Meet the Coaches

William Cooper
Head Coach

William Cooper enters his fourth year as head cross country and track and field coach at Muskingum College.

Cooper has transformed the Muskies into a competitive squad in the Ohio Athletic Conference and the region. During this tenure, numerous Muskingum records have been broken and he has guided J.D. Walters, Dean Thornton and Jamie Easthem to All-American status.

Cooper, who graduated from Heidelberg College in 1996, was a four-year varsity letterwinner in indoor and outdoor track at the college where he also garnered All-American honors in the 400-meter run, and still holds the school’s outdoor 400-meter record. He was also a four-year varsity starter as a soccer player at Heidelberg.

Cooper arrived in New Concord with extensive coaching experience. At Colby College in Waterville, Maine, he served as assistant track and field coach, head coach of the men’s junior varsity soccer team and assistant varsity soccer coach. Cooper coached one student-athlete to All-American status, while 12 set personal records and nine received all-state honors. In addition, two new track records (400-meter, 4x100-meter relay) were set under Cooper’s guidance.

Prior to Colby, Cooper was an assistant cross country and track and field coach at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York and assistant cross country and track and field coach at Wilmington College. Under Cooper, five school records (55-meter high hurdles, 60-meter high hurdles, 4x200-meter relay indoor, 4x200-meter relay outdoor, 4x400-meter relay outdoor) were broken at Hartwick and 14 student-athletes received all-conference recognition.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Cooper received his bachelor of science degree in biology from Heidelberg College in 1996 and currently is working on the completion of his master of science degree in sport coaching from the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Alabama.

Eric Schmuhl
Assistant Coach

Eric Schmuhl enters his first year as assistant coach for the cross country and track & field programs at Muskingum College.

Schmuhl was a stand-out track & field student-athlete at Baldwin-Wallace College. He was an eight-year letterwinner in indoor and outdoor track and a two-time NCAA Division III National Qualifier in intermediate hurdles and high hurdles. He won the 2004 Ohio Athletic Conference 400-meter intermediate hurdle championship and was honored as a three-time Vance Carter Award Winner for Most Outstanding Male Hurdler at B-W. During his tenure at B-W, Schmuhl was seven-time all-conference honoree and held the highest ranking hurdling double in college history.

Prior to arriving in New Concord, he was an assistant track & field coach at Medina Senior High School. Schmuhl also served as an Organizational Trustee with The Greater Medina Track Club, Inc.

Schmuhl graduated with a B.S. in education in 2005 from Baldwin-Wallace.