John Lynch was named head coach of the Rensselaer men's and women's cross country teams in September of 2011 and since his arrival, the Engineers have enjoyed unprecedented success both regionally and nationally.
In his 10 seasons, the Clifton Park, N.Y., native has led the teams to eight league championships with eight runner-ups, 10 top-3 finishes at NCAA Regional Championship Meets, including a victory by the men in 2018, and appearances in 14 NCAA Championships.
Rensselaer’s women’s team was represented at the 2021 NCAA Championship by Nia Goddard, who earned a bid as an individual.
In the five seasons prior (2015-19), the Engineers competed in each NCAA Meet with a school record ninth place finish in 2015. They were 10th in 2017, 13th in 2019, 16th in 2018 and 18th in 2016 with Jaime Lord earning National All-America in both 2015 (15th overall) and 2016 (18th).
At Regionals, the Engineers matched their school record with a second place finish in 2019, having also done so the year before. The three previous seasons, they were at-large selections following third place finishes each meet.
RPI has finished in the top-3 in the conference meet in each of Lynch’s seasons, including victories in 2019, 2016 and 2015. It was runner-up in 2021, 2018, 2013 and 2012. The Engineers consistently have individuals who are threats to win each meet as Grace Tilton did at the 2013 regional championship with a course record and the conference meet mark on her way to earning a bid to the NCAA Championship. The 2019 squad placed four of their five scorers among the top-nine to earn the title and Goddard won the 2021 championship on her way to earning Liberty League Runner of the Year. Morgan Lee was the Rookie of the Year.
On the men’s side, four individuals and five teams have earned the opportunity to run at nationals under Lynch’s tutelage. Jeff Corelli competed in 2011, Jacob Andrews and Ben Fazio ran in 2014 and Fazio repeated in 2015. Fazio became the first RPI runner to earn All-America when he finished 26th in 2014. He repeated the feat in 2015 when he crossed the finish line in 20th place.
This year's squad was chosen as an at-large selection following a third place finish at the NCAA Regionals. It went on to place 14th, led by Matt Lecky's 38th-place - and All-America - performance. He was named the Liberty League Runner of the Year with Vincent Simonetti garnering Rookie of the Year and Lynch and his assistants capturing Coaching Staff of the Year.
In the three previous seasons, Rensselaer qualified automatically for the national championship with either second (2016, 2017, 2019) or first place finishes (2018) at NCAA Regionals. Grant O’Connor earned All-America three times by finishing 25th, a school-record fourth and 23rd, while Joe Domanico and Noah Falasco both earned All-America in leading the Engineers team to a school record 10th place finish in 2019.
Falasco won at the regional title the week before, giving the Engineers their third straight champion, following O'Connor in 2017 and 2018. Fazio was runner-up in 2016.
In 10 Liberty League Championships, Rensselaer has victories in 2016 – the first in school history, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and 2021 with second place spots the four years prior. Sean O’Connor won the event in 2018 with a record time, which gave the Engineers three straight individual winners in record times following Grant O'Connor in 2017 and Fazio in 2016.Â
Lynch is a five-time conference Coaching Staff of the Year award recipient who has earned Atlantic Region Coach of the Year once. He has mentored 21 All-Americans in cross country, nine Atlantic Regional Athletes of the Year, including Falasco in 2019, and 17 league or state Runner of the Year honorees.
In track & field, Lynch has coached 39 All-Americans, including the 2017 NCAA Men’s Indoor distance medley relay national champions and two by Lecky in 2021-22. He has been part of seven Liberty League Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year honorees and twice for indoor. RPI won the league’s indoor award in 2015 and 2016 and the outdoor honor in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Rensselaer has also won the New York State Collegiate Track Championship Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year award seven times – five in outdoor.
Individually, Lynch was the Atlantic Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2019 for both indoor and outdoor. He earned the Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2016.
He joined the RPI staff after serving as a head coach at Plattsburgh State the previous six years, guiding the Cardinals cross country programs from 2005-11, including during his final three seasons when he was the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country. Lynch coached 24 All-Americans, 38 automatic and provisional qualifiers, over 100 all-conference honorees and 54 league champions in cross country and track.
Specific success during his tenure at Plattsburgh came in 2010-11 when Mike Heymann concluded his career with seven All-American certificates. He was one of eight Cardinals who competed at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships.Â
During the 2008 cross country season, the men made their first appearance at the NCAA Championship since 1999. The women's best season came in 2007 when the Cardinals were the national runner-up behind three All-Americans after capturing their first Atlantic Regional title. Lynch went on to earn the Atlantic Region Women's Coach of the Year award.Â
Toni Wiszowaty, who was seventh at cross country nationals, went on to win the 10,000 meter race at the 2007 Penn Relays, posting a mark that ranked fourth all-time in the event’s history and was an Olympic Trials qualifying time.
A graduate of SUNY Cortland, Lynch set school records in the distance medley relay while participating on several indoor and outdoor SUNYAC Championship teams for the Red Dragons. He received a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and Sport Studies in 2005.
He and his wife Toni reside in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with their three sons, Elijah, Dylan and Henry.
Updated May 2022
