Elevated to full-time status in August of 2018, Jason Cusack serves as the assistant coach for Virginia Tech’s cross country and track and field teams.
Cusack helps with recruiting, assists in training, handles all team gear and other equipment needs, and plays a role in creating an appealing visual identity for the program’s social media platforms, which is geared toward recruiting.
He also plays a role in coaching and was instrumental in helping the Hokies’ distance runners enjoy considerable success during the 2019-20 season. Peter Seufer won the ACC cross country title for the second consecutive year and earned All-America honors with his fourth-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships – the best finish ever by a Tech men’s distance runner. Seufer also won two gold medals at the 2020 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships, and Sarah Edwards (mile) and Sara Freix (5,000) added gold medals as well.
In 2018-19, Cusack worked with four Tech runners who went on to earn All-America honors – Seufer, Edwards, Bashir Mosavel-Lo and Rachel Pocratsky. Pocratsky was a bronze medalist in the 800-meter race at the NCAA Indoor Championships, while Seufer won the ACC’s individual crown in cross country and went on to earn All-America honors in both cross country and outdoor track and field.
Cusack moved into head coach Eric Johannigmeier’s old role following Ben Thomas’ departure for the head men’s cross country/distance coach position at the University of Oregon in July of 2018. He brings a Virginia Tech background to the staff, as he ran on Tech’s track and field and cross country teams from 2008-13 and was a part of four ACC team championships. He excelled in the middle distances, in particular the steeplechase events, winning the gold medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2012 ACC Outdoor Championships. He also won a silver medal in the same event at the league’s outdoor meet in 2011.
Cusack, a native of Griswold, Connecticut, set the school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2011, running a time of 8 minutes, 47.29 seconds and breaking a mark that had lasted for 22 years. His time still ranks fifth on the Hokies’ all-time list. He also was part of the 4x1,500-meter relay team that still has the third-fastest time in school history.
Cusack graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in industrial design in 2013. He trained with a running group in New York for almost a year before returning to Tech in June of 2014 to move into a volunteer assistant role with the Hokies’ programs and to work on his master’s degree. He also taught an undergraduate course for two years and worked at RunAbout Sports before earning his master’s degree in architecture in May of 2018.
Cusack helps with recruiting, assists in training, handles all team gear and other equipment needs, and plays a role in creating an appealing visual identity for the program’s social media platforms, which is geared toward recruiting.
He also plays a role in coaching and was instrumental in helping the Hokies’ distance runners enjoy considerable success during the 2019-20 season. Peter Seufer won the ACC cross country title for the second consecutive year and earned All-America honors with his fourth-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships – the best finish ever by a Tech men’s distance runner. Seufer also won two gold medals at the 2020 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships, and Sarah Edwards (mile) and Sara Freix (5,000) added gold medals as well.
In 2018-19, Cusack worked with four Tech runners who went on to earn All-America honors – Seufer, Edwards, Bashir Mosavel-Lo and Rachel Pocratsky. Pocratsky was a bronze medalist in the 800-meter race at the NCAA Indoor Championships, while Seufer won the ACC’s individual crown in cross country and went on to earn All-America honors in both cross country and outdoor track and field.
Cusack moved into head coach Eric Johannigmeier’s old role following Ben Thomas’ departure for the head men’s cross country/distance coach position at the University of Oregon in July of 2018. He brings a Virginia Tech background to the staff, as he ran on Tech’s track and field and cross country teams from 2008-13 and was a part of four ACC team championships. He excelled in the middle distances, in particular the steeplechase events, winning the gold medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2012 ACC Outdoor Championships. He also won a silver medal in the same event at the league’s outdoor meet in 2011.
Cusack, a native of Griswold, Connecticut, set the school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2011, running a time of 8 minutes, 47.29 seconds and breaking a mark that had lasted for 22 years. His time still ranks fifth on the Hokies’ all-time list. He also was part of the 4x1,500-meter relay team that still has the third-fastest time in school history.
Cusack graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in industrial design in 2013. He trained with a running group in New York for almost a year before returning to Tech in June of 2014 to move into a volunteer assistant role with the Hokies’ programs and to work on his master’s degree. He also taught an undergraduate course for two years and worked at RunAbout Sports before earning his master’s degree in architecture in May of 2018.