Seth Henson - Track and Field Coach - University of Oregon Athletics

Seth Henson

Title:
Assistant Coach (Combined Events, Jumps)
Email:
shenson@uoregon.edu

Seth Henson is in his sixth season at Oregon and continues his role in leading the program's combined events and vertical jumps groups. Beginning with the 2022-23 campaign, he will also coach the Ducks' horizonal jumps.

At the 2022 Pac-12 Championships, the UO men racked up 21 points in the decathlon led by champion Max Vollmer and runner-up Jett Kinder. Vollmer became a three-time Pac-12 champion under Henson and was a member of the All-America First Team four times including a pair of top-five NCAA finishes.

Vollmer established a lifetime best of 8,022 points in winning the 2022 Bryan Clay Invitational in April and finished his UO career as the No. 6 performer in program history. The Ulm, Germany, native also holds the No. 2 indoor spot for the UO men in the heptathlon.

Kinder and Nathan Poff—sixth at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships—both recorded bests of 7,327 and 7,318 points, respectively, at the Bryan Clay meet.

Henson has also guided the development of Eugene native Taylor Chocek who ranks fourth in Oregon history after a standout 2022 season that saw her finish fourth at the Pac-12 Championships behind a lifetime-best score of 5,523 points.

In the women’s combined events, three Henson-coached athletes have tallied top-10 UO scores in the pentathlon: Mathilde Rey (No. 2—4,182 points), Chocek (No. 7—3,701), Keira McCarrell (No. 9—3,685).

During the 2021 season, high jumper Ben Milligan registered a lifetime-best 2.25m/7-4.5 clearance. He was twice a runner-up at the Pac-12 Championships, and in Henson’s first season, qualified for the 2018 NCAA Championships at Historic Hayward Field.

Fellow high jumper Tori Sloan enjoyed a career year in 2022, clearing 1.81m/5-11.25 to move to No. 7 on the program’s top-10 list. She went on to finish third at the Pac-12 Championships and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary for the first time in her career.

Henson came to Eugene ahead of the 2017-18 season after three years as an assistant coach at the University of Texas where he worked with the sprints, hurdles, jumps and combined-events groups. Henson also served as the Longhorns’ recruiting coordinator in 2017. He began his college coaching career at Portland State where he worked eight years as an assistant coach for his alma mater.

With the Longhorns, Henson helped the program win nine total Big 12 titles, indoors and outdoors, over three seasons, as well as fourth-place NCAA finishes both indoors and outdoors by the women’s team in 2016.

The 2017 season saw Henson’s athletes make a significant impact in the Big 12 Conference and at the NCAA Championships. He coached the trio of Steele Wasik, Wolf Mahler and George Patrick to a 1-2-3 finish in the heptathlon at the Big 12 Conference Indoor Championship. Mahler would go on to earn first-team All-America status both indoors and out finishing seventh in the heptathlon at the NCAA Championships and then eighth outdoors in the decathlon.

Wasik completed the indoor/outdoor sweep by winning the decathlon at the Big 12 Championship with a dominant performance. He scored 7,715 points to set a Rock Chalk Park facility record in the process. Wasik also made a big impression on the meet finishing seventh in the open javelin and fifth in the 110m hurdles.

Henson’s jumpers put on a show indoors at the NCAA Championships with freshman O’Brien Wasome finishing third in the triple jump. His leap of 16.49m/54-1.25 made him just the fourth freshman in NCAA history to jump 16.40 meters. Sophomore Steffin McCarter took third in the long jump at the national meet.

High jumper Spencer McCloud had his best season with Henson coaching him in 2017. McCloud scored at the conference championship meet for the first time in his career, finishing fourth indoors. He also scored outdoors for the first time, tying for fourth place.

In 2015, he helped Morolake Akinosun have one of the most successful seasons in school history. She pulled off the double in the 100 and 200 meters at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships and also ran on both relay teams to win four conference titles. She then proceeded to earn first-team All-America honors in all four events, as well, to become only the second woman in NCAA history to score in four different events outdoors in back-to-back years.

On the men’s side, Senoj-Jay Givans won the 60 meters at the 2015 Big 12 Championships, eventually breaking the school records in both the 60 and 100 meters.

On the recruiting trail, Henson helped the Longhorns land the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. The women’s 2015 signing class was named the best in the nation by Track & Field News that included a number of athletes ranked the best in their respective events not only in the U.S. but also from Canada.

In his eight seasons as an assistant at Portland State, Henson oversaw throws, combined events and jumps while also serving as the recruiting coordinator. During his tenure, his athletes produced 19 Big Sky Conference titles, two Big Sky Championships Outstanding Performers, three NCAA Championship qualifiers and 14 NCAA West Regional qualifiers.

With the Vikings, Henson helped Nick Trubachik become a four-time Big Sky champion in the heptathlon and decathlon, and a 2010 NCAA first-team All-American in the decathlon. Henson also helped Gifton Okoronkwo (triple jump) and Baileh Simms (long jump) to Big Sky titles in 2014 and U.S. junior national qualifiers along with Cecelia Jackson (100H).

Before his time at Portland State, Henson worked at La Salle High School in Milwaukie, Ore., specializing in strength and conditioning, and working with the throwers and vaulters.

Henson graduated from Portland State in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in community health with a focus on physical activity and exercise. He and his wife, Melissa, have a son, Cass.