Jeffrey Baker '11
Year: Class of 2025
Team: Men's Track & Field
Jeffrey Baker was part of WPI’s famed “Big 3” throwers who helped men’s track and field achieve unprecedented success from 2008-11, culminating in a 2nd place conference finish and a 4th place showing at the 2011 New England Division III Championships.
Baker, along with fellow WPI Hall of Famer, Jarrett Arredondo ‘10 (HOF ’18) and Fran Collins scored the vast majority of the team’s championship points over that three-year stretch, with Jeff securing titles in the Javelin at conference and regional levels on several occasions. He went on to represent the program at three NCAA T&F Championships in the javelin, making the finals in his junior year where he placed 9th.
“Jeff’s understated demeanor stood out in sharp contrast to what a dominant competitor he was when he stepped on the javelin runway or the throwing circle,” said head coach Brian Chabot. “Jeff, along with Jarrett, helped usher in a period where our throws group was the best in the region and the driver of our success for Men’s Track & Field. While we knew when we showed up to every meet we had by far the best javelin thrower there, it was the often unheralded points he would provide from the hammer or discus throws, along with the shot put, that made us so tough to beat.”
Baker, who won All-NEWMAC honors in each of his four years, was the conference champion in the javelin in 2008, when he set a NEWMAC Championship record, and 2009, when he went on to win the DIII New England Championships in one of his three career All-New England finishes.
A captain of both the indoor and outdoor track and field teams in 2010-11, Baker ranks second for the javelin in school history. He also holds top-10 records in Indoor Shot Put, 35-lb Weight Throw, Discus and Hammer. He was a two-time All-NEWMAC performer in the discus, finishing 3rd in 2009 and 4th in 2010.
“Jeff was an exceptional student athlete that I had the pleasure to work with during my time at WPI,” said decorated throws coach Mike Stomski. “Jeff worked diligently to improve himself and the others around him. Through his hard work and dedication to the sport, he was able to compete at a high level and could be counted on to perform at championship meets.”
Baker excelled in the classroom as much as he did on the field, earning Academic All-America honors in 2010 and 2011. He was a three-time selection to both the NCAA and NEWMAC All-Academic Teams and was a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society.
Baker was honored by WPI Athletics in 2009 with the Leo S. Jansson Award, given to the top sophomore male student-athlete in the department. Jeff has worked at Ashcroft Inc since graduating WPI in 2011, starting as a Product Support Engineer and currently holding the title of Senior Automation Engineer.
Jeff moved back to his hometown of Wallingford, CT after graduation and now owns a home there with his wife Jillian and his two children, Ellarue and Primalynn.
