From Contributed Reports

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. – Walters State announced the hiring of Quinitin McKinnish on Tuesday as their new Head Cross Country Coach. 

A native of Morristown, McKinnish spent the spring semester as a volunteer assistant for the Senators and Lady Senators. McKinnish has also spent time as a coach for White Pine Elite, a youth track organization, and was an assistant coach for the Morristown West High School cross country team. During that year, McKinnish assisted in the development of three state cross-country qualifiers.    

“We are excited to announce the hiring of Quintin McKinnish as our new Cross Country Coach,” Walters State Athletic Director Derek Creech said. “Quintin has spent the past several months as a volunteer assistant for us and has demonstrated his ability to help our cross-country program compete nationally. We anticipate great things from Quintin and are excited about the future of our cross-country program.” 

A decorated cross-country runner, McKinNish attended Morristown West High School. McKinnish finished runner-up in the TSSAA DI-AAA State Cross Country race, running a time of 15:55. He was also named a national All-American that year after finishing in 13th place at Foot Locker Nationals. McKinnish was also a State Track Champion in the 4×800 relay. 

Following his time at Morristown West, McKinnish signed to run at Furman University. During his four years there, McKinnish trained under three current NCAA DI Coaches. While he was there, Furman’s cross country team was ranked as high as seventh in the country. 

The Walters State cross country season is set to begin in August. Walters State is coming off a 22nd place finish at the NJCAA DII Men’s Cross Country Championship, a 22nd place finish at the NJCAA Women’s Half Marathon National Championship and an 11th-place finish at the NJCAA Men’s Half Marathon National Championship.