Ray Treacy - Men's Cross Country Coach - Providence College Athletics

Ray Treacy

Title:
Dir. of Track & Cross Country
Email:
rtreacy@providence.edu
Phone:
(401) 865-2427

One of the nation’s most successful coaches, Ray Treacy embarks on his 41st season as Director of Cross Country and Track at Providence College. In his 40 years at Providence, Treacy has coached 73 All-Americans, who have received a total of 223 All-America accolades, seven NCAA individual champions, who have captured 15 NCAA titles overall, 55 BIG EAST individual champions, who have captured 145 BIG EAST titles, and 11 Olympians. In addition, his women’s teams have captured two NCAA Cross Country Championships (1995 and 2013), 16 NCAA Northeast Regional Cross Country Championships, 22 BIG EAST Cross Country titles and 20 New England Championships.

Treacy’s road to success began when as a student-athlete at Providence College. The brother of 1984 Olympic silver medalist, John Treacy `78, Ray’s collegiate list of accomplishments and accolades is lengthy. He was the Friar team captain during his junior and senior seasons and collected All-America honors on three occasions. He was a two-time New England Cross Country Champion and won the indoor 5,000 meters at the BIG EAST Championships three times. The talented distance runner also was the IC4A Champion in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters during the 1981 and 1982 seasons, respectively.

A 1982 graduate of the College, Treacy is committed to the success of PC’s cross country and track programs. Since he took over as head coach in 1984, Treacy’s knowledge of conditioning and training has moved the Providence’s cross country and track programs into national prominence. The men’s cross country program has advanced to NCAA Championships in 21 of the last 31 seasons, while the women’s team has landed a record 31 out of 34 seasons.

While qualifying for the NCAA Cross Country Championships is an achievement within itself, the program under Treacy is highlighted by their success in 1990, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2024. These eight teams each finished on the podium, top four in the country, at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The 1990 team featured Sinead Delahunty, Geraldine Hendricken, and Anita Philpot earning All-American honors to lead the Friars to a second place finish. This was the first team to finish on the podium in Friar history. The 1995 team achieved the most successful season in program history as they captured the Friars’ first NCAA team title. The Friars won all seven meets, including their first BIG EAST and ECAC titles, they competed in and had Marie McMahon, Marie McCambridge, Moira Harrington, and Susan Murnane achieve All-American status. For his efforts, Treacy was named NCAA Division I Women’s National Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year, Rhode Island Words Unlimited Women’s Coach of the Year and NCAA District I Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year.

In 2003 and 2004, the Friars women worked their way back onto the podium. The 2003 season featured Kim Smith and Mary Cullen finishing second and fifth, respectively. With two runners in the top five, the Friars were able to outperform their eighth place ranking and finish third. The next year, the women won every meet leading up to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Kim Smith again led the team by capturing the programs first individual NCAA Cross Country title. Smith’s performance, paired with a seventh place finish by Fiona Crombie, helped the Friars finish third for the second consecutive year.

This era of Friar success in 2012. After finishing third at the BIG EAST Championships, the Friars won the Northeast Regional. Sarah Collins, Emily Sisson, and Laura Nagel all finished in the top 35 to earn All-American status and led the Friars to a second place finish at the NCAA Championships. The 2013 returned with the goal of capturing the program’s second title. Leading up to the championships, the team won the BIG EAST and Northeast regional titles. Three Friars, Emily Sisson, Laura Nagel, and Sarah Collins, earned All-American status helping the team win its second NCAA Cross Country Team Title. After the season, Treacy was named the USFTCCCA National Coach of the Year, the Northeast Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year and the Rhode Island Words Unlimited Coach of the Year. The Friars found the podium again in 2015. The Friars dominated the BIG EAST Championships, taking the top three spots, and captured the Northeast Regional title again. Sarah Collins and Catarina Rocha both earned All-American status, leading the Friars to a fourth place finish. This was the third time in four years that the Friars achieved a podium finish.

