Mike Curcio, App State class of '87, has been a part of the App State cross country and track & field program for 32 seasons as a coach and athlete. He enters his 28th year as the head men’s cross country coach and 23rd as the women’s cross country coach. He assumed the title of associate head track & field coach in June 2018.
The cross country teams have been very successful under his tenure, capturing two women’s Southern Conference titles and two Sun Belt titles. On the men’s side, the Mountaineers have totaled 13 titles under Curcio with 11 coming in the Southern Conference (six straight from 2005-10) and two in the Sun Belt.
Curcio has led the men's cross country team to an overall conference record of 263 wins and 19 losses.
During the 2021 cross country season, Curcio led the Mountaineer men's and women's squads to second-place finishes at the Sun Belt Championships. Eight Mountaineers garnered All-Sun Belt accolades for their performances. During the indoor track season, the distance medley squad captured bronze at the conference championships. Three Mountaineers landed in the top-10 in the 5,000 meters and two notched top-10 finishes in the 3,000 meters. During the outdoor season, Curcio coached Ryan Brown to a new program record in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase, shattering the long-standing 26-year-old standard with a time of 8:51.28 at the Duke Invitational. At the the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships, four Mountaineers captured All-Conference nods in the women's 1500 meters, men's 3000-meter steeplechase, and women's 3000-meter steeplechase. Curcio also coached freshman Karsyn Kane to an appearace at the USATF U20 Championships, where she competed in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase.
The 2020 cross country season saw both of Curcio's programs competing for a conference championship. Backed by three all-conference honorees, including one First Team honoree, the men's program finished second with 55 points. The Mountaineer women also placed second in the conference, seeing two First Team All-Sun Belt honorees and four total a--conference accolades. During the indoor track season, Curcio saw improvements in the distance events, with three Mountaineers scoring points at the conference meet. During the outdoor campaign, he coached Isaac Benz to a school record in the 10,000-meter run and saw Benz placed fifth in the event during the outdoor championships. On the women's side, Lisha Van Onselen posted a pair of top eight finishes in distance events for App State.
2019 marked the fourth straight season in which a Curcio led team captured a conference title. With five runners earning All-Sun Belt honors, the men’s squad dominated the meet, capturing its second Sun Belt title in three seasons with 48 points. For his efforts, Curcio was tabbed as Sun Belt Men’s Coach of the Year and saw Oliver Wilson-Cook earn Freshman of the Year honors. On the women’s side, Curcio saw three Mountaineers earn All-Sun Belt accolades, including a First Team performance from Sarah Venable.
In the 2019 indoor season, Curcio saw his distance group leave their mark on the men’s side at the Sun Belt Championships. Isaac Benz earned two all-conference honors in the 3,000-meter run and 5,000-meter run, with Ryan Brown also earning All-Sun Belt accolades in the 3,000-meter run.
The 2018 cross country season was yet another successful one for Curcio. Backed by five All-Sun Belt performers, the women’s cross country program captured its second Sun Belt championship in the last three seasons. Phylissa Greeley and Izzy Evely earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors, Elisa Sargent was named Second Team All-Sun Belt and Samantha Kolor and Emily Fedders garnered in Third Team All-Sun Belt accolades. In addition, Curcio was tabbed as Sun Belt Coach of the Year for the second time in his career and Evely was named was named Freshman of the Year. The men’s program posted a second place finish at the Sun Belt Championships, highlighted by two All-Sun Belt honorees.
The 2018 outdoor track season saw Katelyn Butler shatter the school record by over five seconds at the Sun Belt Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Emily Fedders earn her third straight All-Sun Belt honor in the 10,000-meter run.
During the 2017 cross country season the women finished the season 2nd at every regular season meet. They posted a runner-up finish at the Sun Belt Championships on their home course in Boone. The men went on to captured their first Sun Belt title. Evan Georges and Gable Dershem earned All-Sun Belt honors for their individual efforts. For his efforts, Curcio was named Sun Belt Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year by his peers.
The track and field season in 2017-18 also saw the distance runner leave their mark. Katelyn Butler collected two second place finishes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships. He also guided Samantha Kolor and Emily Fedders to All-Sun Belt honors, with second and third place finishes in the 10,000-meter run.
In the 2016 cross country season, Curcio led the women’s team to Appalachian’s first-ever Sun Belt Conference cross country title while collecting 43 team points, the lowest team score recorded at the championship meet since 2010. All six women earned all-conference honors and Curcio won the head women’s cross country Coach of the Year award. The men’s squad finished fourth, with two runners earning third-team all-conference honors.
In the fall of 2015, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams finished second at the Sun Belt Conference championships. Tristin Van Ord was the individual runner-up and went on to earn All-Southeast Regional honors and was tabbed an Academic All-American in cross country. In all, six athletes earned All-Sun Belt accolades.
On the track, Curcio’s distance squad aided in the women grabbing their first ever Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship and ten of his athletes moved onto Appalachian’s all-times list.
For the indoor season, Curcio coached Tristin Van Ord to becoming the 2016 Sun Belt Indoor MVP and guided her to winning individual titles in the 3,000-meter race and the 5,000-meter competition.
During the outdoor season, Curcio’s athletes broke two school records in the 10,000 meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and he had one athlete qualify for junior nationals. Curcio’s standout athlete Van Ord would go on and win the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the Chapel Hill native qualified for the first round of the NCAA Championships. In addition to her accomplishments on the track, Van Ord earned Academic All-American honors. On the men’s side, distance runner Michael Ellis grabbed All-Sun Belt honors in two events due to his second-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and winning the 5,000-meter competition.
