New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics

Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Jason Munsch added Mike Cook to the Highlanders’ coaching staff as an assistant coach in August 2024. Cook will develop and lead the men’s and women’s distance groups at NJIT. He enters his 11th year of coaching, with experience at the club, high school, college, professional, and masters levels from the 400m to the marathon.

“I am extremely happy and excited to welcome Coach Cook to our Highlander family. He is a student of our sport and the science behind running. He has a deep passion for both coaching and running,” Munsch said. “He had the opportunity to coach at two great distance and cross country programs, Wake Forest and Northern Colorado. I believe those experiences combined with his love for running make him the ideal person to lead the distance side of our program and grow it for the future. He shares my vision for the future of our program and he will be instrumental in making that vision a reality.”
 
“I am so thrilled by this opportunity to lead NJIT through their next period of growth,” Cook said. “This team will turn some heads over the next few years as we surprise a few people in the American East Conference and beyond. I’m grateful to Coach Munsch, Peg, and Lenny for welcoming me into the Highlander family. Every day, I pinch myself to see if this amazing new life in Newark is real. I couldn’t have gotten here without the support of everyone in my athletics circle and family. I am forever in their debt.”
 
Cook joins NJIT after spending one track and field season at the University of Northern Colorado as the Volunteer Assistant Distance Coach. He assisted the Bears in achieving 11 all-time top-10 indoor marks in school history, 12 all-time top-10 outdoor marks in school history, the women’s DMR school record, and men’s 1,500m school record.
 
Before arriving in Greeley, Cook was a Volunteer Assistant Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Wake Forest. In track and field, he assisted in coaching an NCAA East Preliminary qualifier in the 5,000m and helped secure four all-time top 10 outdoor marks in school history. Cook also contributed to recruiting the No. 10 freshman women’s class in the nation for 2023-2024, according to Stride Report.
 
Cook has also coached at the national level in three countries outside the United States. In Australia, Cook coached nine national top-10 finishes, including two medalists, and 14 medalists at the state level. He also coached in New Zealand and mentored a National U20 800m Champion in Costa Rica, who went on to win silver at NACAC’s U20 800m. The athlete then repeated his U20 title and earned silver in the open national 800m before Cook guided him to the Central American U20 Gold 800m and Silver 1500m.

Cook holds a USATF Level 2 Certification in Endurance.
 
Cook’s favorite events to race are the 1,500m, steeplechase, and half marathon. In his free time, Cook likes to go fly-fishing and disc golfing.