We’re heading back to Lincroft, New Jersey with Coach Mike Tursi, head cross country coach at Brookdale Community College, fresh off a Top-10 finish at the 2025 NJCAA DIII National Championships in Fort Dodge, Iowa. 🌨️🏃♂️
Coach Tursi has spent 37+ years on the Jersey running scene — from building a Non-Public B powerhouse at Mater Dei (four state titles, multiple Coach of the Year honors, Hall of Fame induction) to rebuilding Brookdale into a JUCO national contender.In this episode, we dive into:
- Brookdale’s Top-10 NJCAA DIII Nationals finish in a full-on Fort Dodge snowstorm ❄️
- All-Region standouts Walter Heffner, Andrew Lorig & Charles Doolittle and the full Jersey Blues 2025 squad
- How Coach Tursi went from average D3 runner to building state championship teams at Mater Dei
- The NJ JUCO stigma and why community college is an elite opportunity, not a consolation prize
- Growing Brookdale from “just enough guys to score” to one of the deepest rosters in Region 19
- Coaching philosophy: no cuts, everyone matters, everyone can improve
- Working as a special education teacher and how that shapes his patience, motivation and belief in kids
- Training on Holmdel Park, Thompson Park & the Reservoir and why he avoids the track & roads for XC
- Parents, fundraising, and what it took to raise $8,000+ to get Brookdale to Nationals
- Future goals: track team/track club at Brookdale, five women across the line, and more trips to Nationals
- Final Four: Mountain Dew, Pink’s “Who Knew” as a good-luck song, guilty-pleasure food, and Jersey deli talk 🥪
If you’re a New Jersey high school runner or parent wondering if JUCO is the right move, this episode is for you. If you love Holmdel war stories, parochial vs public debates, and real talk about building a program from nothing, you’ll feel right at home.
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🏃♂️ Brookdale Cross Country (Recruits & Parents):
📱 Coach Tursi: 732-859-5942
📸 Instagram: @brookdalexc25
🌐 Brookdale CC XC page: search “Brookdale Community College Cross Country”
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Timestamped Show Notes (with hooks)
00:00 – Why we love JUCO Airey Bros explain why NJCAA, D2, D3 & NAIA are close to their hearts and why they keep giving shine to junior college programs.
00:42 – Show intro: back to Lincroft with Coach Tursi Howdy & aloha from Airey Bros; intro to Coach Mike Tursi, Brookdale head XC coach, Mater Dei legend, heartbeat of the Jersey Blues.
1:45 – How to get recruited to Brookdale Coach shares how recruits & parents can reach him, Brookdale XC Instagram, open houses, and where he’ll be during the year (Monmouth County meets, open houses, indoor meets, etc.).
4:24 – Pork roll vs Taylor ham & is Central Jersey real? The essential Jersey questions: pork roll gets the nod and Coach confirms Central Jersey is absolutely real.
5:23 – PF Flyers & origin story Coach’s running origin: PF Flyers, seventh-grade gym class, running the bases, and the invite that changed everything.
6:40 – Legendary Monmouth Regional days Running for Ed Scalian at Monmouth Regional; teammates who became Olympians and D1 standouts; learning to treat every athlete the same.
8:02 – Early coaching influences & college days York College D3 experience, learning from multiple coaches, and patchworking a coaching philosophy from all of them.
9:05 – From marketing to special ed teacher & coach Leaving advertising, becoming a special education teacher, and realizing the best coaches are often those who didn’t love school as kids.
11:19 – Taking over Mater Dei & first state champ Finding a small program with one star (Tommy Namole), turning him into a county & state champ and building belief in the team.
15:06 – Building a parochial B powerhouse Step-by-step: first winning season, beating Henry Hudson, and eventually leading Mater Dei to multiple division titles and the 1997 state championship.
17:40 – The changing landscape of NJ high school XC Why parochial B isn’t as deep as it used to be, how COVID affected participation, and how the depth at JV has changed over time.
