Assistant Equipment Room Manager
Phone: 992-8506   Email: laurenhenkel@nyu.edu

Lauren Henkel, one of the most accomplished athletes in New York University history, has completed two seasons as the assistant coach of the Violets’ women’s track & field team.

In 2005-06, Henkel helped guide the Violets to a fifth-place finish at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Indoor Championships. She was instrumental in helping senior Crystal Winter capture the New York State 100-meter championship, as well as the UAA outdoor 400-meter hurdles title.

During her first year as an assistant, Henkel helped head coach Jef Smith produce two UAA champions. Senior Lauren Pringle won the indoor 55-meter hurdles, as well as the indoor and outdoor high jumps, while Winter won the outdoor 400-meter hurdles.

A four-year member of the Violets’ track & field team, Henkel earned NCAA All-America honors in the high jump three times. She established 11 NYU individual and relay records and was a nine-time UAA champion in a variety of events.

“Lauren was quite possibly NYU’s greatest female track & field athlete ever,” said Smith. “Her success as an athlete is helping her to be a winner as a coach, as well.”

A 2004 graduate of NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education with a degree in studio art, Henkel also earned many academic awards. During her distinguished career, she earned the NYU President’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, the Varsity Club Freshman Athlete of the Year Award, the Dan Quilty/NIT Scholar-Athlete Award, the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete Award, and the NYU Alumni Association Student-Athlete of the Year Award. She also received the Ida Bodman Service Award for her work in the community.

Henkel’s versatility and excellence as an athlete extended beyond the track, as she also earned All-American and All-UAA honors as a member of the Violets’ women’s soccer team.

Henkel, whose paintings and artwork occasionally appear in local galleries in Brooklyn, Manhattan and surrounding NYC areas, is a native and current resident of Rockville Centre, NY.