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Mike Ward enters his 13th season as at the University of Miami where he serves as head men's track and field and cross country coach, and associate head women's cross country coach.
The Hurricanes' cross country program has continued to grow under Ward's guidance.
In the fall of 1997, Ward led the Hurricane men's and women's cross country teams to their best seasons in school history. Both the men and women placed second at the Florida Intercollegiate Championships marking the highest finish in Miami history, and senior Chris Miller, sophomore Nick Gramsky and freshman Shannon Sarabyn were each named to the All-State team.
At the 1997 NCAA South Region Championships, Miller made history again as he and Sarabyn became the first Miami cross country runners named to the All-South Region team.
In 2000 the Hurricanes had two men (Jeff Gualrapp and Dan Boniface) and one woman (Shannon Sarabyn) earn All-State honors. Gaulrapp and Sarabyn went on to earn All-Region honors.
That success continued in 2002 as Matt Mulvaney earned All-South Region honors with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA South Region Championships. Earlier in the season Ward guided Mulvaney to a 20th-place finish at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships, the best finish ever by a Hurricane at the conference meet. The Hurricanes' 2003 cross country team recorded two meet victories and was ranked as high as 12th in the South Region by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association.
A Level II coach for distances by the USA Track and Field, Ward was a personal trainer for roadrunners and track athletes in Florida for six years before joining the UM staff. From 1980-85, Ward was head coach for the Howard County Youth Cross County Team in Maryland and directed the squad to an East Coast Championship and numerous local and regional cross country titles. Ward graduated from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation. While at UMBC, Ward was a three-time All -Mason-Dixon Conference selection in cross country and the captain of the 1975 cross country squad that went undefeated and captured the conference championship. Ward held the two-mile, three-mile and six-mile track records while at UMBC.
Ward went on to earn a master's degree in therapeutic recreation from the University of Maryland in 1980. While completing his master's, Ward served as the women's track team middle and long distance coach at UMBC for one year and spent a season as assistant cross country coach at Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicot City, Maryland. Ward currently resides in South Miami with his wife, the former Susan Page, and their 10-year-old son Brooks.
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