Jordan Kurtz joined the Jessup Cross Country and Track & Field staff in the summer of 2022. Kurtz comes to Jessup with experience as a collegiate runner and coach.
"I am very excited to have Coach Kurtz join our cross country and track & field coaching staff here at Jessup," said head coach Jeff Magley. "Coach Kurtz brings a level of excitement and enthusiasm that will be contagious, especially with our distance runners. He is highly motivated to take the next step in his collegiate coaching career and has a work ethic that is already on full display. Coach Kurtz will play an instrumental role both on the track and in the office with our program as we continue to pursue championship-level success here at Jessup."
A graduate of Saint Mary's College in Moraga, Kurtz competed on both the Cross Country and Track & Field teams for the Gaels. Kurtz managed the schedule of a Division I athlete while also earning his B. S. in Kinesiology, graduating Summa Cum Laude while earning the James L. Hagerty Award from the Saint Mary's College School of Liberal Arts.
With the Gaels, Kurtz's main event on the track was the 3000m Steeplechase. Some of his best times in competition were 3:59 (1500m), 15:12 (5k), and 9:30 (3000m Steeplechase). He also completed two Boston Marathons and finished the Big Sur International Marathon 13 days after his second marathon in Boston.
As a coach, Kurtz started his career at Vacaville HS. In two seasons with the Bulldogs, Kurtz helped coach 17 All-MEL athletes and seven MEL individual champions. He continued his coaching career at the college ranks in 2017, spending a season with NCAA Division II Dominican University of California.
"Coaching cross country and track is where my passion lies," said Kurtz. "I'm incredibly excited, not only to return to the sport I love most, but to do so here at Jessup where there is as much of a focus on the spiritual and educational growth of our student-athletes as their performance on the track."
On top of his athletic achievements, Kurtz was also a first responder, working at Station 27 as a Seasonal Firefighter in St. Helena.
Kurtz, a native of Vacaville, is married to his wife, Katie. They have one daughter named Margaret. In his spare time, Kurtz enjoys watching sports, going backpacking, hiking, and running marathons. He states that his goal is to run a sub-3:00 marathon in every state.
