Glen Cohen was the premier 400 meter runner in the East during his three years at Boston University.
Arriving in Boston from Wolverhampton, England, Cohen was a key ingredient to the resurgence of the Terrier track and field team. In 1979, BU won its first ever Greater Boston outdoor championship. In 1980, the Terriers won their first ever GBC indoor title. At the New England Championships, BU fared even better. The Terriers won the indoor New England title all three years Cohen was on the team and won the outdoor title in 1979 and 1980.
"Our program started to rise on Glen's shoulder," said David Hemery, the Terrier's head coach in 1980. "Without him, our program would not be where it is today. He gave credibility to the program."
Individually, both indoors and outdoors, Cohen won 12 Greater Boston titles and 11 New England titles. The highlight of those victories came at the 1980 New England Indoor Championship when Cohen won the 400 meters in a time of 46.56.
Cohen also won the 1978 IC4A 400 meter title outdoors in a record time of 45.49.
A member of the 1976 British Olympic team, Cohen was named the team's most valuable player in 1980 and won the Gordon "Mickey" Cochrane Award as the top male athlete. It was only the second time a track athlete had won the award and the first time since 1966 when David Hemery, Cohen's coach, earned the prestigious honor.
