Quincy Sun // Published June 27, 2019 // By Quincy Sun Staff

Quincy Native, QHS Cross Country and Track Runner, and Coach John Furey will lead Quincy College Granite Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country in their inaugural season of competitive play as part of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XXI.

Furey has over 33 years of experience coaching runners of all ability levels. To date, he has coached over 3,000 Boston Marathon Charity runners since program began in 1996. From 1998 to 2019, John was the Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s cross-country team at Emerson College.

The addition of Coach Furey to Quincy College Athletics staff was a natural fit according to Quincy College Athletics Director John Raymer: ” Quincy College is fortunate to work with Coach Furey. Our Athletics program will benefit from his years of expertise as an athlete, educator, and coach. With Coach Furey’s leadership and our student athletes, we are pleased to join Region XXI of National Junior College Athletic Association competitive Cross-Country.”

Coach Furey holds a Bachelors of Science from Eastern Nazarene College and a Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology from Bridgewater State University. Coach Furey also holds several exercise science certifications including American College of Sports Medicine Personal Trainer and Health Instructor Certifications, National Association of Sport Medicine Corrective Exercise Specialist Certification and teaches Basic Life Support.

The creation of a New Quincy College Cross Country program is an exciting challenge for Coach Furey: ” The idea of starting a new program from the ground up was the main factor in my desire to coach at Quincy College. I grew up in Quincy, I’ve run in Quincy. I want to introduce a love of the sport to runners of all abilities and levels at Quincy College. I’m excited to start the inaugural season and am actively recruiting high school runners, adults returning to school who are passionate about exercise, and those first time runners who may be back of the pack.”

Quincy College Cross Country will join NJCAA Region 21 – comprised of 2-year colleges in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island in competitive play – offering Men’s Basketball and Men’s Soccer along with Women and Men’s Cross Country for the 2019-2020 season. The Quincy College Men’s and Women’s Cross Country team will face other local area teams including University of Connecticut – Avery Point, Holyoke Community College, Quinsigamond Community College, Northern Essex Community College, Bunker Hill Community College, and Community College of Rhode Island.

Quincy College Granite Cross Country will competitively run in four meets throughout the Fall 2019-2020 Season, 2 meets in September and 2 in October. The team will start training on September 5th.

There are no formal tryouts for the team, everyone who would like to participate will be welcomed to join the QC Granite Cross Country Team. The team will practice at Quincy High School Track and will run the hills near Hospital Hill and trails near Pageant Field.

” Runners of all abilities are welcome to join Quincy College Cross Country. We are not recruiting a specific caliber of a runner but simply looking to foster an community of student athletes who love to run. Granite runners could be recent high school graduates who excelled in track who want to test out Cross-Country or a student studying exercise science invested in health and wellness, ” Coach Furey stated.

To Learn more about Quincy College Granite Cross Country or to contact Coach Furey for recruitment, visit: https://quincycollege.edu/crosscountry/#overview.