Treacy has also had strong Men’s teams during his time at Providence. The program has won 15 BIG EAST titles and finished on the podium twice, once in 1992 and once in 2000. In 1992, the Friars captured their third straight BIG EAST title and second consecutive IC4A title on their way to the NCAA Cross Country championships. Mark Carroll finished fourth and Chris Teague finished 18th, leading the Friars to a third place finish. The most successful Men’s team coached by Treacy was when the team finished third in 2000. The Friars won every meet, including BIG EAST and Northeast Regional titles, leading up to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. At NCAA’s, Keith Kelly led the team by capturing the programs first NCAA Individual Cross Country title. Kelly paired with Hamish Thorpe and Dermot Galvin achieving All-American status, the Friars finished third.

Treacy has also coached many athletes to success on the track as well. Throughout his career, Treacy has coached nine athletes to individual NCAA track titles in events ranging from 1,500 to 10,000 meters and coached a team to setting the world record in the 4x1500 meter relay at the Penn Relays in 1991. One of Treacy’s most successful individual athletes was Kim Smith. During the 2004 track season, Smith won NCAA titles in the Indoor 3,000 meters, Indoor 5,000 meters, and outdoor 5,000 meters and set NCAA records in all three events as well. Smith was the first athlete to win both the 3,000 and 5,000 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Other NCAA Champions include, Andy Keith (Indoor Mile, 1992), Mark Carroll (Indoor 5,000 meters, 1995), Geraldine Hendricken (Indoor 3,000 meters, 1992), Amy Rudolph (Indoor Mile and Outdoor 1,500 meters, 1994), Marie McMahon (Indoor 5,000 meters, 1996), Mary Cullen (Outdoor 5,000 meters, 2006), Danette Doetzel (Outdoor 10,000 meters, 2009) and Emily Sisson (Indoor and Outdoor 5,000 meters, 2015).

Treacy has continued to coach athletes to success in recent years. In 2013, Emily Sisson and Laura Nagel each won BIG EAST individual titles. Sisson won the 10,000 meters, breaking Kim Smith’s BIG EAST meet record in a time of 33:02.80 while Nagel won the 5,000 meter title. The Providence women closed the season with Sisson, Nagel and Shelby Greany earning All-American status at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Sisson and Nagel finished sixth and 12th in the 5,000 meters, respectively, and Greany finished 11th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final.

The 2014 indoor season saw two BIG EAST individual titles. Sisson won the 5,000 meters and Nagel won the 3,000 meters. Sisson and Nagel both went on to earn First Team All-America honors in the 5,000 meters and Second Team All-America honors in t he 3,000 meters, respectively, at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

During the 2014 outdoor season, Sarah Collins posted the second-fastest time by a Providence College female runner in the 5,000 meters (15:31.03) at the Stanford Invitational. At the 2014 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, Collins then went on to claim her first BIG EAST title in the 10,000 meters while Nagel defended her 5,000-meter title. Both women finished the season at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, earning Second-Team All-America honors in the 5,000 meters. On the men’s side, Julian Oakley ’15 became the eighth Friar under Treacy to break the sub-four-minute mile mark, running a time of 3:58.89 for third place at the Adrien Martinez Classic on June 6.

During the 2015 season, under Treacy’s guidance, Emily Sisson broke Smith’s NCAA indoor 5,000-meter record (15:12.22) at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships. This marked the beginning of Sisson’s standout final year at Providence College. She went on to win her first NCAA title in the 5,000 meters indoors in dominating fashion and she then grabbed a second title in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Sisson won both the Indoor and Outdoor BIG EAST 5,000 meter titles to raise her total to seven titles. Sisson also finished her career tied for first in total All-America honors as a Friar with 10.

During the 2016 Indoor track season, both Julian and Sarah Collins qualified for the NCAA Championships. Oakley finished seventh in the mile, earning First Team All-America honors, and Collins finished12th in the 5,000 meters, earning Second Team All-America honors.

The 2016 Outdoor season saw two BIG EAST individual titles. Catarina Rocha and Brianna Ilarda both captured their first individual titles, in the 5,000 meters and 3,000-meter Steeplechase respectfully. Ilarda went on to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she finished 10th in the 3,000 meter Steeplechase, earning Second Team All-America honors. Graduate Student Jordan Mann became the first man to qualify for the NCAA championships for Providence since 2011. Mann finished 16th in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase earning Second Team All-America honors.

