Jennifer McCann begins her first season as an assistant coach for the Buccaneers track and field program. McCann brings over 30 years of working with track athletes to assist interim head coach Andres Solo de Zaldivar.
McCann is a USATF certified coach who has taken numerous youth athletes to junior nationals in events ranging from the Heptathlon to the 1500 meters. A distance runner herself, McCann will work with the Buccaneer middle- and long-distance runners as well as the long and triple jump athletes.
For the last nine years, McCann has been an assistant coach at Highland High School in Gilbert, Ariz. Where she worked with the Hawk distance runners for head coach Dave Montgomery. Last year, she added working with Highland’s high jump athletes and led four jumpers to the Arizona 6A state championship.
McCann is 1998 graduate of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz., where she received her BS in social science with a minor in behavioral science. She ran cross country where she helped Grand Canyon to two CCAA Conference Championships in 1995 and 1996. In the 1995 season, she helped them to the title just four months after giving birth to her daughter, Allison. She also ran track where she focused on the 3000-meter run and posted a personal best time of 10.48 in 1997.
Prior to her time at GCU, McCann ran one season at Northwest Missouri State where she posted the top time at the school indoors in the 5K with a time of 18:52 and earned a bronze medal in the conference championships outdoors in the 10,000-meters with a time of 38:54.24 which is still the eighth best time in Northwest Missouri history.
McCann started her collegiate career at Mesa Community College where she ran cross country and track. She set a personal best 18:50 in the 5K and earned NJCAA All-America honors in the 4x800-meters. MCC placed fifth at the NJCAA Nationals in 1993.
A 1991 graduate of Mountain View High School in Mesa, Ariz., McCann ran track and cross country. She placed fifth in the 1991 Arizona State Track Championships in the 1600-meter run and was named the Most Inspirational Athlete at the school.
McCann has also earned her MBA from Grand Canyon, a graduate certificate from Northern Arizona University in positive behavior support and is currently a PH.D. (A.B.D.) candidate at Grand Canyon specializing in performance psychology.
The former Jennifer Patenge, McCann is married to John McCann and has one daughter Allison (26), and three stepchildren Natalie (16), Addison (14) and Jack (11). She also has two grandchildren Olive (2) and Hayden (4 months). McCann is a retired Sergeant for the Phoenix Police Department where she had a distinguished 20-year career.
