John Czarnecki, Director of Athletics at Hilbert College, is pleased to announce Nick Orlowski as the Hawks' new head coach for the men's and women's cross country program. Orlowski will also oversee the transition of the men's and women's track teams from club status this semester to varsity status in the spring of 2018.
"Nick came to us highly recommended by his peers and it is easy to see why. He showed us a level of maturity and ability to lead a rising program that go beyond his years," said Czarnecki. "I am looking forward to watching him lead a growing and improving cross country program, as well as begin our new outdoor track program."
Orlowski will continue to build the cross country program which returns competitive and dedicated runners as he accepted his 1st collegiate head coaching position. He will draw from his experiences as a Division I runner at Niagara University and his most recent exposure as an assistant coach at Starpoint High School.
Orlowski was a four-year varsity athlete at Niagara and helped the Purple Eagles post a program-best time (26:13.88) at 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship at Rosedale Park (Pennington, N.J.). He was the team's top scorer at every meet his final season racing and set a new program record (25:56) at the 8K Paul Short Invite. Two weeks later, Orlowski shattered the new program record once again at the 2015 MAAC Championship (8K equivalent: 25:10). The Lancaster native earned his personal best in the 10K at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship (33:36) held in the historic Franklin Park (Boston, MA).
Orlowski was named to the MAAC All-Academic Team (2011-2015) and Niagara's Deans List each semester as an undergraduate student and extended into graduate school. He was the cross country program's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative from 2013-2015.
Orlowski was awarded a bachelor of science in mathematics, earning a 3.78 cumulative grade point average from Niagara University. He received the Outstanding Senior Mathematics Award and was also given the Most Outstanding Student-Athlete Award of the Class of 2015.