Coach Halter by the Numbers • 36 All-Americans • 16 Conference Champions • 8 USA Olympic Trial Qualifiers • 1 Olympic Silver-Medalist • 3 IAAF World Indoor Champions • 1 IAAF World Outdoor Champion • 2008 USTFCCCA Midwest Male Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year • 2006 USTFCCCA Mideast Region Male Throws Coach of the Year • Pending IAAF Level V Certification • USATF Level II Certification • Three Athletes Post Weight Throws of 70-0 or Better in the Same Season (2002)
Beginning his 18th season with the Missouri Track and Field program, Brett Halter has established himself as one of the most successful and respected throws coaches in the country. In 2011, Halter entered the next phase of his career as a coach as he is now the head coach of the Mizzou track and field program, taking over for longtime mentor Dr. Rick McGuire. Already renowned as one of the most promising young track and field minds in the nation, Halter is a perfect fit to continue the growth and development of Mizzou's track and field program.
Halter's primary coaching responsibility has been in the throws disciplines. During his time, Halter has developed and demonstrated a brilliant understanding of the varied disciplines of the technical aspects of the throws. He has combined those skills with a passionate approach to recruiting and effective teaching to help the Mizzou program flourish. In fact, Halter's accomplishments have led to him being invited to coach the throws for the USA World Junior team during 2010. He is also pending IAAF Level V certification, which would make him one of the first throws coaches in the United States with that distinction.
In his first year as head coach, the Tiger track and field program showed plenty of potential highlighted by its youth and savvy veterans. In fact, Halter saw seniors Lars Rise and Brian Hancock earn All-America honors at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and there were plenty of other highlights from the Tigers, including plenty from a young throws contingent that will likely be the cornerstone of the Mizzou program in 2012.
In 2006, Halter was named the USTFCCCA's Mideast Region Throws Coach of the Year as five athletes from the men's squad that season advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the various throwing disciplines. In 2008, Halter was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Assistant Men's Coach of the Year.
In total under Halter's tutelage, Tiger throwers have garnered 36 All-American awards, won 16 conference championships, had eight U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers and have had five gain membership on seven U.S National teams. He is also the coach of world champion shot putter and Olympic Silver Medalist, Christian Cantwell, who has been dominating the sport under Hatler's tutelage.
2010 Season Despite having a very young contingent of throwers in 2010, Halter's group once again flourished under his guidance. In fact, Halter led his student-athletes to 13 individual All-Big 12 honors in 2010 and sent six student-athletes to the first round of the NCAA Championships. He coached Andy Oaker to a third-place finish in the shot put at the Big 12 Indoor Championships and saw two of his athletes turn in fourth-place nods during the Big 12 Outdoor Championships - Chris Holly finished fourth in the hammer throw while Katie Evans was fourth in the discus.
What may be even more impressive, is that of the 13 individuals to claim All-Big 12 honors in 2010, 10 were underclassmen as were four of the six that Mizzou sent to the NCAA Championships, setting up a bright future for the throws at Mizzou.
2009 Season Halter's throwers, in particular Chris Rohr and Krishna Lee, put together one of the finest seasons in Mizzou history in 2009. Combined with what former Tiger and current Halter understudy Christian Cantwell did at the IAAF Outdoor World Championships over the summer, 2009 may indeed have been one of Halter's finest. Rohr added two more All-America honors to his already impressive ledger and picked up a pair of Big 12 Championships along the way. He also reset the league's championships meet record in the hammer throw at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Halter's tutelage also led Rohr to a USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Field Athlete of the Year award during the indoor season and a third-place national finish in the weight throw.
Lee highlighted the throwers on the women's side for Halter's athletes. The Tiger senior earned a pair of All-America honors and her first-ever individual Big 12 title as she blasted the competition in the women's hammer throw at the Big 12 Championships. Lee also took home the Big 12's `Most-Points-Scored' trophy as she totaled 21 in her three events at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. She finished first in the hammer, second in the shot put and sixth in the discus.
Cantwell put the exclamation point on the end of the season for Halter and his athletes as he earned an IAAF World Outdoor Championships in the shot put. Cantwell bested 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Tomasz Majewski in the event, who had thrown the world's best throw in the fifth round at the championships. Cantwell, undaunted by Majewski, stepped up and left little doubt about who was the best thrower in the world as he tossed a throw of 22.03m (72-3 1/2) in his very next attempt after Majewski set the world-leading mark. The outdoor gold for Cantwell gives him three IAAF Gold Medals as he picked up a pair of indoor titles earlier in his career. He is one of only two throwers to have claimed a pair of indoor world championships.
