John Trautmann, who was hired as an assistant coach of the New York University men’s and women’s cross country and track & field teams in March of 2016, mainly works with the programs’ mid-distance runners.
The 2024-25 season produced an outstanding set of results as NYU’s cross country and track & field teams reached new heights. The 2024 cross country campaigns resulted in top-five national finishes for both squads. The women posted a fourth-place finish, while the men took fifth, with the combined result being best among all Division III institutions.
There were many other highlights during the cross country seasons as the men won the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship and the NCAA Niagara Regional. The women also won the Niagara Regional, placed second at the UAA Championship and finished no worse than third place at any meet.
Individually, Janie Cooper (14th place) and Lucy Gott (39th) on the women’s side, and Ryan Tobin (26th) on the men’s, all earned USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) All-America honors with those performances at the NCAA Division III Championships.
For their efforts, NYU received UAA Men’s Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
On the track, a record nine individuals qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships, with three (Tobin – 5k, Cooper – 5k, and Stella Kuttner – 1500m) earning USTFCCCA All-America honors. Indoors, Tobin won the UAA 3k and achieved All-America honors in both the 3k and 5k, while Katherine Cochrane was also a 5k All-American.
The 2023-24 campaign was historic in multiple ways, as NYU women’s cross country won its first UAA Championship with Grace Richardson claiming the individual title. NYU women’s cross country also finished as the National Runner-Up at the NCAA Championship for its highest finish in program history as Richardson, Viv Kane and Morgan Uhlhorn achieved All-America status while Uhlhorn was named the UAA Rookie of the Year.
Many Violets performed well during the track season too, as Richardson was named the Niagara Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, won the UAA 3k title and was a First Team All-American in both the 3k and 5k at Indoor Nationals and in both the 5k and 10k at Outdoor Nationals. Additionally, Katherine Cochran (5k & 3k) and Cooper (3k) were both Second Team All-Americans at Indoor Nationals for the women.
During the 2022-23 season, Troutmann’s guidance helped lead Jon Diaz to the All-Atlantic Region Conference Indoor 800 Meter Championship. On the women’s side, Sophie Carissimo took the Gordon Kelly Invitational 800 Meter Championship indoors while Aminata Johnson was the Tom Farrell Classic 800 Meter Champion outdoors.
Both cross country teams produced highlight performances. The women earned a berth in the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2013, finishing 26th nationally while Richardson earned All-America honors with her 37th-place finish. The women produced five top-three finishes during the season, including victories at the Vassar Season Starter and the University of Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational. The men’s team was also victorious at both of those meets, with Tobin qualifying for the NCAA Championship as an individual.
In 2021-22, Tobin also qualified for the NCAA Championship after finishing 14th at the NCAA Niagara Regional and earning All-Region honors.
As a team, the men’s cross country finished fourth at the Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational, sixth at the Metropolitan Championship and seventh at the UAA Championship.
On the women’s side, Gabrielle Stankosh and Athina Zodl both earned All-Region honors, with Stankosh’s 17th-place finish leading the Violets at the Niagara Regional.
On the track, Trautmann helped lead the men’s squads to sixth-place finishes at both the Indoor and Outdoor UAA Championships and to a 10th–place showing at the Metropolitan Outdoor Championships. Distance runner Mubeen Zainul claimed the 5,000m at the Chester Quarry Classic.
The women’s track & field team posted a fifth-place finish outdoors at the Ramapo College Invitational, with Katherine Cheng securing a victory in the 1,500m.
The 2019-20 campaign included a great deal of success during the cross country and indoor T&F seasons (the 2020 outdoor season, as well as the entire 2020-21 season, was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic).
In cross country, Siena Moran burst onto the scene and earned UAA Rookie of the Year honors, was a USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region performer, qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship, and was selected Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro Runner of the Month (September). She also won individual titles at the Ramapo Season Opener and the Paul Short Invitational.
Two more of Trautmann’s cross country runners, Leah Haley and Dillan Spector, also qualified for the NCAA Championship.
Freshman Isre’al Conerly, had a sterling debut campaign as she won the 400-meter title and was named UAA Indoor Rookie of the Year. In addition, the Violets’ distance medley relay team of Haley, Moran, sophomore Gabby Lozano, and graduate student Rebecca MacLeod also earned All-Atlantic Region distinction.
The 2018-19 season was highlighted by a pair of All-America performances from sprinter Malcom Montilus, who took sixth indoors and eighth outdoors in the 400m at the respective NCAA Division III Championships. Julian Montilus qualified for the 400m hurdles outdoors, while both brothers, along with Brett Asay and Daniel Devine, qualified for the outdoor 4x400m relay.
During the 2018 cross country season, Ben Haderle earned NCAA All-Atlantic Region honors and qualified for the NCAA Championship while Valentina House was named ECAC Metro Rookie of the Month for September.
In 2017-18, the men’s seasons were highlighted by Neil Saddler earning All-America honors (third place) in the 3,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships. During the cross country season, Saddler earned First Team All-UAA and USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region honors. Additionally, Trautmann helped guide Brandon Shirazi to Second Team All-UAA and USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region accolades.
On the women’s side, the Violets’ cross country team was led by Sabrina Hermann, who captured First Team All-UAA and USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region accolades. Additionally, Morel Malcolm earned USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region accolades in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Trautmann helped coach both the men’s and women’s teams to successful 2016-17 seasons, as well. On the men’s side, Saddler (5,000m) and Jorge Maldonado (10,000m) qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and the cross country team finished 32nd at the NCAA Championships. For the women, Mimi Conti broke the 400m outdoor school record and competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
In Trautmann’s first season at NYU, five Violets garnered All-America honors. Budd Brown finished eighth in the 400m at the 2016 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, while the women's 4x400 relay team (Conti, Ireland Gibson, Justina Sanders-Schifano, and Drew Washington) finished in fifth place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Trautmann came to NYU with a wealth of experience, both as a runner and as a coach.
A 1991 graduate of Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, Trautmann competed for the Hoyas’ cross country and track & field teams and was a member of their then-world-record-breaking 1987 distance medley relay team (9:20.96) as its 1,200-meter leadoff leg.
Inducted into Georgetown’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012, Trautmann set the world record in the mile (4:12.33) for the 45-49 age group at the Boston University Valentine Invitational in 2015.
Trautmann competed in the 5,000 meters at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, after winning the USA Olympic Trials in the event. He also won the 5,000m at the USA National Championships in 1991 and at the 1990 NCAA Championships.
Trautmann’s experience also includes having served as an assistant coach with the New Jersey-New York Track Club, where he aided in the development of elite professional distance and middle distance runners with Olympic aspirations. In 2015, he founded the Speed Club and serves as its Head Coach, developing personalized programs for athletes of any ability based on their goals. Additionally, he also formerly served as a coach with the Mile High Run Club as an instructor for athletes training for half-marathon and marathon races.
Trautmann, currently the co-Head Coach at Empire Elite TC, is a native of Central Valley, NY, and resides in Manhattan.
