RICHMOND – The Earlham College athletic department announced on Friday that Derick Lawrence and Emily Lawrence will resign from their positions leading the Quaker cross country and track and field teams. 

Derick has been at the helm of the men's and women's cross country teams since 2019. In his first season, Lawrence guided the Earlham men's cross country team to a third-place finish in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championship, matching the best finish since Earlham joined the conference in 2010-11. The Earlham women's cross country team finished fifth at the 2019 HCAC meet, one spot below the Quakers' best-ever showing in the conference championship. 

Lawrence capped off his time with the Quakers with HCAC Coach of the Year honors at the 2021 HCAC Championship meet. At the meet, the men's program earned its first conference win in 25 years with freshman Connor Del Carmen earning Newcomer of the Year honors. The women's squad finished in sixth place at the 2021 meet. 

Emily also came to Earlham in 2019. Under her guidance, Earlham captured three individual event championships at the 2020 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships and recorded 12 all-conference performances. First-year Madison Huelskamp was named the HCAC Co-Women's Indoor Freshman of the Year after winning the long jump with a leap of 5.09m. In addition, Earlham junior Noah Scherf competed for the United States in the T13 5,000m run at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, held in November 2019 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Assistant coaches Shane Mills and Nate Baker will take over the reins for the EC track and field program for the remainder of the season.