For cross country in 2014, Appalachian State’s first year as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, Curcio led both the men’s and women’s teams to a second-place finish at the Sun Belt meet in Mobile, Alabama. In that event, the men finished just two points behind South Alabama and the women were nine points away from first-place Texas-Arlington. The men secured four all-conference selections while the women earned three of their own.
When it came to track and field, the distance category produced a total of four Sun Belt titles and 14 all-conference performances. Tristin Van Ord carried over her success from the cross country season to win an indoor title in the 5,000, outdoor titles in both the 5,000 and 10,000 and was also named all-conference for the indoor 3,000. Hana Ratcliffe, Brooke Brekke, Torre Moser, and Shelby Howell made up the third-place distance medley relay team at the indoor championships while Dana Cox took third place at the outdoor 10,000 to earn an all-conference nod.
For the men, Kyle McFoy was an indoor champ (5,000) and Evan Laratta, Josh Hanna, Ryan Hastings, and Michael Ellis were all part of the outdoor all-conference distance medley relay team that placed second.
For the men’s team in 2013, Curcio led them to a second-place finish at the SoCon championship meet. Kyle McFoy placed sixth and also was named to the SoCon first-team. Josh Cox, James Howard-Smith and Will Raby all took second-team honors. The women’s team finished fourth in the Southern Conference that season. Justine Stocks earned all-SoCon for the women’s team.
During the track and field season, the men earned four all-SoCon honors with four performances moving into the top ten all-time lists. The women also earned four all-SoCon honors and had eight performances that moved into the top ten all-time lists. Stocks broke the program record in the 3,000m steeplechase with a mark of 10:37.
The 2013-14 track campaign also saw four athletes reach the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field championships. Chris Moen and Josh Cox qualified in the 3,000m steeplechase. Alex Taylor made his third trip in the 1,500m run and Amanda Hamilton made her first trip in the 10,000m on the strength of her program-record performance of 34:52.
The 2012 campaign was a banner year for the Mountaineers’ middle-distance/distance runners on the track as Curcio helped coach three athletes who broke five school records. Will Raby set the school record for the 5,000-meter event in indoor track, while Alex Taylor and Chris Moen teamed up with two sprinters to set the school record in the distance medley relay for indoor track at the SoCon Championships. Taylor set the App State record in the 800 and 1500-meter events while teaming up with Moen and two of Appalachian’s sprinters to break a 28-year old Appalachian record in the distance medley relay at the 2012 Penn Relays.
Curcio coached four men to the first round of the NCAA Championships in 2012 in outdoor track, as Taylor qualified for both the 800 and 1,500-meter events and Moen, Sean Soderman and Josh Cox all qualified for the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
During his time at App State, Curcio ‘s athletes have attained 17 NCAA Regional Qualifiers and /or first round qualifying marks, 21 USATF Junior National qualifying marks and seven Southern Conference Cross Country Freshmen of the Year.
During his time in the High Country, Curcio has coached 141 all-conference performers and four individual champions (all coming in the Southern Conference) in cross country. Of his 141 all-conference performers, 93 came in the Southern Conference and 41 occurred in the Sun Belt.
While coaching the distance runners for Appalachian track and field, Curcio has coached his 71 athletes (59 Southern Conference, 12 Sun Belt) to indoor and outdoor individual champion performances and 253 all-conference indoor (208 Southern Conference, 45 Sun Belt) and outdoor performances. He has also coached two athletes to indoor track and field MVP awards and four outdoor track and field MVP awards.
As athletic excellence is important, Curcio and his teams also strive for success in academics. Since being at Appalachian, Curcio has coached two NCAA post graduate scholarship award winners, one Southern Conference post graduate scholarship award winner, three Mrs. Brakefield award recipients, for an Appalachian senior student-athlete with the highest GPA, and 13 USTFCCCA academic all-Americans. In addition, he saw Emily Fedders earn Google Cloud Academic All-America honors during the 2017-18 season.
During the 2011-12 season, both the App State men’s and women’s recorded multi-year APR scores well above the national average while the men were recognized with an NCAA Public Recognition Award for compiling a four-year APR of 1,000 and ranking among the top 10 percent of all teams in the nation.
For all of his efforts, in 2003 Curcio was named the USTCA Division I Men’s National Assistant Coach of the Year for Distance. He also has been recognized by the Southern Conference for his team’s impressive performances, being named the SoCon’s men’s cross country coach of the year nine times.
Before coming to Appalachian, Curcio served as an assistant at Florida State from 1988-1992.
In the spring of 1993, he became an assistant at South Florida, where he helped build a fledgling track and field program, along with a nationally-ranked cross country program.
The track women at USF won three conference titles in the first four years of the program’s existence. The men’s and women’s cross country teams were ranked as high as 12th and 21st in Division I during his tenure.
Curcio hails from Long Island, N.Y. where he attended Newfield High School before attending and competing for Appalachian State University. He was a three-time all-SoCon selection in track and still ranks seventh all-time in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 3:49.60.
He is a 1987 graduate of Appalachian State with a degree in physical education. As a student at App State, Curcio competed for the cross country and track & field team and was a four-year letterman. Curcio also obtained his master’s in athletic administration from Florida State in 1992.
