Duke hires Kevin Jermyn as head cross country coach and track assistant

A familiar face returns to Durham. 

Shawn Wilbourn, the director of track and field and cross country at Duke, announced Kevin Jermyn's hire as the head cross country coach and a track assistant coach — leading the distance program. 

Jermyn replaces Angela Reckart, who left the program after three seasons. 

"I am grateful to Coach Wilbourn, Director of Athletics Nina King and Deputy Director of Athletics Troy Austin for the opportunity to return to Duke University," Jermyn said. "To be clear, I regard Duke as the premiere university for elite student-athletes to pursue academics and athletics at the highest levels globally. I am excited to leverage my past experiences and skills to teach Duke runners how to compete for ACC and NCAA Championships, while also excelling academically."  

Jermyn was the head women's cross country coach and associate track and field coach for the Blue Devils between 2000 and 2014, and was the two-time ACC Coach of the Year during his tenure. He will lead both the men's and women's teams this time around. 

Most recently, Jermyn was the head cross country coach at Elon for seven seasons. He led the women's squad to five straight Coastal Athletic Association Championships from 2019-2024, and four straight individual conference titles. 

"I'm extremely excited to have Kevin join our staff as the men's and women's head cross country coach and coach the distance runners on the track," Wilbourn said. "Kevin was instrumental in putting Duke women's cross country and distance running on the map back in the early to mid-2000's, and after watching the success he has had at Elon, I felt he was the right person at the right time to lead our men's and women's distance runners. I can't wait for him to get started!"

After being a team captain at Georgetown, he ran professionally for three years. He also received a master's degree in Liberal Studies at Duke in 2006. 

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