17:40–21:27 – Leaving high school & the NJ JUCO stigma Leaving Mater Dei in 2018, landing at Brookdale with Dennis Lynn, confronting the JUCO stigma, and realizing Brookdale needed him as much as he needed Brookdale.
19:20 – Rebuilding Brookdale XC from almost nothing Going from “just trying to get five guys across the line” to winning the first Region 19 title in 39 years and producing multiple All-Americans.
21:55 – Growing the roster & struggles on the women’s side Roster evolution from 7–8 runners to 14+, why getting five women across the line is a major goal, and how constant outreach & open houses matter.
23:25 – Recruiting: tents, flyers & talking to everyone Setting up at the Monmouth County XC meet, talking to coaches, handing out flyers, using Instagram, and bringing in athletes from New Jersey and even Virginia.
26:05 – Why JUCO is a huge opportunity Convincing kids they’re better than they think, explaining the difference between racing against D1/D2/D3 in high school vs D3 JUCO, and how everyone is varsity at Brookdale — no JV, no cuts.
27:28 – The 23-minute improvement story A 65:00 Holmdel runner who eventually ran 42:00 — how staying with kids, keeping them on the team, and valuing effort creates life-changing moments.
28:35 – Special ed teaching & coaching style How working with special needs students shapes his motivational, positive coaching style, and why he never yells at kids for a bad race.
30:31 – Fort Dodge, snow & Nationals experience Full breakdown of NJCAA DIII Nationals in Fort Dodge: snow, no falls, and why it was one of the best experiences of his 37-year career.
32:28 – Chasing the Top-10 at Nationals Team goals, where Brookdale stacked up in the standings, and how close they were to 7th place with a few extra passes late in the race.
34:00 – Shoutouts to the 2025 Brookdale squad All-Region runners Heffner, Lorig, Doolittle, plus Harmon, Gavin, Angel, Diego, Jason, Sabrina, and two-time All-Region runner Georgia Jones.
36:03 – Latecomers & first-time runners who become studs Stories of athletes who never ran in high school, then became key scorers at Brookdale; why JUCO is perfect for late bloomers.
37:47 – Building community: parents, pasta parties & fundraising, How parent involvement, pasta parties, and the Jersey Blues Invitational helped raise over $8,000 to get the team to Nationals.
40:34 – The harsh reality of JUCO funding, Why Brookdale must win the region to be fully funded for Nationals, and how parents, alumni and coaches stepped up to make Fort Dodge happen.
43:01 – Training philosophy: grass, parks & no track - Why Coach avoids roads and track workouts for XC, favoring Thompson Park, Holmdel, the Reservoir, and grass-based intervals that mimic race courses.
46:42 – What keeps him passionate after 37 years - How coaching and teaching keep him young, why every new roster feels like a new challenge, and why he’ll only stop when he can’t bring the same energy.
48:32 – Shoutouts to assistants, family & 24-year coaching partnership - Love to assistant coach Dennis Lynn, new assistant Rachel Rosano, and his wife & daughters — plus the joke about being “married” to Dennis for 24 years.
52:03 – Delayed flights & airport memories - The team’s post-Nationals travel saga, sleeping in the airport, trivia at 3 AM, and why those memories are part of what makes Nationals special.
54:09 – Team-first culture & never yelling about bad races - Why it’s always about the team, not individual mistakes, and how positive encouragement has kept kids running through walls for decades.
55:39 – Final Four: soda, Mountain Dew & guilty pleasures - Coach doesn’t drink coffee but loves Mountain Dew, Halloween candy, chicken parm, cheesesteaks, and a good Jersey sub.
1:00:03 – Music & good-luck song - Why Pink’s “Who Knew” is his pre-race good-luck song and how his daughter’s races at Elizabethtown tie into that tradition.
1:03:15 – Final message to recruits & parents - Open invite to all abilities, no cuts, and why Brookdale is a place where JV kids, late bloomers, and first-time runners can thrive.
1:04:19 – Outro & call to action - Airey Bros send listeners to Brookdale XC, encourage recruits to reach out, and remind NJ runners that JUCO can take you all the way to Fort Dodge and beyond.
