About the Coach
Fran Rizzo
Head Coach, Women's Cross Country
Haverford College
370 Lancaster Avenue
Haverford, PA 19041
610-896-4997
frizzo@haverford.edu
Fran Rizzo, who begins his 21st year as Haverford College’s women’s cross country and track & field coach, has guided the Fords to 14 Centennial Conference titles in cross country and track & field. Haverford won conference cross country championships in 1993, 1995 and 1996, indoor track & field championships in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, outdoor titles in 1995, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Rizzo, whose cross country teams have earned five top-15 finishes at the NCAA nationals, was named Centennial Conference Coach of the Year in 2009 for cross country and indoor track & field and NCAA Division III Mid-East Coach of the Year in both indoor and outdoor track & field in 2004.
Under Rizzo’s direction, Kristen Wilson '03 was named Centennial Conference Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2000 and Centennial Conference Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2001, and more recently, Annick Lamar ’08 earned Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year honors from the Centennial Conference in 2008. Nine Rizzo runners — Tamara Lave ’90, Jen Maranzano ’94, Danielle Wolfrom ’94, Emily Dorean ’97, Meredith Unger ’97, Rachel Mosher ’99, Kate Westfall ’99, Jane Steinemann ’04, Aislinn Sowash ’07, Lamar and Emily Lipman '12 — have earned Division III All-America status. Unger and Mosher were five-time cross country and track national honorees, while Maranzano accomplished the same feat four times.
The holder of a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from West Chester University, Rizzo has extensive teaching and coaching experience in the Philadelphia area. He guided the cross country and track teams at Devon Preparatory School to several league championships in the 17 years he spent there prior to his arrival at Haverford. He has also coached at the Main Line Day School and in the Philadelphia Recreation Department.