2008 Season The 2008 season was full of many successes for Halter's pupils. In addition to having five Tigers earn All-America honors during the collegiate season, Halter's tutelage of post-collegian Christian Cantwell produced a second IAAF World Indoor Championship and an Olympic Silver Medal for the elite shot putter.
Former Tiger Chris Rohr gained his third All-America honor with the weight throw during the indoor season, accomplishing the feat after throwing a Mizzou school-record and a then collegiate-leading mark of 73-¼ (22.26m) at the UCM Classic in Warrensburg. The following week, Rohr connected on an even better throw of 73-6½ (22.42m) at the Big 12 Indoor Championships to earn second place. Rohr would go on to also earn All-America honors in the hammer throw during the outdoor season.
Jason Morris nabbed his second All-America honor with the hammer during the outdoor season. Shernelle Nicholls earned sixth place at the NCAA Indoor Championships during the indoor season to earn All-America honors while Krishna Lee also earned All-America honors in the same event. Nate Englin swept Big 12 shot put titles in 2008, winning both the indoor and outdoor titles. He was the league's co-high scorer during the indoor championships.
In total, Halter saw the Tigers to 28 All-Big 12 honors among the indoor and outdoor league meets. The Tiger men earned four spots in the weight throw and three in the shot put during the indoor season. Three Tigers also notched scoring spots during the outdoor season in the men's hammer throw, the women's shot put, and women's hammer throw.
Sensational Superlative Seasons Throughout Halter's coaching at Missouri, several seasons have been filled with major accomplishments.
In 2007, four Tiger throwers earned All-America honors, including three during the indoor season. Rohr and Tyler Dailey earned certificates in the men's weight throw while Elisha Hunt had a breakthrough performance after placing fourth on the women's side. Rohr earned his second-straight honor in the event. During the indoor 2006 season, Halter put Missouri on the map in the weight throw as four Tigers scored in the Big 12 Indoor Championships while Rohr earned All-American honors with his national top-15 finish with the implement.
It was an outstanding 2006 outdoor season that followed for the Tigers. Five male throwers and female shot putter Elizabeth Robe qualified for the NCAA Championships. Halter also sent more men and women throwers to the NCAA Regional Championships than any other coach in the nation in 2006. Sophomore Jason Morris was impressive with the hammer throw, qualifying for the USATF Championships as well as the NCAA Championships, grabbing runner-up honors at the NCAA Mideast Regional, Big 12 Championships, and the Drake Relays. Englin and Bill Hobson earned top-five regional finishes with the shot and Bobby Musil and Dailey joined Morris in the NCAA Championship hammer-throw event. Nine Tiger male throwers gained 13 NCAA-regional qualifying marks during the outdoor season, the most of any team in the nation.
In the 2005 indoor season, Conrad Woolsey won the Big 12 men's shot put title on his final throw, claiming Mizzou's fifth title in the event over a six-year span. Holly Scherder claimed Missouri's first conference crown in the women's hammer throw in 2004, setting what was then the new Tiger record.
In 2003, Russ Bell became the first in Missouri history to garner All-America finishes in four separate events (2001 discus, 2002 weight throw, 2002 hammer throw, 2003 indoor shot put). That same season, Bell recorded a career-high 20 points at the Big 12 Championships while winning the conference's hammer-throw title and became a four-time Drake Relays Champion after winning two titles over his career in the shot and discus.
Tiger throwers eclipsed several milestones in 2002. Christian Cantwell became the first American collegiate to throw better than 70 feet in the shot put since 1992. Cantwell's mark of 70-4½ set the Big 12 record while ranking him seventh in the world for the 2002 season. Russ Bell, Cantwell, and Micah Shanks each threw better than 70 feet in the weight throw, making Missouri the first school in collegiate history to have three 70-foot throwers in a single season.
In 2000, Cantwell set the Big 12 record in the shot put with a mark of 64-6¼ as a freshman. This was the second-longest throw of all-time by an American college freshman. In addition, fellow first-year thrower Russ Bell earned USATF Junior All-American honors in the shot put, discus and hammer. Bell also qualified for the junior team that toured Canada.
