News Release, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – St. Mary’s College of Maryland is pleased to announce the hiring of Ryan Scanlon as the Seahawks’ next head men’s and women’s cross country coach, Scott Devine, director of athletics & recreation announced today. Scanlon, who will also serve as the assistant director for the Michael P. O’Brien Athletics & Recreation Center (MPOBARC), brings five years of high school coaching experience in Maryland and New York to St. Mary’s College, and becomes the programs’ second full-time coach.
“I am pleased to announce Ryan Scanlon as our next head men’s and women’s cross country coach/assistant ARC director,” said Devine. “Ryan was extremely impressive and very well prepared during the interview process. He clearly did his homework on the College, our Department, and our men’s and women’s cross country teams. Ryan will be an excellent institutional and athletic department fit. We all look forward to seeing Ryan get established here and execute his coaching and recruiting plans. We welcome Ryan to the Seahawk Athletic family.”
The Croghan, New York native most recently served as the girls varsity cross country coach at South Carroll High School, located in Sykesville, Maryland. During the 2018 season, Scanlon led the Cavaliers to a first place finish at the Carroll County Championships and a sixth place finish at the Maryland State Championships. Scanlon was named the 2018 Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year by the Carroll County Times for leading South Carroll to their successful season.
“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to coach at St. Mary’s College,” stated Scanlon. “I want to thank Director of Athletics Scott Devine, Search Committee Chair Tom Fisher, and Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations Jim Cranmer for giving me this opportunity. Coaching at the collegiate level has been a dream of mine, and to be able to do so at a college with an outstanding academic reputation and beautiful location has me very excited. I also want to thank the mentors that have helped me get to this point; Al Dodds at Centennial High School in Maryland, Bill Tindale at Guilderland High School in New York, Brian Coloney in Harrisville New York, and too many people to name at Beaver River Central School in New York. Without them, and the support from my family, this would not be possible.”
Prior to coaching at South Carroll, Scanlon served as the varsity indoor track and field head coach and varsity outdoor track and field assistant coach at Centennial High School (Ellicott City, Maryland). In the Spring of 2017, Scanlon led the Beaver River High School (Castorland, New York) varsity boys track team to a first place finish at the NYS Section 3 Class C-2 Championships as the head coach.
“There is tremendous potential for the growth of both the men’s and women’s cross country programs at St. Mary’s College,” expressed Scanlon. “I cannot wait to get to know these young men and women that are currently here, help them reach their goals, and get recruits to visit this beautiful campus and see what we are about. My goal for this program is continuous improvement from year to year, and if our team can stay united in that pursuit with great passion, we will accomplish great things as a program.”
Scanlon began his coaching career in 2015 as the varsity boys cross country assistant coach at Guilderland High School (Guilderland Center, New York) where he helped the Flying Dutchmen finish the year ranked 10th out of 500 public schools in the state of New York.
Outside of coaching cross country and track and field, Scanlon served as the varsity boys basketball assistant coach at Harrisville High School (Harrisville, New York) and played a large role in their trip to the New York State Final Four. Additionally, Scanlonworked at Tony Bennett’s week long basketball camp at the University of Virginia in 2018.
Scanlon was also a standout high school cross country runner, capturing the New York State title in 2007 and 2008. He graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2015 and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education.