Jim Garnham Sr. - Throws Coach - Track and Field Coaches

Jim Garnham Sr.

Title:
Throws Coach
Email:
jgarnham@buffalo.edu
Phone:
716-645-6815

Jim Garnham Sr. enters his 23^rd season as UB’s throws coach. He brings an impressive resume to UB having coached over 40 high school state champions, NCAA All-Americans and NCAA Regional and Championship meet qualifiers. During his time at Buffalo, he has turned the UB throws program into one of the best in the Mid-American Conference and the NCAA.

In the 2022 – 2023 year, Garnham’s athletes saw success earning 4 individual MAC Championships. Jonathan Surdej won both the Indoor and Outdoor MAC Shot Put, earning his third straight championship title indoors and outdoors. And, for the first time in school history, the Bulls claimed bot the Men’s and Women’s title in the Javelin throw. Senior Danil Chernov set a personal best mark of 210’06”, winning the MAC Championship and qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary Championships. Scilla Benussi won the Women’s Javelin throw in a personal best mark of 140’11”, #4 All-Time for UB.

Coach Garnham has been recognized as the USTFCCCA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year 5 times for his athletes’ successes. University history was made in 2015 when Jonathan Jones became the first UB athlete to win a NCAA National Championship title and the highest finish by a UB male athlete in school history. Jones is a six-time NCAA All-American and is also a member of Team USA, due to his 5th place finish at the USATF Championships and represented Team USA at the Pan Am and the NACAC Games. Jones won the NACAC shot title setting a new meet record (67’ 4.75”). At the 2015 Outdoor MAC Championship the men swept the shot, the first time that this has been done since 1955. Jon Jones (66’ 7”) Devon Paterson (59’ 6.75”) Ryan Cribbin (59’ 4.75”) finished first through third, respectively. In the 2015 outdoor season Miranda Daucher had a personal-best throw in the discus (176’ 3”) as well as Taylor Woods’ threw 160’ 7”. Garnham’s athletes scored in the shot, discus, and javelin at the 2015 MAC Championships. He also had five athletes advanced to the NCAA Preliminary Round.

Under Garnham’s tenure, the Bulls have competed in postseason competition at the USATF Junior National, ECAC, IC4A and NCAA Championship meets. Nearly all his men’s and women’s throwers have posted league championship, school or personal records. At UB, he has had over 40 throwers qualify for indoor or outdoor regional championships. And, every school record has been broken multiple times in all of the throwing events.

In the last 13 years, Coach Garnham’s male shot putters have won an unprecedented 12 consecutive Outdoor Shot Put Titles (2020, COVID year, no championships was contested), and 11 of 12 Indoor Shot Put titles. To say the least, the UB Bulls have dominated the Men’s Shot Put in the MAC! In addition, the Bulls have re-written the All-Time Top-10 Marks
Garnham coached 30 years at the high school level, 10 years at Tonawanda High School and 20 years at Sweet Home High School. As a boy’s assistant coach at Tonawanda, he coached four state qualifiers and his throwers set records in the shot put (58-4) and discus (160-11) that still stand after more than three decades. At Sweet Home as a head girl’s and assistant boy’s coach he coached 17 state track and field champions. He coached Stacey Schroeder, who won the High School Indoor National shot put Championship (49-6) and the High School Outdoor National discus Championship, Schroeder still presently holds the New York State discus record holder (172-0).

Others under his tutelage include Steve Mesler, an Indoor High School National Pentathlon Champion and three time Olympic bob sled member for the USA l Team. In 2010 Mesler won an Olympic gold, in the 4 men bob sled, and was a member of the 2009 World Champion winning bobsled team. Garnham also coached his son Jim Garnham Jr. who was the former New York State pentathlon record holder.

Garnham also coached at his alma mater, Buffalo State, from 1979-81 as an assistant coach. While with the Bengals, he coached 17 NCAA Division III All-Americans. His throwers set top marks in the shot put and discus throws that remain school records.
Off the track, Garnham was a technology instructor in the City of Tonawanda school system, teaching eighth graders for 33 years.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Buffalo State in 1968 and his Masters degree in 1976. In 1968, as a member of the track and field team, Garnham won the Atlantic Coast NCAA regional championship, in the shot put, and finished fifth in both the javelin and discus throws.

Garnham is married to his high school sweet heart Sharon who he married in 1968. They have 3 children, Lisa, Kim and Jim and two grandchildren Sammy and Bryleigh Ann.