Michael Cox Biography

Athens High School / (Class of 1993) Athens, WV

Classification: A Boys

Specialty: Distance

Virginia Tech / Blacksburg, VA

 

Michael “Mikey” Cox (born October 10, 1975) attended Athens High School in Mercer County, West Virginia from 1990-1993.

At Athens High School, Cox was a nine-time state champion and earned All-America honors, finishing 12th at the Kinney -- now Footlocker -- Championships in San Diego, California.

Cox earned West Virginia Track and Field Athlete of the Year honors in 1993 and won the most points at the West Virginia High School State Championships two straight years, winning the 800-meters, 1600-meters and 3200-meter races each time. He still holds the West Virginia Class AA record in the mile, with a time of 4:17.54.

Also, he was a starter on the Trojans basketball team and kicked for the football team.

Cox who was one of the top 15 prep harriers in the nation in 1993 – chose Virginia Tech over WVU, Marshall, Penn State, Connecticut, Navy, and his second choice, Duquesne.

 

[Early Years]

Cox got into track and field in the eighth grade and took off from there. He just went out one day and started running and liked it and stayed with it. Hodges didn’t take much credit for Cox’s success.

 

High School (1990-1993):

While attending Athens High School, Cox was coached by Paul Hodges in track and cross country.

 

[Freshman Year]

At the 1989 West Virginia All-Boys Class State Cross Country Meet at Camp Virgil Tate (outside of cross lanes), Gilmer County’s Sean Hunt took the individual crown. Hunt covered the course in 17:10, trailed by Morgantown’s Chris Petsko at 17:36. Athens’ Mikey Cox would debut as the top freshman runner by finishing in 19th place.

At the 1990 Class AA-A West Virginia State Track Meet, Athens’ Mikey Cox finished in 6th place in the 3200m with a time of 10:15.5, while earning his first of many All-State honors. He scored the only point for the Trojans as they finished in a four-way tie as a team for 27th place.

 

[Sophomore Year]

At the 1990 West Virginia All-Boys Class State Cross Country Meet at Elkins, Athens’ Mikey Cox and Gilmer County’s Sean Hunt were talking at the starting line when all the sudden the gun goes off. It was a quick draw start. It didn’t really matter though as Hunt quickly rebounded to take the lead and win his second straight boy’s title. Cox, the Mercer County individual champion, completed the course in 19:01 to place 8th out of 116 runners. He was the lone Trojan harrier to earn All-State honors.

At the 1991 Class AA-A West Virginia State Track Meet, Athens’ Mikey Cox would place 4th in the 1600m (4:36.78) and 3rd in the 3200m (9:55.1). Cox accounted for all ten points as he led the Trojans to an 18th place finish as a team.

 

[Junior Year]

At the 1991 West Virginia All-Boys Class State Cross Country Meet at Elkins, Athens’ Mikey Cox didn’t take long to establish himself. The Athens harrier covered the distance in 17:34, breaking his own course record of 18:01 that he set two weeks before. He set the state meet record for the Elkins layout, which was previously 18:08. Cox sped to the front at the race’s outset and never relinquished his lead. Huntington’s Jeff Roby stayed several seconds behind for two-and-half miles but faded from the pace, finishing runner-up for the second straight year in 17:47.

At the 1992 Class AA-A West Virginia State Track Meet, Athens’ Mikey Cox was a triple winner in the distance events, taking the 800m (2:02.17), 1600m (4:27.4), and 3200m (9:38.1). He also ran a leg on the Trojans 5th place 4x800 relay squad (8:39.2). Cox led the Athens to a fifth-place finish as a team with 35 points and earned high point honors with 30 ½.

 

[Senior Year]

At the 1992 West Virginia All-Boys Class State Cross Country Meet at Elkins, Mikey Cox of Athens finished in 8th place in a time of 19:12. Cox, the 1991 state champion, made the all- state team for the third straight time. He led the pack in the first half-mile, ahead of eventual winner Andy McClintic of Greenbrier East. Cox had beaten McClintic by 44 seconds in the regional. After the race, Cox would have to wait until he finished throwing up and hyperventilating to wonder what caused his body had shut down. Cox arrived in Elkins at 2 a.m. that morning after playing in the Athens-Peterstown football game.

During the post cross country season, Cox finished 4th out of 187 runners at the Kinney South Regional, which was on November 28th in Charlotte (NC), finishing the 3.1-mile course in 15:29. Cox was only the second West Virginian to qualify for the national race. Cox then went on to place 12th out of 32 competitors in the Kinney National Cross Country Championship on December 12th in San Diego (CA). Cox completed the 5,000-meter course in a time of 15:43.5. Cox’s 12th place finish earned him Third Team All-America.

