John Cahill, a 2015 alumni of FDU-Florham, enters his third season as head coach of the men's nad women's cross country programs.
Before returning to FDU, Cahill served as an Assistant Cross Country Coach and Head of Distance for Indoor and Outdoor and Track & Field at the Dwight-Englewood Upper School. The team was highly successful under his watch, producing two straight State Sectional Track & Field titles.Â
Additionally, five student-athletes were chosen All-State Group Champions while two won County Championships. His coaching responsibilities at Dwight-Englewood included planning practice while also constructing weight training programs and dynamic running routes for team members. Cahill also used classroom sessions to help runners focus on their race split times. He also was instrumental in assisting the annual alumni and fundraising run, the "Coach Krauthamer" run.
Cahill ran for four years here at Fairleigh Dickinson, serving a team captain for two years and was a three-time Most Valuable Player. A three-time All-Academic Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) selection, he headed all of the Devils Cross Country social media efforts, starting Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages for the program. During his running career at FDU, Cahill recorded the third-fastest time in the 8K (29:07.98) and the second quickest mark in the 5K (17:13). In 2011, he led the Devils to a first-place team finish at the Manhattanville College Invitational and finished first overall in 18:14.
While a student, Cahill was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and was an Orientation Leader and a Resident Assistant. As an orientation leader, he led weekly groups of prospective students around the FDU campus while also promoting Campus Life events in First-Year Experience classes. In 2015, he was a runner-up for the Student Pinnacle Award, which is the highest student award at FDU and is based on both academics and student-leadership.
Upon graduation, Cahill gained several certifications to further his coaching knowledge. In August 2016, he picked up his Level 1 Coaching Certificate by from the USA Track & Field Organization. In May 2019, Cahill earned a Track & Field Technical Certificate which was awarded by the USTFCCCA before becoming an Accredited Interscholastic Coach in June 2019 from the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Cahill graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies with a minor in Broadcasting. He was named to the Dean's List on multiple occasions and was inducted into the Lambda Pi Eta fraternity which is the national communications honor society. He currently resides in Ridgefield, N.J.
