James DeMarco

Head Coach

CoEd Varsity Cross Country

Coach James DeMarco was an All-American cross-country runner for South Dakota State University and a member of the 1996 NCAA Div II National Champions in cross country. He was an All-Conference performer in the 1500 meters and steeple chase. He started coaching in 1998 in Anchorage, Alaska with cross country and track & field at Bartlett High School as an assistant coach. He was a volunteer assistant coach at Virginia Tech from 2002-2003 and then coached at Blacksburg High School from 2003-2015, becoming head coach of boys and girls cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field in 2005. In 2016 he coached the girls at Homestead High School in Mequon, Wisconsin from 2016-2020 as head cross country and assistant track & field coach. From 2021-22 he was an assistant coach at Patriot H.S. for cross country and track & field. In 2022 he was named boys and girls head coach of cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. The Patriot boys won the 2023 outdoor Track & Field State Championship!

James has been named the 2013 Southeast, United States Coach of the Year for girls' cross country, and was a national finalist. Named Virginia Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015 and 2023 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Virginia Coaches Association named Coach DeMarco Coach of the Year in 2009 (Girls Indoor Track), 2010 (Boys Indoor Track), and 2012 (Girls Cross Country). He has coached 24 state championship teams and 14 state runner-up teams. 51 distance runners represented their college in NCAA collegiate competition. 

Coach DeMarco has coached 20 athletes to 50 state track titles and 26 state champion relay teams. Three relay teams won Nike or New Balance National titles. His girls' DMR team broke the Penn Relays and US National High School record in 2010. His boys' 2014 4x800 squad ran the second-fastest time in the United States that year. The track at Blacksburg H.S. is named the James DeMarco Track of Dreams.  

Coach DeMarco lives in Bristow with his wife Mina and their three children, Dean, Chloe, and Brielle.