During the spring track season, while running in the Class AA division 3,200-meter run at the Gazette relays at Laidley Field, Cox shaved more than 20 seconds off his own personal best and won the event in a blistering 9:11.13, a meet record. That was less than two seconds off the fastest 3200m time run by a West Virginia state high schooler, the 9:09.70 of St. Marys Steve Taylor back in 1983.

The 1993 Class AA-A West Virginia State Track Meet, was postponed until late June due to a measles epidemic in the Eastern Panhandle; the mid-June heat produced temperatures of over 100 degrees on the track. Athens’ Mikey Cox repeated his 800-1600-3200 triple, breaking the 1600m record of the legendary Steve Taylor in 4:17.54. Cox would later run for Taylor at Virginia Tech. He won the 800m in 1:57.21, 1600m in 4:17.54 (Record), and 3200m in 9:28.3.

Cox was hoping to break Steve Taylor’s 3200m record of 9:09.70. He was upset not getting it.

“I guess I just died on the last lap,” Cox said. “I’m definitely not happy with my time. I was on pace until about the seventh lap. I just didn’t have anything left.”

Cox won the Ray McCoy Award by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as the state's top male track and field athlete.

During Cox’s high school running career (1990-1993), he scored a total of 71 ½ points at the West Virginia State Track Meet at Laidley Field in Charleston, West Virginia.

Cox holds the Athens’ High school records in the 800m (1:57.21), 1600m (4:17.54), and 3200m (9:11.13).

 

[College]

Cox attended Virginia Tech University, where he qualified for the USA Junior National cross-country team as a freshman and competed internationally in Budapest, Hungary. At Virginia Tech, he was a member of seven conference championship teams, and was a two-time Atlantic-10 Outdoor 10K Champion, an Indoor 5K Champion while earning all-conference accolades three times.

 

[Professional]

As a professional, Cox qualified for the Olympic marathon trials in 2004 and 2007. At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the Men's Marathon in Birmingham (AL), Cox finished 26th out of 85 competitors with a time of 2:21.52. While at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the Men's Marathon in New York (NY), Cox finished 41st out of 130 competitors with a time of 2:20:12.

 

[Coaching]

Cox will start his 18th season as the head coach of the both the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams at Concord.

One of the top coaches in the region, Cox is a seven-time West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Additionally, Cox has been awarded Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year four times to bring his career total to 11. In the fall of 2016, Cox earned his highest coaching honor to date as he was voted by his peers as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association Atlantic Regional Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for guiding the team to an appearance at the NCAA Division II Championship Meet after finishing fourth at the regional meet. It was the first time in school and conference history that a team qualified for the national championship meet.

Cox earned a M.S., B.S., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia.

 

[Personal]

Michael Cox married Tabitha Gandee on December 15, 2007. They have two boys Miller, 8, and West, 5. They currently live in Princeton, West Virginia.

 

Accolades and Top-Performances:

 

Professional:

• 41st Overall - 2007 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon

• 8th Overall - 2007 Chicago Marathon

• 2005 Raleigh Relays 5Km Champion

• 27th Overall - 2004 Olympic Trials Marathon

• 5th Overall - 2002 Broad Street Run (10-miler)

• 9th Overall - 2001 Philadelphia Distance Run (half-marathon)

 

Collegiate (Virginia Tech):

• 2-Time All-Atlantic 10 All-Conference XC Team

• 1997 and 1998 Atlantic 10 10Km Champion (Outdoor Track)

• 1996 Atlantic 10 5Km Champion (Outdoor Track)

• 1995 Atlantic 10 5Km Champion (Indoor Track)

• Member of U.S. National T&F Team (1994 World Junior XC Championships)

 

High School (Athens HS):

• 9-Time WV State Champion

• High School All-American (Cross-Country)

• WV State Record - 1 Mile Run

• 1993 WV Track Athlete of the Year

 

Personal Records:

800m - 1:54.34

1500m - 3:49.23

1 Mile - 4:04.33 (Indoor)

3Km - 8:14.97

5Km - 13:54.47

10Km - 29:37

10 Mile - 47:40

Half-Marathon - 1:05:42

Marathon - 2:20:12

 

Michael Cox Biography compiled by Coach Mike McMillion (updated 03/27/18)