NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the state-by-state winners of its fourth annual High School Coach of the Year award for cross country on Friday.
One boys coach and one girls coach from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia -- as seen in the lists below -- were honored for their successes during the fall of 2019, as selected by a committee of experts from around the nation.
QUICK LINKS: Boys Coaches | Girls Coaches
State-by-state winners were selected based on their teams' performances throughout the 2019 cross country season. Among the factors taken into consideration were team score and placement at the state championships, margin of victory, performance against rankings if available, individual championships, and how their teams' performances stacked up to previous years (e.g. first title in school history, consecutive titles, etc.).
Each honoree will receive a trophy from the USTFCCCA recognizing his or her achievements.
The winners from each state are in consideration for the association's National High School Cross Country Coach of the Year award. One boys coach and one girls coach from among all the states will be selected by a panel of experts and be announced later this month as the national winners.
Mike McLain - El Paso Eastwood I Boys Coach of the Year
The El Paso Eastwood boys followed season up an awesome 2018 cross country season to double back and do it all again. McLain led his Troopers team to a second UIL 5A state championship and a third place NXR South finish. They received an At-Large NXN bid to make their second straight trip to Portland for NXN.
Justin Leonard - Southlake Carroll I Girls Coach of the Year
The Carroll Dragons had an amazing year under the helm of Justin Leonard. He led both the girls and the boys squads to Texas UIL 6A state championships and as well as having them both automatically qualify for NXN. The Carroll girls had several top finishes at national meets, dominated the Texas UIL championship season, and earned their 13th trip to NXN.