2016-17 was another successful season for Treacy’s athletes. During the Cross Country season, the women captured their third BIG EAST title in four years and their fourth Northeast Regional Cross Country title in five years. Millie Paladino had a historic season for the Friars during the Indoor season. Paladino ran the third fastest time in Providence history, became the first woman to win the mile at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships since 2002, and earned First Team All-America honors in the mile at the NCAA Championships. Brianna Ilarda also earned First Team All-America honors for her seventh place finish in the 5,000 meters. Both Ilarda and Paladino continued their success into the outdoor season. Ilarda would go on to set the BIG EAST meet record on her way to her second consecutive title in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase while Paladino would run the second fastest 1,500-meter time in Providence history. Both would qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where Ilarda would finish eighth and Paladino would finish 21st to earn First Team All-America honors and Honorable Mention, respectfully. Julian Oakley also qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5,000 meters. He would go on to finish 17th in the event and earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.

The 2017-18 year followed along the trend of Treacy’s recent success. He coached Catarina Rocha to individual BIG EAST titles in cross country, the indoor 5,000 meters and the outdoor 10,000 meters. Millie Paladino picked up right where she left off on the track as she ran the second fastest mile time and sixth fastest 3,000 meter time in Providence history indoors, won the BIG EAST title in the 3,000 meters and finished sixth in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn First Team All-America honors. Outdoors, Treacy coached Abbey Wheeler to a 19th place finish in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.

Runners continued to thrive under Treacy during the 2018-2019 season. After winning the 5,000 meter and placing second in the 3,000 meter, Brianna Ilarda was named the BIG EAST Most Outstanding Track Performer during the Indoor Track season. For outdoor, Ilarda also was a BIG EAST champion in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and named second-team All-America honors, marking the fourth of her career to conclude her career. Fellow Friar, Millie Paladino claimed BIG EAST champion in the 3,000 meter, first-team All-America honors for the mile after placing fourth and was named Northeast Region Female Athlete of the Year. Paladino finished her outdoor track career as an honorable mention All-America honor in the 1,500 meter. Abbey Wheeler claimed second-team All-America honors after claiming 14th in the 1,500 meter race.

Although cut-short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019-20 season featured three Indoor BIG EAST Championships. Four rookies (Tessa Hunt, Niamh Gowing, Lilly Tuck and Alex O'Neill) took first in the DMR. After winning the 3,000 and 5,000 meter events at the Indoor BIG EAST Championship, Abbey Wheeler was named BIG EAST Most Outstanding Track Performer. Wheeler was also named USTFCCCA Northeast Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.

During the 2021-22 season, Treacy's team had a number of successes in the BIG EAST conference. After winning the BIG EAST indoor mile and the BIG EAST outdoor 1500 meters, Shannon Flockhart earned 1st team All-American in the 1,500 meters after placing seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Kimberley May placed 2nd in BIG EAST outdoor 1,500 meters. Additionally, Lilly Tuck took 1st in BIG EAST outdoor 10,000 meters. Continuing the Friar wins, relay team Shannon Flockhart, Alex O'Neill, Kimberely May, and Halle Atkinson won the 4x800 meters at the BIG EAST Outdoor Track Championships. AJ Earnst claimed 2nd team All-American after placing 16th in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The 2022-23 season had many successes for the team. Treacy led the women's cross country team to another NCAA Cross Country Championship appearance where the team placed 16th overall. Additionally, freshman Jane Buckley was the individual champion of the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship. The men's indoor track team won the IC4A Championship for the first time in program history. During the outdoor track season, the 4x1500 meters relay team of Alex O'Neill, Shannon Flockhart, Jane Buckley, and Kimberley May won the Penn Relays' Championship of America race with a program record time of 17:11.35. At the BIG EAST Championship, the 4x800 meter relay team of Halle Atkinson, Alex O'Neill, Kimberley May, and Shannon Flockhart finished first in a time of 8:36.34. Flockhart also won the BIG EAST 1,500 meters finals in a time of 4:14.46 and went on to earn All-American at the NCAA Outdoor Track Championships with a sixth-place finish (4:10.78) in the 1,500 meters finals. May earned second team All-American after placing ninth in the 1,500 meters semifinal round. Freshman Jane Buckley qualified for the NCAA 5,000 meters finals where she finished 13th to earn second team All-American.

