Bio

Mike Owens is beginning his 27th season as Head Coach of both the Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams and his 32nd year at Mars Hill University.

During his tenure at Mars Hill, Owens' athletes have excelled on both the field of competition and in the classroom. He has coached 14 Conference MVP's, over 220 All-Conference performers, nine SAC Freshman of the Year and 15 SAC Scholar Athletes of the Year. On the Regional level, he has coached three Region Runners of the Year, 42 All-Region runners and 52 NCAA D-II Individual All-Academic Team members. In addition, his Women's Teams have been named an NCAA D-II Coaches All-Academic Team in each of the last 14 seasons including twice finishing with the second highest GPA in the nation. The Men's Teams have been honored so six times. Most importantly, eight of his former athletes have returned to work for Mars Hill University.

Overall, his Men's and Women's Teams have earned 37 Conference Championships, in addition to eight Southeast Region Championships. Coach Owens has been honored as the Conference Coach of the Year 35 times as well as the NCAA Southeast Region Coach of the Year eight times in his career.

Coach Owens is an avid runner and has been running for over 30 years which includes participation in over 470 road races and 13 marathons. He lives in Weaverville, NC with his daughter Rebekah, who is a junior at Mars Hill, in the Integrated Education Program and their dog Baxter.