Michael McGrane enters his fifth season as the Head Coach of the Norwich University men’s and women’s cross country programs in 2025, having already brought championship pedigree and national-level experience to the Cadets.
McGrane has twice been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, first in 2022 after guiding the Cadets to their first GNAC Championship since 2017, and again in 2024 following a dominant title run in which Norwich outpaced the field by 27 points. The men’s team also finished as runners-up in 2023. On the women’s side, McGrane led the Cadets to a third-place GNAC finish in 2023 — their highest since their 2017 championship — and a fourth-place showing in 2024.
Under his leadership, Norwich has produced multiple GNAC Rookie of the Year selections, including Cece Winters (2023), Delaney Whitmarsh (2024), Judson Nash (2022), and Matheu Dettenrieder (2024). McGrane’s teams have regularly earned All-Conference recognition and institutional sportsmanship honors.
McGrane arrived at Norwich after a successful four-year stint at Lasell University, where he coached men’s and women’s cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field. At Lasell, he helped the program earn multiple podium finishes at the inaugural GNAC Indoor Championships, highlighted by a triple jump champion and medalists in the shot put and 60-meter hurdles.
Outside of the collegiate ranks, McGrane has served as a longtime coach with the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) Running Club, developing elite post-collegiate and masters athletes for competition at the regional and national level. In 2020, he was part of the B.A.A. coaching staff at the Olympic Marathon Trials, where the club fielded a record 14 qualifiers.
McGrane’s coaching credentials include USATF Level 1 and Cross Country Specialist certifications, as well as a Sprint, Hurdles, and Relays Event Specialist certification from the USTFCCCA Track & Field Academy. He previously served as head coach at NAIA Mount Mercy College and continues to compete as a masters runner, having completed 23 Boston Marathons.
A 1993 graduate of Loras College, McGrane earned All-Conference honors in the 5000m and 10000m. He holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Northern Iowa.
