Bloomfield College

Elson Smajlaj enters his fourth season at the helm of the men’s and women’s cross country programs at Bloomfield College in 2016. Coming off his third season of collegiate coaching experience, Coach Smajlaj will look to a mix of new talent along with veteran leadership to make an impact on this year's campaign.

In 2014, Coach Smajlaj led the women's team to a historic season, winning three meets. He was voted Women's Cross Country Head Coach of the Year in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) and his team won the CACC Sportsmanship Award. Both the men's and women's teams finished 4th in the CACC and made it to the NCAA Reginals for the first time in program history.

A 2012 graduate of Bloomfield and a four-year member of the men’s cross country team, Smajlaj was a three-year captain and one of the top runners in the CACC during his stellar college career.  Also a standout in the classroom, Smajlaj earned three consecutive CACC Fall All-Academic Team selections from 2009-2011, and earned Dean’s List High Honors from 2009-2012.

Born and raised in the country of Albania, Smajlaj currently resides in North Bergen, New Jersey, where he led North Bergen High School to a Hudson County Track and Field championship during his four-year career with the Bruins.  Currently utilizing a degree in Education as a teacher in North Bergen, Smajlaj has been tabbed to take the programs to new heights as they compete as the Bloomfield College Bears.