Justin Wood Named Head Coach of Men's Cross Country

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth Director of Athletics and Recreation Harry Sheehy has announced the hiring of Justin Wood as the Big Green's newest head coach of men's cross country Monday afternoon.

Wood comes to Hanover to lead the men's cross country team as well as the men's distance runners as an assistant coach in both indoor and outdoor track. He has spent the last two years at the University of La Verne in California, heading up both the men's and women's cross country programs in addition to his role with the track and field teams.

"It is my great pleasure to welcome Justin to the Upper Valley and Dartmouth," Sheehy said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Dartmouth and is well suited to carry on the job that Barry Harwick so ably performed. Not only is Justin a great developer of his athletes as witnessed by the national success he has enjoyed at every stop on his way to Dartmouth, but he also appreciates the total experience and the role of academics in the lives of his student-athletes. I look forward to working with him."

"I'm thrilled to welcome Justin to 'The Woods' and to the track & field and cross country family," Marjorie & Herbert Chase '30 Director of Dartmouth Track & Field and Cross Country Porscha Dobson said. "Justin is a great recruiter, has experience developing student-athletes to achieve at a high level, and understands what it takes to win. I've had the pleasure of witnessing Justin's progression and success over the years, and truly believe he will be a great asset to our program and Dartmouth Athletics."

Prior to La Verne, Wood served as the head of the cross country and track and field teams at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey from 2012 to 2018 and in that same capacity at the SUNY Delhi from 2008 to 2012.

"I'd like to thank Harry Sheehy, [Associate Athletics Director for Varsity Sports/Peak Performance] Jennifer Chuks and [Marjorie & Herbert Chase '30 Director of Track & Field and Cross Country] Porscha Dobson for the opportunity to lead the men of Dartmouth Cross Country," Wood said. "This position certainly comes with great responsibility to continue the tradition of excellence set by Barry Harwick and all of the former coaches. I'm excited to take on that challenge and look forward to working with these incredibly talented student-athletes. Go Big Green!"

At every stop in his coaching career, Wood has enjoyed high levels of success, including at La Verne where he coached two NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships individual qualifiers and one NCAA Division III Track & Field National Championships qualifier (3000m steeplechase), while his athletes established seven new track and field program records.

In New Jersey, Wood led Stevens to national prominence as his athletes claimed eight NCAA Division III individual national titles and four top-10 team finishes at NCAA DIII Track & Field Championships. He also saw his athletes earn 30 DIII All-American honors and 40 qualify for national meets. Under his tutelage, 65 track and field program records were established during his time leading the Ducks.

In 2016, Wood led the women's cross country team to its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships. The next year, he guided the Stevens men's cross country team to its first Empire 8 Championship in 15 years. More success would come the following season (2018) as the women's indoor track and field team claimed their first-ever Empire 8 Championship.

Wood's athletes at Stevens earned five US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Athlete of the Year honors and six USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year awards in his six years. A decorated coach at Stevens, Wood twice earned Empire 8 Women's Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year honors as well as winning Empire 8 Coach of the Year honors in 2017 for men's cross country and in 2013 for women's cross country.

His most decorated student-athlete at Stevens was Amy Regan — a 2017 graduate — who won six of those national titles and was recognized as the USTFCCCA DIII Cross Country National Runner of the Year in 2016.

At SUNY Delhi, Wood led the men's cross country team to back-to-back NJCAA National Championships in 2009 and 2010, as well as four consecutive second-place finishes in men's track and field (2009-12). The 2010 men's cross country squad set an NJCAA DIII Cross Country Championship meet record with 22 points and six All-Americans, figures that still remain the standard. Thirteen (13) men and 10 women won individual national titles, and 121 student-athletes earned NJCAA All-American honors with Wood leading the way in New York.

For his efforts, Wood earned a wealth of coaching honors while at Delhi, claiming NJCAA National Coach of the Year for both men's cross country and men's indoor track and field in 2010. He also received NJCAA Region III Coach of the Year honors in 2009 (women's cross country), 2010 (men's cross country) and 2011 (men's outdoor track and field).

Wood began his own collegiate career at Delhi, winning four individual national championships (800m [twice], 1500m and 5000m), three relay national titles (4x800m [twice] and 4x400m) and a men's cross country team national title. He set five program records there with four still remaining atop the record books. After finishing his junior college career, he ran at Seton Hall — earning several All-Big East accolades — before competing at Southern Connecticut in his final year of eligibility.

For his efforts on the course and on the oval, Wood was inducted into the NJCAA DIII Cross Country/Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2010, while also being named to the SUNY Delhi Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

Wood graduated from Seton Hall in 2006 with a degree in social and behavioral science, while earning a master's degree from Southern Connecticut in exercise science.

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