John Michael Mason, the 2021 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) New England Coach of the Year, enters his fourth season as head coach of Trinity's men's and women's indoor and outdoor programs in 2021-22. Mason is a 2012 graduate of Trinity and a two-year captain of the Bantam track and field teams. He enters his tenth season on the coaching staff of Trinity's men's and women's cross country teams and track and field squads. Mason was named as associate head coach for Trinity's cross country and track and field squads in the summer of 2016 and previously served as interim cross country and track and field head coach for the Bantams during the 2015 spring semester.
Mason guided the Trinity men’s team to a tie for 10th place and the women to a tie for 18th place in the 2021 New England (NEICAAA) Open Championships, while the Trinity men were tied for 48th in the NCAA Division III Championships last spring. The Bantams placed ninth (women) and 11th (men) in the 2020 New England Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, and women shined during the 2019 outdoor campaign with a fourth-place finish in the New England Division III Championships and a 31st-place finish in the NCAA Division III Championships. That year, Mason was nominated for the USTFCCCA New England Region Women's Head Coach of the Year. Mason mentored 2021 All-American Travis Martin who finished fourth in the 1,500 meters at the 2021 NCAA Championship Meet. In 2020, Bantams Peace Kabari, Ace McAlister, Robert Allen and Travis Martin each received USTFCCCA Indoor All-American Honors.
During the 2017-18 season, Mason was nominated for USTFCCCA New England Region Assistant Coach of the Year after helping coach the women's squad to a No. 6-ranking in New England at the end of the season, third-highest among NESCAC teams, and a fifth-place finish in the New England Division III Championships. On the men's side, five competitors earned All-New England recognition in the outdoor championships where the team finished 14th out of 30 teams that year.
Mason was a national qualifier for the Bantams, helping the distance medley relay finish 10th at the 2010 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. A multiple NESCAC All-Academic honoree, Mason graduated from Trinity with the academic distinctions of Honors in General Scholarship and Optimus. He was also inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa society after seven semesters at Trinity. A native of Nahant, Mass., Mason continues to direct the Trinity Film Festival, which he founded in 2011. Mason earned a bachelor's degree in Classical Foundations of American Cultural History from the College, and received his master’s degree with honors in American Studies from Trinity in 2014. He is a member of the Trinity Athletics Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
