Justin Duncan - Track & Field Coach - University of Tennessee Athletics

Justin Duncan

Title:
Head Cross Country Coach
Email:
justin.duncan@utk.edu

Tennessee director of track & field Duane Ross announced the hiring of Justin Duncan as the program's head coach of cross country on August 3, 2024. Ducan also oversees UT's distance runners during the indoor and outdoor track seasons.

In his first year leading the Big Orange on the grass, Duncan guided the Lady Vols to a second-place team finish at the SEC Cross Country Championships — their best finish at the conference meet since 2009. Four Lady Vols earned All-SEC honors, while Ashley Jones and Jillian Candelino also collected All-Region accolades. Tennessee punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships on the women's side, placing 26th in the team standings.

Newcomer Christopher Middleton-Pearson stood out on the men's side in Duncan's debut campaign on Rocky Top, earning All-Region honors with his fourth-place finish at the NCAA South Region Championships — helping the Vols secure third in the team standings and punching his individual ticket to the NCAA Cross Country National Championships.

Prior to Tennessee, Duncan spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State where he helped the Cowboy and Cowgirl track & field and cross country teams maintain their position as one of the nation’s premier distance programs.

During his five seasons in Stillwater, Duncan helped guide the Cowboys to four cross country Big 12 titles and the Cowgirls to three league championships on the grass. The crowning achievement for the men’s team came in 2023 as the Cowboys won the NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championships at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Cowboys earned 49 points, the lowest winning score since 2005 (Wisconsin, 37), to secure the program's first national title since 2012. Denis Kipngetich, Brian Musau and Fouad Messaoudi were the first three Cowboys across the line with all three placing in the top 10.

In addition to seven combined conference titles in cross country, Duncan was instrumental in the Cowgirls winning their first indoor Big 12 crown in 2023.

With Oklahoma State, he mentored three individual national champions and coached OSU’s men’s Distance Medley Relay squad to a national title in 2023.

Duncan has seen his athletes garner 100 All-America accolades and win 39 combined individual conference titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. His distance athletes have also captured seven DMR conference titles – four men’s and three women’s.

Prior to his time at Oklahoma State, Duncan served as a graduate assistant at the University of Toronto where he studied exercise physiology.

An outstanding runner in his own right, Duncan was a nine-time All-C-USA selection in his career at Tulsa. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships of the 1,500 meters twice, including a trip to the semifinals in 2009.

He finished his career with the school record in the 4x1,600-meter relay and was also in the top four of seven other categories, including the second-best mark in the indoor 800 and the outdoor 1,500.

Duncan graduated from Tulsa in May of 2011 with a degree in exercise sport science. He and his wife, Kristen, have three children – Cullen, Jude and Evander.