John Downey Named New BC Cross Country Head Coach

Athletic Director Jack McGovern announced the hiring of John Downey as the school’s 6th cross country coach in program history on Thursday afternoon. 

Downey comes to  as one of the most accomplished cross country coaches in all of New Jersey. As the head coach at , his program has captured state championships in three of the past four seasons, and have emerged as the most dominant girls cross country program in Bergen County. Downey will remain as the head coach at IHA while serving in the same capacity at BC.

“I am so pleased to announce the hiring of John Downey as our new head coach of our cross country program,” said Jack McGovern. “John is young, dynamic, energetic, knowledgeable and passionate about both distance running, and about the mission of . It is truly a great day for our track program in general, as we look to this formation of new leadership to embrace the challenge of taking our track and field athletes to higher ground. Men of integrity, willing to sacrifice for the good of the team, and committed to chasing excellence in all things, is exactly what we now have in place in our Track program. I am extremely excited about our future.”

In addition to his role as head of the BC cross country program, Downey will assist BC Track & Field head coach Bill Magee for the indoor and outdoor seasons, focusing on the distance events.  

The   cross country program has enjoyed a long and proud tradition since the 1960s. The Crusaders have captured two state titles, 14 Bergen County championships, and 18 league and conference crowns in program history.  

Downey takes over for retiring BC coaching legend Al Naimo, who had led the Crusader cross country program since 1996, and had been in charge of the entire BC Track & Field program since 1984.

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