Women's Track & Field | September 04, 2019

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan track and field and cross country programs and head coach Makiba Batten have announced the hiring of Tony Filipek to the position of assistant coach.
 
Filipek joins the Broncos after spending a year coaching at Lake Superior State University, where he helped produce their first national qualifier in cross country in 25 years. Filipek also spent a year as the head coach at Cleary University and had stints at Lansing Community College and Oakland University.
 
At Lansing Community College, Filipek, coached cross country and track athletes to 9 NJCAA All-American Awards while also having men and women NJCAA Cross Country National Team finishes of 8^th place. 
 
While at Oakland University, Filipek, coached athletes to the indoor school record and indoor and outdoor Horizon League Conference Titles.  During the indoor season his stable of half milers swept the conference taking the top 3 places for 24 points.
 
Filipek's longest coaching stop was at his alma mater, Saginaw Valley State. He spent three years as an assistant coach, helping produce 11 Division II All-Americans and helped coach the women's cross country team to two consecutive appearances at the NCAA National Championships placing 12^th and 11^th, for their best finishes in program history. Filipek coached 19 total indoor and outdoor national qualifiers in the 800, 1,500-meter run, mile run, 3,000-meter run, 5,000-meter run and the distance medley relay. During his tenure he coached the GLIAC Woman Freshman Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season in 2013 and he coached the SVSU Ryder Woman Athlete of the Year in both 2012 and 2014.
 
"Tony brings extensive knowledge, All-American coaching and genuine care for the development of the whole student athlete," said Batten. "Having a first-hand experience watching Tony as a younger coach in his humble beginnings and seeing how's he's grown, not only as a person, but as a coach, made this decision easy. He knows personally what it takes to be a nationally competitive athlete. If I could describe his coaching philosophy in short, he's a 'get it done' coach and I trust him to bring the women's distance group to a higher standard in training and recruiting."
 
As a student-athlete at SVSU he was a four-time Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion in the 800-meter run and as a part of the distance medley relay. In 2010 he was named the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. Filipek was also a two-time NCAA Division II All-American and holds the school record in the 800-meter run with a 1:49.38.
 
Filipek also ran semiprofessionally. He took ninth overall at the 2013 USA Road Mile Championship and fourth place at the USA Track & Field 50 Mile Road Championships in 2018.  Tony holds personal bests of 1:49.31 (800m), 3:44.31 (1500m), and a 4:02 (mile).  He earned a Master's Degree in Kinesiology from Wayne State University in 2016 and is married to Danielle Filipek.