California Institute of Technology

Ben Raphelson was named Caltech’s head coach of the cross country and track and field programs in September of 2014. 

Under Raphelson's tutelage, the cross country squads have consistently improved and now rank among the region’s best. During the 2019 season, each squad turned in a record result at the NCAA West Regional Championships and Simon Ricci ’20 and Claire Hu ’21 became the first teammates in program history to advance to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Since Raphelson’s arrival, three different men and four different women have run under the previous school record for 8k and 6k respectively and the men’s and women’s teams have broken program for fastest average time and team finish multiple times. Student-athletes on Raphelson’s cross country teams have earned five SCIAC sportsmanship awards, two SCIAC newcomer of the year awards, and all-academic recognition every year. In Raphelson’s first two years, Aditya Bhagavathi ‘16 became the first in school history to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country championships twice.

Raphelson’s teams have also re-written the record books in track & field. In total, student-athletes have broken school records in 8 different events with four coming in the 2019 track & field season. On the women’s side, Nora Griffith ’21 emerged as one of the most successful sprinters in school history with program records in the 400m hurdles and 200m dash while also ranking 3^rd in the 100m, 2^nd in the 400m and 2^nd in the 100m hurdles all-time top-10 lists. Claire Hu ’21 earned SCIAC podium-finishes in the 5,000m and 10,000m in her first two years of collegiate competition, lowering the school 10,000m by nearly 3 minutes in the process. On the men’s side, Aditya Bhagavthi 16 won the SCIAC 5,000m championship in his first year under Raphelson’s tutelage and also broke the school record in the event. The following year, Morgan Hill ’17 broke an 81-year old school record in the hammer throw and earned a podium finish in the event. Both teams have also earned All-Academic recognition each year under Raphelson, with the men’s team earning the top GPA in all of division 3 in two different seasons. Through the 2019 track & field season, student-athletes on Raphelson’s teams have recorded 67 All-time top-10 list marks.

Raphelson joined the Beavers following a second coaching stint at his alma mater, Grinnell College, where he returned in 2013 to assist with the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams.  At Grinnell, his athletes earned 12 individual/relay conference championships, including a 1-2-3 sweep in the 10k and 5k at the outdoor conference championships.  One of his charges earned third- and fourth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships in the mile and 1500m, respectively.  Raphelson previously assisted the Pioneers track programs in 2008 and 2009 after his graduation.  He then served as a graduate assistant for the women's cross country and track & field programs at Smith College for two years while earning his master's degree in exercises and sports studies.  He was named interim co-head cross country coach in his second year while the head coach took maternity leave.

Raphelson also served as an assistant cross country coach at another DIII power in Williams College, later leading both the men's and women's distance/middle-distance programs while the head distance coach was on sabbatical. He steered the women's cross country team to third place at the NCAA Championships, led by the individual national champion.  His men's teams earned NESCAC and NCAA Regional championships and placed sixth at the NCAA Championships. During the track season, Raphelson guided dozens of athletes to all-conference and all-regional honors and coached athletes to four NCAA Championship appearances. Raphelson spent the 2012-13 academic year as the head cross country coach at Huntingdon College in Alabama.

A 2008 Grinnell graduate with a bachelor's degree in history, Raphelson holds USA Track and Field Level I and Level II (endurance) certifications and recently earned both his USTFCCCA Throws and Sprint, Hurdle and Relay Event Specialist certifications. He is also NSCA CSCS certified as a strength and conditioning coach.