Head Track & Field Coach
Fred Barends
ph: (614) 236-6919
e-mail: fbarends@capital.edu
Fred Barends has made the Capital University track & field teams an up and coming program in the highly competitive Ohio Athletic Conference.
Since coming to Capital in 2002 he has almost instantly vaulted the track and field program into the upper division of the OAC. He already has coached a two-time OAC Field Athlete of the Year, an OAC Track Athlete of the Year, had NCAA qualifiers in each of the last five seasons, brought the school its first All-American since 1978 in 2007 and had eight All-Americans in 2008 – the most of any NCAA Division III school in Ohio last year.
Prior to coming to Capital, Barends spent nine years at Ohio Wesleyan University, the last five of those as head men’s track and cross country coach. During his tenure, the Bishop men won four consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference indoor championships and three outdoor track championships.
Barends, a USATF Level I and II certified coach, was named NCAC indoor coach of the year four times, outdoor coach of the year three times and was regional coach of the year four times in indoor and three times for outdoor seasons. During Barends’ tenure on the Bishop track staff, he coached the 2002 NCAA Division III Field Athlete of the Year, the 2002 national long jump champion, 2000 and 2001 national champions in the 400 meters, the 1997 national champion in the 200 meters, along with over 90 NCAC champions and 17 All-Americans.
Prior to his days at Ohio Wesleyan, Barends was at cross-town rival Otterbein College where he spent two years as assistant track coach. Barends began his coaching career at Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) College in 1985, serving as head women’s track coach and also assisting with men’s and women’s cross country and men’s track. Barends has also served as the athletic director and assistant headmaster at Atlantic Friends School as well as the assistant dean of admissions in charge of athletic recruiting and assistant tennis coach at Earlham College.
Barends holds numerous track & field coaching credentials including being the treasurer of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), serving for nine years as the Great Lakes Regional Representative for the USTFCCCA and is currently the Chair for the OAC Track & Field coaches.
A longtime Bexley resident and Columbus native, Barends graduated from Kenyon College in 1983. A student-athlete and team captain at Kenyon, he set nine indoor and outdoor records. Barends also holds a master’s degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He is married to Capital’s distance coach, Rachel Barends and has three children.
Barends By the Numbers
Fred Barends coached track teams have produced ...
191 NCAA Qualifiers
137 conference champions
31 All-Americans
7 conference team championships
4 individual national champions
Rachel Barends
Assistant Coach - Distance
Rachel Barends has been an assistant track & field coach at Capital since 2006. She was the first female in school history to qualify for the NCAA Track & Field Championships in 2004. An eight-time All-OAC selection, she is a former conference champion in the long jump and the 4x100 meter relay, who still holds indoor school-records in the long jump, triple jump and 4x200 meters and outdoor records in the long and triple jump. She earned a bachelor's degree from Capital in Health & Fitness Management in 2005 and a master's degree in Adult Education in 2007 from Muskingum. She holds Level II USATF Coaching Certification and will teach classes in the Health & Sport Science department at Capital. Barends also enters her second season as the head cross country coach at Capital.
Reggie Cannon
Assistant Coach - Jumps
The Columbus native has worked on the Capital staff since 2002. He served as a coach at Ohio State, Bishop Hartley and Bexley high schools before coming to Capital. Cannon attended the Air Force Academy and is a 1977 graduate of The Ohio State University. While at Air Force, he set the indoor long jump record and as as a student at Eastmoor High School he finished second in the long jump at the 1972 OHSAA Class AAA meet.
Rick Meindl
Assistant Coach - Throws
Meindl, a 1978 Capital graduate, has been an assistant coach at Capital since 2002. He was a three-time All-American in both shot put (twice) and discus (once), while winning six Ohio Athletic Conference individual championships. The Columbus native and Eastmoor High School grad has also twice been a National Master's Champion in the shot put.
Adam Ridenbaugh
Assistant Coach - Pole Vault
The Mount Vernon, Ohio, native and Capital graduate followed Coach Barends from Ohio Wesleyan in 2002 and serves an assistant coach at Capital. Ridenbaugh has coached several pole vault NCAA national qualifiers, two OHSAA pole vault placers, and four state qualifiers in coaching stints at Capital, Ohio Wesleyan, and Mt. Vernon High School.
Gene Weil
Assistant Coach - Throws
Weil has been part of the Crusader staff as an assistant coach since 2003. He competed in throws as a student at the University of Colorado in the 1950's and spent years on the East Coast as a javelin and discus coach.