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Go Skyhawks! - Fear the Feathers

Cross-Country Coaches

Head Coach Nick Hartz

nicholas.r.hartz@svcc.edu

In his sixth season as a Coach for Cross Country, Nick Hartz looks to add his experience and knowledge to the very successful Cross Country program. Nick was an assistant cross country and head track coach at Bureau Valley High School and has helped guide multiple athletes to medals at the state meets. He is also a United States Track and Field Level I certified coach and USATF Level II Coach in Endurance, Sprints, Hurdles, and Relays.  He joined the SVCC staff in 2015 as an assistant coach, and in 2017 as co-head coach with current assistant coach Mike Sullivan.  During the 2017 campaign, Hartz led four Skyhawk runners to the NJCAA National Cross Country Championships.

Coach Hartz is a 1996 graduate of Bureau Valley High School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Monmouth College in 2000 and a Master's of Education in Educational Psychology from the University of Illinois in 2007. He is currently a teacher at Bureau Valley North Junior High School.

Assistant Coach Mike Sullivan

michael.d.sullivan@svcc.edu

Cross-Country Coach Mike Sullivan

Now in his 19th year with the Skyhawk Cross Country program, Mike Sullivan continues to build a running program with over 30 years of experience to his credit.

Coach Sullivan was nominated for the Women's National 2015 Cross Country Coach of the Year. He also officiates area IHSA track meets each spring and was named the Honorary Referee for the 2-16 IHSA State Meet.

As head cross country coach for Sterling High School from 1972-96 and again in 2001, he led his teams of six conference championships, two regional titles, on sectional title, an 8th place finish at State in 1984, and a 10th place finish in State in 1979.

Coach Sullivan brings athletes along at their own pace to avoid injury and discouragement. Sullivan believes this philosophy has worked well at Sauk where he has had 64 Skyhawks qualify and complete at NJCAA national meets.

Sullivan, who retired from SHS in 2002 as a full-time instructor, served as Athletics Director from 1996-1999 and taught Cooperative Work Training from 1999-2002. He was previously an instuctor of Auto Mechanics and Cooperative Work Training at the Whiteside Area Career Center from 1968-1996.

Sullivan holds a Balchelor's of Science in Occupational Education from SIU and currently resides in Sterling with his wife, Pat. They have three children, five grandchildren, and one great granddaughter.