession as a volunteer assistant with the Indiana State University men’s cross country and track and field teams. The Sycamores placed as high as third in the Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships during his tenure. While at Indiana State, Lawrence assisted in hosting the 2007 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships at the La Vern Gibson Championship Course. He earned a Master of Arts in recreation and sport management from Indiana State in 2010.

Post-collegiately, Coach Lawrence has trained a group of marathoners. Three marathoners, Mitch Klingler, Cassandra Vince and Mackenzie Chojnacky, qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials at the June 2019 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Klingler qualified with a time of 2:17:22, while Chojnacky qualified with a 2:42:34 in the marathon. Vince qualified at the Indianapolis marathon in 2019 with a time of 2:38.24.  

He received the Bachelor of Arts in kinesiology (emphasis in exercise science) from DePauw in 2007. As a student-athlete, Lawrence achieved All-SCAC cross country status in 2006 and turned in the school’s eighth-best all-time performance in the 10,000 meters, during the 2007 track campaign.

Lawrence holds a Level 1 Coaching Education Certificate from USA Track and Field and a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Endurance Event Specialist Certification. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Lawrence graduated from Elder High School in 2003, helping the Panthers finish 7th in 2000 and 14th in 2001 at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I State Cross Country Championships.

Lawrence and his wife Emily reside in Terre Haute with their two cats and one dog.

COACHING HONORS

• HCAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year (2021)
• Two-time NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year (2012, 2013)
• Two-time SCAC Conference Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year (2012, 2013)
• Two-time SCAC Conference Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year (2012, 2013)
• USTFCCCA NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region Women’s Cross Country Representative (2013-2014)
• USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Cross Country Executive Committee, Secretary (2015-present)

ATHLETE HONORS

• 12 NCAA Division III All-Americans
  • Cross Country - 5 (2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, 2018)
  • Track - 7 (400 meter Hurdles, 800 meters (indoor & outdoor), 1,500 meters, Mile (indoor), 5,000 meters (indoor and outdoor)
• Four NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championship team berths
  • 2008 - 26th
  • 2009 - 20th
  • 2012 - 12th
  • 2013 - 20th
• One NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championship team berth
  • 2012 - 32nd
• Two NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region Women’s Cross Country Team Championships (2012, 2013)
• One NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region Women’s Cross Country Individual Champion & Athlete-of-the-Year (2013)
• 51 All-Region Cross Country Individual Performances (2008-2021)
• Four Conference Women’s Cross Country Team Championships (2008, 2009, 2012, 2013)
• Two Conference Men’s Cross Country Team Championships (2012, 2013)
• Four Conference Women’s Cross Country Individual Champions (2009, 2012, 2013, 2018)
• One NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year (2019)
• 41 Conference Track & Field Individual Champions (2009-2021)
• Multiple NCAA Division III USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals, 2012-Present
• NCAA Division III USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams, 2012-Present
• One NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient (2011)

ALL-TIME BESTS OF ATHLETES