CENTENNIAL COACH OF THE YEAR:
- 2014 Women's Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field
- 2017 Men's Indoor Track & Field
- 2018 Men's Outdoor Track & Field, Women's Outdoor Track & Field
- 2019 Men's Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field, Women's Outdoor Track & Field
Peter Carroll is entering his 25th season as the pilot of the Garnet cross country and track & field programs. After a two-year stint at Swarthmore in 1987-88 and 1988-89, followed by 11 years at Franklin & Marshall, Carroll returned to coach the Garnet in 2000.
In his tenure at Swarthmore, Carroll has mentored 23 All-Americans, including two national champions, seven Academic All-Americans, 12 Centennial Conference Performers of the Year, and 68 NCAA qualifiers.
Hannah Swale was the latest All-American for the Garnet, earning second team honors with a 16th-place finish in the heptathlon in 2025. Cohen Manges and Olivia Montini both made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2023 and 2024.
In 2023, Adria Retter captured the outdoor national championship in the discus, becoming the first Swarthmore thrower to claim a national title.
In 2019, Clay Conley '20 earned All-American honors in shot put during the Women's Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Championships. 2018 Carroll coached Lilly Price '20 as she earned All-America honors in the outdoor 1500m.
In 2017, Price competed in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships as one of only two freshmen in the field. It marked the fifth consecutive year in which a female Swarthmore runner qualified for the event. On the men's side, Daniel Belkin '19 was named Outstanding Indoor Field Performer and Carroll received conference Coach of the Year accolades.
In 2016, Katie Jo McMenamin '16 became the first national champion in program history and the first Swarthmore woman to win an NCAA title of any kind with her victory in the 1500 at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also won silver in the 5k, earning her third All-American honor in the process.
During the 2014-15 season, senior Saran Nielsen placed eighth in the indoor mile to earn All-American honors and Osazenoriuwa Ebose '15 became the first thrower in program history to receive All-America status with her seventh-place mark in the shot put. Ebose was the indoor and outdoor Centennial Conference Performer of the Year and set the conference mark in the shot put, breaking a 21-year old record. Junior Sid Kakkar also competed at the 2014 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in the fall.
The 2013-14 season was one of the best in recent memory for the women’s program. The Garnet women placed second at the Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, which was the program's highest finish since 1998, and third at the league's outdoor meet. McMenamin was named an All-American by placing seventh in the 1,500-meters at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships after qualifying for NCAAs in the mile indoors. In the fall, the cross country programs placed fourth at the Centennial Conference championship meet behind three nationally-ranked teams as well as sixth at the NCAA Mideast Regional. Mike McConville competed at the 2013 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.Â
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During the 2012-13 campaign, Rebecca Hammond ’13 was crowned an All-American at the 2013 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships after completing the 1,500-meter run in a school-record time of 4:28.09. In addition, Jacob Phillips ’13 competed at the 2012 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.
Furthermore, Carroll’s student-athletes have also been highly rewarded for their efforts in the classroom. Hammond was named the school’s fourth Capital One Academic All-American under Carroll in 2013, while the programs have also combined to produce four Fulbright Scholars and a Rhodes Scholar in 2009. In 2016, McMenamin was named a First Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA and the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Performer of the Year for women's track & field.
Prior to coming back for his second stint at Swarthmore, Carroll coached seven All-Americans and more than 20 athletes that broke a school record at Franklin & Marshall. His 1999 men’s indoor track & field team won the Centennial Conference crown.
As an undergraduate student, Carroll was a member of the Villanova track & field and cross country programs. He won Big East and IC4A championships as a member of the Wildcats’ 2-mile relay team and finished second in the Big East indoor 1,500-meters during his senior season. Carroll’s personal-best time in the mile is 4:02.34.
Carroll earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Villanova in 1982 and a master’s in secondary education from the institution in 1985. He also studied extensively in the physical education and sports medicine graduate program at Ithaca College.
