“Never settle.” This was the guiding ethos that Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Ben Mourer, ’07, brought to his work with Gator student-athletes for over a decade. And it is the ethos he will be remembered for by friends, families and colleagues for many years to come.
Mourer, 40, unexpectedly died on June 15, while chopping down a tree on his property, “a place where he found peace, purpose, and connection to nature,” according to the obituary published by Stephen P. Mizner Funeral Home & Cremation Services. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Mourer, ’08, and their two children, Arthur and Henry.
During his time as a coach at Allegheny, Mourer helped lead the Gators to numerous titles in both the North Coast Athletic Conference and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. In 2022-23, the women’s teams swept all three PAC championships in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track and field. In addition to these successes, Mourer inspired countless student-athletes who ran for him.
“He was always the kind of guy that would make you want to work harder and be better, but keep it light and fun at the same time,” said Caleb Freeman, ’25, a captain of the men’s cross country team, in an interview with The Campus. “Every time that I was with him, he made me want to push myself, while keeping me lighthearted throughout the process.”
Director of Athletics and Recreation Bill Ross, a fellow coach and friend to Mourer, recalled that rather than forcing success, one of Mourer’s strengths as a coach was his ability to organically instill motivation within each of his athletes. As Mourer’s obituary puts it, “his passion for running and coaching wasn’t just about the sport — it was about building character, confidence, and community.”
“Under his leadership,” the obituary continues, “teams didn’t just win championships; they grew into families.”
Mourer’s deep commitment to “never settle” remains a guiding principle of the team, Freeman said. Mourer first explained the principle to him while Freeman was having a “tough” season.
“He was like, ‘If you’re having the race of your life, you know, you’re on pace to beat your PR (personal record) by whatever much, like a minute, don’t settle and take a minute PR,’” Freeman recounted. “‘Make it a minute-thirty. Don’t settle. Make a statement.’”
“That idea,” Freeman continued, “that you can do more than you expect, makes us want to keep pushing ourselves all the time.”
For Mourer, that ethos extended beyond the track as well.
“That was always even kind of a theme in our relationship as well,” Kim Mourer said in an interview with The Campus. “‘Never settle’ followed him everywhere he went.”
Mourer began his time with the Allegheny athletic community as a student athlete on the cross country team, where he eventually became captain. Ross recruited Mourer out of high school and immediately recognized that he was special.
“I knew right away his freshman year that he was destined to become a captain of the program at some point,” Ross said. “You know when you come across people who are natural leaders.”
Ross’ insight proved accurate. As captain, Mourer led the cross country team to its best-ever finish at the NCAA Championships in 2006, placing third nationally — an accomplishment Ross said no one else on the team except for Mourer saw coming.
“He was really inspiring to both the men’s and women’s cross country teams — definitely to me,” said Kim Mourer, who first met Mourer while also on the cross country team. “(He was) just easygoing, kind of silly, but very supportive of everybody. No matter what your skill level was, you were a teammate, and he treated everybody so greatly.”
As captain, Mourer used creative team-building tactics. Ross recalled one instance that involved scouring the streets for old Marlboro boxes on team runs, with the goal of finding enough coupons in the boxes to claim prizes from Marlboro headquarters. The fruit of Mourer’s efforts were a beloved cowboy hat that he continued to wear with pride later, even as a coach, at races and practices — and a team that was motivated to stick together during grueling workouts.
Mourer returned to Allegheny in 2015 as head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach before being promoted to head track and field coach in 2022. Among his accomplishments were guiding Allegheny to several conference titles and receiving the North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award four times. Ross attributes a key part of Mourer’s success to his intimate knowledge of being a student-athlete at Allegheny himself.
“I would say (Mourer’s) greatest accomplishment was what he was able to establish as a leader of the program when he was a student-athlete here,” Ross said. “Knowing what it took to help lead a team to continue to improve every year. He was able to then utilize that in his coaching of the athletes.”
This firsthand experience, coupled with his unique sense of humor, led Mourer to establish deep connections with his athletes.
“His dry humor and some of the things that he did to motivate the team were things that once I found out about them, (I) would just shake my head,” Ross recalled with a chuckle.
Mourer’s dedication to hard work, ability to inspire and love for tradition showed up in the mundane as well.
Last year, Freeman’s schedule meant that he was alone for weekly morning exercises. Rather than let Freeman run alone, Mourer always joined him on the track for the warmup and cooldown mile. This was characteristic of Mourer, Freeman recalled.
When Ross first heard the news about Mourer’s death on Father’s Day, he was in church listening to a sermon on fatherhood.
“I know that Ben really prided himself on being a really good father, and so the first thing that popped into my head was, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to share the sermon with Ben. He would like to hear this message,’” Ross said. “And a few minutes later, my phone rang.”
Over the following days and weeks, Freeman said the alumni community was instrumental in helping the athletes through the tragedy.
“The community and the family that he’s built over the last years — I know alumni that ran for him and graduated when I was in middle school,” Freeman said. “They all came together so fast. And it was relieving to see my teammates be able to go to these people for help and just talk. And also just really good for me as a reminder of what he built.”
The June 19 visitation for Mourer drew alumni and colleagues from all over the country.
“The number of people who came to the viewing was really incredible to see,” Ross said. “I think it was really good for his family to see just how loved he was, even with people that they didn’t know.”
There will be a Celebration of Life for Mourer on Sept. 20, at the cross country team’s first home race of the season. Ross announced the annual race will be renamed the Ben Mourer Cross Country Classic, with the final mile of the men’s race dedicated as the Mourer Memorial Mile. Attendees are invited to run the final mile with the student-athletes. So far, over 150 alumni have told Ross they intend to return to campus for the event.
Mourer’s guiding philosophy will be memorialized on T-shirts that read, “Never settle. Mourer strong.”
Kim Mourer and her two sons will be the honorary starters of the race. Although the day will be “heavy,” Kim Mourer is thankful for the college’s efforts to celebrate Mourer’s life and believes it will be good to connect with old classmates.
“I would really like to extend my gratitude to the Allegheny community,” Kim said. “We are a family.”
