Boys Cross Country

Ryan McClay

Head Boys Cross Country Coach

Coach McClay is entering his 14th year of coaching at St. Pius X and has been the head boys coach for all of those years. He has coached the boys to 9 state cross-country titles and 3 state runner ups in thirteen years. He is also the head girls cross country coach as well as the boys and girls track coach where he has led the boys to 4 state track titles and the girls to 2 state track runners up. He graduated from Dacula High School after running cross country for three years and track for two under Andy Christie. He then went on to run at the collegiate level for Berry College. While at Berry he raced in 7 National Championship races in Cross Country and track. He is married to Katie McClay and together they both continue to run races ranging from 5k to the marathon. They have two sons, Ashton and Jordan, who are both full of energy.

Kirk Miller

Assistant Boys Cross Country Coach

Coach Miller is entering his 19th year of coaching at St. Pius X. He has won 18 state titles in cross country and track while at St. Pius X. He graduated from The Westminster Schools in Atlanta where he ran cross country and track for four years under Coach Tribble. He went on to compete at the collegiate level as a Georgia Bulldog where he specialized in the 800m and the steeplechase. Previously, Coach Miller worked with the athletes at Westminster where he won two other state titles. Coach Miller and his wife, Rebecca, have two daughters, Sarah and Nora.

Austin Sprague

Assistant Boys Cross Country Coach

Coach Sprague is entering his 4th year of coaching at St.Pius X. As an alumnus of the program during the Ryan McClay era (’14), he was a part of 6 team state championship titles and 6 individual state championship titles. He ran collegiately at both Furman University and The University of Georgia where he posted times of 14:13 in the 5k and 29:45 in the 10k. Additionally, coach Sprague was a part of two NCAA Divison I National Championship teams where his team placed 13th in cross country (2015) and 1st in track and field (2018). Outside of coaching, he is an avid triathlete and outdoor explorer. He is a proud cat dad to his two tabbies named Loaf and Pajama Sam while also trying to find Atlanta’s best pizza joint. Contrary to Coach McClay he feels strongly that triangle slices are better than square slices.

Tim McCauley

Assistant Boys Cross Country Coach

Coach McCauley is beginning his second year of coaching at St. Pius X Catholic High School. Coach McCauley was a member of 4 state championship teams while a student at Westminster, three in cross country and one in track. His Senior superlative was, “Most Likely to Literally Become (legendary cross country and track coach) Joe Tribble”. He has always taken this as a compliment. In addition to running the 5K in cross country, his other main event was the 3200m in track. While he went to Furman University to continue his running career, the running part never came to fruition thanks to a string of injuries. However, he stuck around anyway and earned his B.A in Latin from Furman in 2004. Coach McCauley and his wife, Ashley, have two sons, Patrick and Peyton, both of whom do not enjoy running so are likely to be put up for adoption in the near future.

Paul McNeil

Assistant Boys Cross Country Coach

Coach McNeil is entering his first year as a coach for St. Pius X. He ran under Coach McClay (’12), contributed to two cross country state titles, and finished 4th individually at state in the 3200 meter event his senior year for AAA. You may recognize him as the “older, slower twin” of Coach Sprague, his former teammate. Coach McNeil went on to run cross country at Georgia College for four years where earned All Peach Belt Conference status and All Southeast Region status. This past year he served as a volunteer cross country coach for Murray State University while doing campus ministry in Kentucky. He continues to run, bike, swim, and exercise whenever he has recovered from chasing his kids around. He is married to another Pius graduate, Ashlyn McNeil (’12) and they have two young children, Pia and Luke.