Jim Forrest (’90) was a talented and versatile athlete for the Westfield State track and field team. Possessing a combination of power and speed, Forrest primarily starred in the jumping events for the Owls. He still holds school records in the high jump, clearing 6-9 ½, indoor long jump and pentathlon, and placed seventh in the high jump at the 1989 NCAA indoor national championships with a leap of 6-8.
 
Forrest earned All-New England honors four times in the high jump and achieved a rare double-double feat during the 1990 indoor season when he won the long jump and high jump at the ECAC and New England Division III championships. He stunned the competitors at the New Englands with first-place efforts of 6-7 in the high jump and his indoor school record leap of 22-9 in the long jump. He followed several weeks later by winning the high jump (6-6) and long jump (22-8) at the ECAC championships.
 
Forrest earned All-New England/All-Region honors nine times and was a two-time conference high jump champion. He also competed in the 400 meter run and the pentathlon for the Owls, and holds the school record of 3,747 points in the five-event competition. Forrest entered Westfield State in the fall of 1986 as a highly acclaimed athlete out of Norwood, where he was the Bay State League MVP and voted the most outstanding senior athlete at Norwood High School.
 
The Westfield State movement science major was a teacher and the head track and field coach in his hometown of Norwood for 18 years before accepting a position as an assistant principal at nearby Dedham High School in 2010. Forrest, who was dean of students his final six years at Norwood High School, was a highly successful indoor and outdoor track and field coach, guiding his teams and athletes to 18 Bay State Conference championships, 16 school records, 28 state class B individual and relay champions, and four all-state individual champions. In addition, he was the Norwood High School cross country coach from 2004-2009.
 
Forrest resides in Norwood with is wife, Jennifer, and children, Sophia (7) and Frankie (6).