Welcome our New Cross Country Coach

The St. Joseph’s Athletic Department and school community would like to announce that Thomas McCabe has been hired as the Head Coach of the St. Joseph’s Cross Country Program for 2026.

Tom started as an Assistant Coach for Cross Country in 2024, bringing over 30 years of combined experience in distance running at the high school, Division 1 college, and post-graduate levels, as well as coaching at the middle school and high school levels. He has been the Assistant Coach of Cross Country, as well as an Assistant Coach on the Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Teams for St. Joseph’s since 2024.

A runner since age 13, Tom attended John F. Kennedy Catholic in Somers, New York, then a prominent cross country and track school for New York State and the Northeast. Having set many records and won awards over twelve consecutive seasons on the trails and the track, and having attended Nike Green Mountain Running Camp in Vermont every summer, he was recruited to Sacred Heart University as one of the first recruits for Division 1 sports at the school. Through another twelve consecutive college seasons, he graduated from Sacred Heart in 1999 and entered Quinnipiac University School of Law, where he graduated in 2002.

Since then, Tom coached back at his high school alma mater under the nationally renowned Sr. Janet Meehan, who guided and mentored him for years before her passing. Coaching came naturally to Tom through his constant involvement with his own sons (Gavin and Collin ’27), and he made his way volunteering through the Stratford Public Schools, as well as offering his time and experience to Summer Twilight meets back in New York. All the while running community half marathons and 5k’s to satisfy his love for the sport.

An avid Steve Prefontaine fan, Tom believes, as did Pre, that to “Give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”  He repeats it often to his student athletes. Clipboard in hand, Tom brings energy, competitiveness, and excitement to the athletes and their sport. “I know from the amazing runners we currently have, who guide and teach the younger upcoming classes, that the knowledge and love for the sport will continue, and with it, big accomplishments and successes down the road.”

With a coaching philosophy centered on athlete well-being, increased involvement, and strategic performance, we are confident he will lead the Cadet student athletes to success both on the course and in the classroom.