Mike Jackson enters his seventh year as head coach of the cross country and track and field programs at Towson University.
Jackson was tapped to lead the cross country and track and field programs in the summer of 2015. He is the fourth head coach for cross country at Towson and the third head coach for the track and field program. He had previously served as the head coach at Ramapo College for 11 years.
Jackson took the 2019-20 indoor team to their first ever Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship. The Tigers finished atop the standings with 63 team points, edging UConn's 59.75 and UAlbany in third with 58.
Michella Obijiaku was named Women's Performer of the meet after setting a new school record and meet record in the weight throw (20.66m / 67'9.50"), which also broke the Italian national record.
Elisia Lancaster finished in second with a throw of 19.67m.
The Tigers went one-two in the 60-meter dash finals as
Crystal Johnson won the event in 7.47 seconds, followed by teammate
Christina Riggins (7.49). Johnson winning the 60m dash made her the first-ever ECAC 60m champion for Towson.
In May of 2020, Jackson saw Lauren Coleman recieve All-American honors after being the first student-athlete to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field championships.
Jackson guided Towson to unprecedented success during the 2016-17 season culminating in being named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Coach of the Year and leading the Tigers to their first CAA Outdoor Track and Field championship in program history. Towson had seven individual CAA outdoor champions, including Zanae Freeland, who was named CAA Athlete of the Meet.
The success continued for the Tigers as Ksenia Safanova (hammer throw) and Lauren Coleman (shotput) competed at the 2017 NCAA East Preliminary Round at the University of the Kentucky. It was the second consecutive year that Towson had athletes participate in the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
In addition to winning the CAA championship, Towson was fifth overall at the CAA cross-country championships after finishing eighth in 2015. Jackson guided the Tigers to their best finishes in program history at the Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC) championships as they were 12th (indoor) and sixth (outdoor) overall. Additional highlights from the 2016-17 season included Towson establishing 14 school records (six indoor, eight outdoor) during the 2016-17 season and having four CAA Athletes of the Week named.
During his first indoor season at Towson, Jackson led the Tigers to nine new school records and a 29th place team finish at the Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC) Indoor Track and Field Championship. Eight student-athletes qualified for ECACs, doubling the number from the 2014-15 season. Maggie Rampolla won silver for the pole vault at that meet, while Allison Marella placed eighth in the 5,000-meter run.
The track and field program continued its success during the outdoor season. Towson had four student-athletes earn CAA weekly honors (Freeland, Arianna Waller, Brynn Warrington and Megan Kelly). Waller was also named the ECAC Rookie of the Week in April. Towson finished fifth at the 2016 CAA Championship, improving from its eighth-place team finish in 2015.
Towson had two student-athletes be named event champions at the 2015 CAA Championship, the first to do so since Evan Campbell in 2013. Freeland won the 100m dash and was the runner-up in the 200m dash. Rampolla won the pole vault, leading to a 1-2-6 finish for the event. Along with Freeland and Rampolla, a total of nine student-athletes medaled at the conference meet. Ashleigh Stallings (javelin) and Brynn Warrington (pole vault) won silver medals. The 4x400m relay team of Kelly, Amanda Famularo, Waller and Liz Reid also combined for a silver medal. Emerald Vickers rounded out the Towson medalists, winning bronze in the high jump.
The Tigers sent 10 student-athletes to the 2016 ECAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship for nine events. Towson placed 16
th out of 55 teams at the championship event. Freeland placed third for the 100m dash while Stallings (javelin) and Rampolla (pole vault) placed fourth for their respective events. Kelly came in fifth-place for the 400m hurdles and also competed on the 4x400m relay that included Famularo, Waller and Reid.
Stallings and Marella became the first Tigers to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Round since 2011. Stallings competed in the javelin throw and Marella ran the 10,000m run.
Under Jackson’s guidance, the Tigers have excelled in the classroom.
During the 2016-17 year, the cross-country team had a 3.516 grade point average and eight student-athletes had a 4.0 grade point average. Freeland earned CoSIDA District II Academic All-American honors.
The cross country program earned the top GPA of Towson’s 19 sports for the 2015-16 academic year, along with the top APR in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The track and field team was selected as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team and Zanae Freeland earned CoSIDA All-Academic First Team honors.
Before coming to Towson, Jackson helped Ramapo develop a presence at the national level with the women’s team tying for third-place at the 2013 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship. He guided the women’s track and field team to two additional NCAA Top 10 finishes, as well as two Top 25 finishes during his coaching career. He also helped the women’s indoor track and field team to its first ever New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championship in 2012.
A two-time United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Atlantic Region Women’s Head Coach of the Year and seven-time New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Coach of the Year (twice for cross country and five times for track and field), Jackson guided student-athletes to success on the track and off.
During Jackson’s tenure at Ramapo, the program saw five individual NCAA champions and 74 NCAA Championship Meet participants in both cross country and track and field. He had 40 student-athletes earn All-American honors. Kyle Price was named the 2009 NJAC Cross Country Runner of the Year and became the only individual champion in school history. Jackson has also helped student-athletes reach the USA Track and Field level, including Anita Rogers who competed in the 2011 and 2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Under Jackson’s guidance, Michelle Favre, a two-time NCAA champion in the pole vault, was a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. Favre and Alexis Appezzato, the 2014 NCAA champion in the javelin, were named USTFCCCA Division III Scholar Athlete of the Year in consecutive years, 2013 and 2014. Jackson led the women’s and men’s cross country teams to USTFCCCA honors for academic achievements from the fall of 2007 through 2013.
Jackson, who arrived at Ramapo in 2004, became the first full-time cross country and track and field coach in school history in 2006. He was promoted to Director of Cross Country/Track and Field in the summer of 2013 and helped to establish a new head cross country coaching position. He was integral in the planning of renovations to the track and field facility, which was completed in August of 2008.
Jackson worked as a trainer at the Sports Conditioning Institute in Oakland, New Jersey for 10 years. He prepared athlete-specific training programs for clients and formed strong relationships with families, communities and schools. Jackson saw trainees earn prominence on the state, national and international stages.
Prior to his tenure at Ramapo, Jackson worked as an intern assistant coach for the track and field program at Northeastern University during the 2004 season. He assisted in preparation of workouts for athletes, working closely with athletes who were America East and NCAA regional contenders.
A 2004 graduate of Northeastern University, Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with concentrations in human resource management and marketing. Jackson competed for the Huskies’ track and field program as a sprinter and jumper. He helped his team win the America East Indoor Championship from 2000-02 and the outdoor championships in 2001 and 2002. He served as the captain of the track and field team and was also a member of the football team.
Jackson is a USATF Level 1 Certified Track and Field Coach. He served as the Atlantic Regional Representative for USTFCCCA Division III from 2007-2009 and in 2014.