Cantwell Success Halter was primarily responsible for the collegiate and now post-collegiate success of Olympian Christian Cantwell. Cantwell earned seven All-America honors, a Missouri record, during his time as a Tiger and has went on to become an Olympic Silver Medalist and IAAF Indoor and Outdoor World Champion. Halter has remained Cantwell's coach through his years of post-collegian status. In 2004, Cantwell won his first IAAF World Indoor Championship in the shot put and recorded the world's longest throws in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. In 2005, Cantwell won the USATF Championship and advanced to the IAAF World Championships in Finland.
In 2008, Cantwell won his second indoor world title and an Olympic silver medal at the Beijing Games. Cantwell notched a second-place finish at the USATF Olympic Trials in late June to earn his first spot on an Olympic team. During the indoor season, Cantwell most likely became the first person to record a complete indoor, six-throw series with all marks topping 70 feet at the UCM Classic in Warrensburg. His best of the series, a heave of 72-9¼ (22.18m), moved him to fifth on the all-time World list indoors. A week later, Cantwell won his fifth USATF Championship at the indoor meet in Boston. Also in 2008, Cantwell won his record-breaking sixth Drake Relays title.
In 2007, Cantwell won his third U.S. crown while also claiming a big bonus check in winning the Indoor VISA Championship Series as having the best all-around American performance with a season-best throw of 71-9¼ (21.88m) at the Millrose Games.
In 2006, Cantwell recorded four throws better than the 22-meter mark (72 feet, 2¾ inches), a feat accomplished only six times in the history of the World and for the first time since 1990. Cantwell ranks fifth all-time in the World with seven career 22-meter throws.
2010 was maybe Cantwell's most dominant year on the world-wide circuit as her claimed his third IAAF World Indoor Championship - making him the only athlete to win three Indoor World Championships - and he claimed the USATF Championship in the shot put. In 2010, Cantwell set the world's top two shot put marks and tossed three of the top five and six of the top 10. He threw the world's best 2010 mark of 22.41m (73-6 ¼) in Eugene, Ore., at the Prefontaine Classic.
Cantwell also clinched the Samsung Diamond Race title in Stockholm, Sweden, after resetting the meet record with a throw of 22.09m (72-5 ¾). That win, along with his wins in Doha, Oslo, Rome and Eugene clinched him the title in the Samsung Diamond Series. In all, Cantwell eclipsed the 21.00m (69-0) mark in 14 of 15 meets and eclipsed that mark in more than 80 meets in his career, showing a mark of consistency that has not been matched in the event. Also, Cantwell had won 20 consecutive shot put titles until his streak was snapped at the Diamond League meet at Crystal Palace in London in Aug. 15. He finished third in that event with his worst throw of the season. But the 20-event win streak is as impressive as any feat ever accomplished in the sport.
Beyond the Rings Halter's administrative skills play an integral role in Missouri's success. He serves as meet director for all home meets, including the hosting of three Big 12 Championships and the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional, and played a key role in the design, development and construction of the championship track facility. Additionally, Halter serves as the Director of the Missouri Track and Field Camp and the Missouri Thrower Development Camp.
He is an active member of the USA Track and Field Coaches' Education Program. Halter has completed Levels I and II and is pursuing Level III certification in the throws. He was coordinator of the Level II school held at MU in 1996. He is also working on his IAAF Level V Certification, which would make him one of the first to have this distinction in the United States.
His innovative and creative ideas have made him a popular clinic speaker. Most recently, in December 2008, Halter presented a seminar on "Moving toward a High Level of Competence through a Systematic Approach in the Rotational Shot Put" at the USA National Podium Project in Las Vegas. Halter also presented at the 2008 USATF Olympic Trials Super Clinic in Eugene, Ore., on the topic "Coaching Big Guys in the Shot". At the 2007 USTFCCCA Convention in Phoenix, Halter conducted a symposium with Arizona State coach Dave Dumble on shot put techniques, presented to track and field coaches.
In 2005, Halter wrote "Progressions for Coaching the Shot Put and Discus", an instructional book on the throwing events for entry-level high school coaches. In addition, Halter has developed an instructional video entitled "Speed and Power for the Throws" that was produced by Championship Productions in 2006.
Halter competed in track and field at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He completed his bachelor's in sociology in 1993. He earned two master's degrees from the University of Missouri, the first in public administration in 1995 and the second in education in 1996.
