NEW ORLEANS — MIT men's and women's cross country head coach Riley Macon has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women's Cross Country National Coach of the Year. Awards were voted on by member coaches based on results from both the 2024 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana, and during the regular season and awarded following the conclusion of the season.

The Women's Cross Country National Coach of the Year Award, also known as the Dr. Jack Daniels Award, was presented to Macon after he helped lead the Engineers women's cross country team to its first ever NCAA Division III National Championship. Three Engineers, Kate Sanderson (West Hartford, Conn.), Rujuta Sane (Chandler, Ariz.) and Christina Crow (Mercer Island, Wash.), earned All-American honors to help MIT secure a ten-point win over runner-up, University of Chicago, 128-138.

Earlier in the season, MIT won both men's and women's team titles at the East Region Championships, where Macon was named the Men's and Women's East Regional Coach of the Year. The Engineers also swept the annual NEWMAC Championships. On the men's side, the NEWMAC title was the 26th straight, while the women's team won for the 17th straight time. Macon, along with director of cross country and track and field Julie Heyde, and assistants Whitney Macon and Brody Smith, earned NEWMAC Men's and Women's Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

Now in his third year as head coach at MIT, Macon helped guide the Engineers to success throughout the 2024 season. After winning the team title at the East Region Championships, the men's team finished 13th at the NCAA Championships, where senior Sam Coutts (Pacific Grove, Calif.) earned All-America honors. The team also won the NEWMAC Championships, the Connecticut College Invitational (White) and the Maribel Sanchez Souther Invite. The national championship women's team captured the team title at the East Region Championships as well as team titles at the NEWMAC Championships, Connecticut College Invitational and Pre-National Invitational.

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