BJ Willkomm enters his 17th year as Head Throws Coach at Cal Poly Humboldt, directing the shot put, discus, hammer, and javelin for both the men's and women's programs since 2010.
Under Coach Willkomm's direction, Lumberjack throwers have rewritten the record books — his athletes hold 8 school records and account for 33 Top-10 all-time performances across the throwing events. He has guided Humboldt throwers to individual conference championships in the discus and shot put, All-Conference finishes in every throwing event, and repeated success on the national stage, with national championship qualifiers in the shot put, discus, and javelin. His athlete highlights include coaching Matthew Horsefall to a third-place national finish and All-American honors in the javelin, and Ariel Oliver to back-to-back national qualifying performances in the shot put and discus, as well as 2nd team all American honors.
Willkomm is a USTFCCCA-certified strength & conditioning coach, and he brings a unique background in athlete nutrition — he previously owned and operated a local catering business focused on locally sourced, nutritionally balanced meals for athletes on a budget.
A Lumberjack himself, Willkomm competed in the shot put, discus, hammer, and javelin during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, earning CCAA All-Academic honors and recording the fifth-farthest hammer throw in program history. Before Humboldt, he starred at Saugus High School, where he was a McDonald's All-American basketball nominee, still holds the school records for career points and most points in a game, and is a member of the Saugus High School Hall of Fame. He also competed in the triple jump, high jump, shot put, and discus.
Willkomm graduated from Humboldt in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance and a minor in psychology. Off the track, he is a sales and marketing manager and serves in various volunteer positions in the Humboldt community.