Treacy's tradition of success continued through the 2023-24 season. The women's cross country team qualified for the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championship where the team placed 28th overall. The indoor track season yielded significant achievements on the women's side. At the Boston University DMR Challenge, the team of Kimberley May, Shannon Flockhart, Alex O'Neill and Jill Fenerty set a program record of 10:44.07 that ranked second all-time in collegiate history. Additionally, at the BIG EAST Championship, Flockhart won the mile and May won the 3,000 meters. The team of Tessa Hunt, Fenerty, Halle Atkinson and May claimed first in the BIG EAST distance medley relay. The team of Atkinson, Alex O'Neill, Cara Laverty and Flockhart placed first in the BIG EAST 4x800-meter relay. For the first time in three years, Providence was represented at the NCAA Indoor Track Championship. The DMR team of May, O'Neill, Flockhart and Fenerty placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championship. May earned First Team All-America Honors after placing third in the mile and Flockhart finished 10th for Second Team All-America Honors. The 2024 outdoor season was successful for the Friars as well. At the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship, May won the 5,000 meters and the 4x800-meter relay of Atkinson, Flockhart, Laverty, and May, earned another first-place finish. Pat Thygesen finished first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the BIG EAST Championship. At the NCAA Outdoor Championship, May and Flockhart competed in the 1,500-meter final. Both earned First Team All-American Honors as Flockhart finished sixth and May placed second in the race.

The 2024-25 season marked another standout year for the cross country and track programs. In the fall, the women's cross country team qualified for the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championship and placed third overall — the program's eighth podium finish all-time and its best result since winning the national title in 2013. Three Friars earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championship with top-25 finishes. Kimberley May led the way with a 10th-place finish, followed by Alex Millard in 20th place and Shannon Flockhart in 24th. At the NCAA Northeast Regional, the Friars claimed the team title (1st of 39 teams), with May finishing third overall (3rd of 268 runners). During the indoor track season, the distance medley relay team of Flockhart, Millard, May and Jill Fenerty captured the BIG EAST title in a meet-record time of 10:54.78, marking the second-straight BIG EAST DMR title for the Friars. At the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the DMR squad of Flockhart, Fenerty, Maeve O’Neill and May placed third of 12 teams to earn First Team All-America honors. Individually, May added another First Team All-America honor with a sixth-place finish in the 3,000 meters. Flockhart (3,000 meters) and Millard (5,000 meters) both earned Second Team All-America honors. The outdoor season brought continued success. At the Penn Relays, the Friars captured the College Women’s 4x1,500 Championship of America in a program-record time of 16:59.65, the third-fastest time in collegiate history. At the 2025 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, Providence won four individual titles, including graduate student Pat Thygesen, who repeated as champion in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Four Friars qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the program’s highest total since 1998. May led the way with a First Team All-America finish in the 1,500 meters (6th), while Millard (5,000 meters) and O’Neill (800 meters) were named Second Team All-Americans. Flockhart rounded out her season with All-America Honorable Mention recognition after competing in the 1,500-meter semifinals.

Several of Treacy’s student-athletes have gone on to leave their mark internationally. In 1996, three athletes, who trained under Treacy’s guidance at Providence, became PC’s first female track stars to compete in the Olympics. Sinead Delahunty `93 (1,500 meters), Marie McMahon ‘96 (5,000 meters) and Amy Rudolph ‘95 (5,000 meters) all competed in Atlanta, Ga. Treacy had three former Friars compete in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, as well, with Delahunty (1,500 meters), Rudolph (5,000 meters) and Mark Carroll ‘95 (5,000 meters) all running in the 2000 Games. Kim Smith, McMahon, Carroll and Maria McCambridge `98 competed in the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Smith (10,000 meters), McGettigan (3,000 meter steeplechase) and Martin Fagan (Marathon) all competed. At the 2012 London Olympics, Kim Smith (Marathon), Dylan Wykes ‘05 (Marathon) and Stephanie Reilly ‘01 (3,000 meter Steeplechase) all competed. At the 2016 Rio de Janerio Olympics, Julian Matthews ‘12 (1,500 meters) competed. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Emily Sisson '14 (10,000 meters) and Ben Connor '15 (marathon) competed. Recently, Emily Sission '14 (marathon) competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing 23rd out of the 80 runners who crossed the line.

A former Irish national junior champion and a past member of the Irish National Cross Country Team, Treacy currently resides in Warwick, R.I. with his wife, Lisa. They have two sons, Michael and Liam.