TEAMS
Pete Squires enters his seventh year as the head coach of Fairleigh Dickinson’s men’s and women’s track and field and cross country programs.
A
1974 Manhattan College graduate, Squires’ track and field
career spans the globe as an athlete, coach, administrator and
entrepreneur. In addition to leading the Knights, he is also the
President of the Metropolitan Athletic Association where he is
responsible for organizing championships and meetings.
Squires
was president of Globemark Sports and Event Marketing in
Atlanta, Georgia, for four years prior to coming to FDU.
Globemark, a limited liability company, provided sports, travel
and hospitality services leading up to the 1996 Summer Olympic
Games.
Prior
to his venture there, Squires worked at adidas USA in a variety
of capacities. From 1988-91, he was the director of
International Running, where he oversaw all contracted track and
field athletes, both national and international. From 1986-88,
Squires was national manager of Running, Track and Field as well
as director of sports promotions, where he oversaw all major
events at the college and professional levels. He started his
association with adidas USA in 1977 as national promotions
manager of Running, Track and Field, a position he held for more
than eight years.
An
entrepreneur who took advantage of the running boom in the 1970s
and 1980s, Squires founded three running camps in the Northeast:
Green Mountain Running Camp in Lyndonville, Vermont; adidas
International Running Camp in New Milford, CT; and Reebok
Newport Running Camp in Newport, Rhode Island.
As
an athlete, Squires has run all distances from the mile (4:00.0)
to the marathon (2:19:00). He was a two-time Olympic Trials
qualifier in the steeplechase (1976) and marathon (1980). A
two-time Connecticut Athlete of the Year (1974, 1981), Squires
won the first marathon he ever entered (1977 Jersey Shore). A
three-time winner of the Yonkers Marathon (1977, 1980, 1981), he
was named New York Athlete of the Year in 1979, and was the
Empire State Run Up world record holder for nine years
(1981-90).
While a student-athlete at Manhattan, Squires earned All-America honors and the IC4A title in 1974 in the steeplechase. That same year, he won the steeplechase title at the Penn Relay Carnival, breaking the Manhattan College record which still bears his name. Squires prepped at New Milford High School in Connecticut and Lyndon Institute in Lyndonville, Vermont, where he won a myriad of honors. His efforts as an undergraduate were recognized by his alma mater as Manhattan College made him one of their inductees in the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in December 1998.
Sharlene Milwood-Lee enters her fourth full season as assistant coach to Pete Squires. One of Fairleigh Dickinson’s most decorated student-athletes, Milwood-Lee was brought onto the staff in March 1998, and is a valuable asset to the Knights’ coaching ranks.
Milwood-Lee
is an 11-time NEC Champion, and is also a two-time recipient of
the “Outstanding Performer” award given at the NEC Indoor
Championships. She qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships
in 1992 and 1993 in the 400 meters, and also for the 1993
Outdoor Championships in the same event. Milwood-Lee also teamed
to help her 4x400 meter relay team capture a gold medal at the
1993 U.S. Olympic Festival.
Milwood-Lee
presently holds Knight records in the 300 (39.43), 400 (54.60)
and 500 (1:15.0) meter indoor dashes, and also the 400 (53.05)
and 800 (2:09.81) meter outdoor sprints as well.
A 1994 graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson, Milwood-Lee and her husband, Oswald, reside in Paterson, N.J. with their son, Olajuwon.
Former Fairleigh Dickinson track and field standout Rita Babikian-Andrini begins her first season as a coach with the Knights and will work primarily with the throwers.
Prior to
her coaching position with the Knights, Babikian-Andrini was an
assistant track and field coach at Leonia High School for seven
years (1995-2001). During
her years at Leonia, she produced several state, county and
league champions. Her
throws teams broke a combined seven school records, all of which
still stand today. Her
athletes also include four All-League performers and State Meet
of Champions qualifiers.
Babikian-Andrini
is a three-time NEC Champion and is the former NEC record holder
in the indoor shot-put and the discus throw.
A two-time NEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, she also
earned Fairleigh Dickinson’s George Braun Alumni Leadership
award. After
graduation she was a volunteer coach with the Knights for the
1994 season. On the
open circuit Babikian-Andrini was a two-time member of the USATF
All-East Region team and USATF-NJ All-Star team.
Babikian-Andrini
also serves the athletics department as the Assistant Director
of the Rothman Center and Ticket Manager. Babikian-Andrini’s
duties include handling the scheduling of all Rothman Center
events. She is also the liaison for the University with all show
promoters who use the Rothman Center.
Babikian-Andrini
and her husband, John, currently reside in
New Windsor, N.Y.