John Curtin
John Curtin
Title: Head Coach
Phone: 404-727-4098
Email: jcurtin@emory.edu

Curtin joined Emory University as track and field coach at the start of the 1985-86 school year. His belief in individualized training programs has resulted in athletic and academic success for his student-athletes within a team concept.

In 2012, Curtin was named the South/ Southeast Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, and the UAA Outdoor Coach of the Year for the third year in a row. He led the women's squad to the UAA Outdoor Championship, the 10th UAA Title claimed by the Emory women, and 19 overall between the men's and women's squads.  Four of Emory's athletes qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships during the year, and an additional eight qualified for the NCAA Outdoor meet, with the Eagles claiming all-America honors in the women's indoor high jump, and the women's outdoor 400m and 1600m relays.  

From 2010-11, Curtin helped lead the Emory women to three-straight UAA Championships, two during the outdoor season (2010 and 2011) and one during the indoor campaign (2011).  Curtin was named the South/Southeast Women's Indoor Coach of the year in 2011.  In 2010, Curtin oversaw all-American performances from three different athletes, coached two team members to South/Southeast Region Indoor Performer of the Year honors and two UAA Most Outstanding Performer honors.

In 2009 season Curtin helped lead the Emory men's track and field team to the UAA Indoor Track and Field Championship, and coached members of the women's team to all-America finishes in the indoor long jump and the outdoor 4x100-meter relay.  Curtin was named the region's Coach of the Year in 2009.  During the 2008 season, Curtin saw his team members combine for 14 all-America certificates between the indoor and outdoor seasons.  His men's outdoor track and field team in 2008, which totaled eight all-America honors, finished seventh in the nation, the best finish in the program's history.

Curtin also oversaw a 10th-place finish by the Emory men's team at the 2004 NCAA Division III national outdoor championships. On the women's side, Curtin coached four All-America performances by Emory athletes at the 2002 NCAA Division III national outdoor championships, including two national champions (steeplechase and hammer). The women's team finished ninth, the best finish in school history, at the NCAA championships.

Other career highlights include three All-America performances by Emory athletes at the 2001 NCAA Division III national outdoor championships, including a national hammer throw champion; an All-America javelin thrower in 2000; eight All-America performances by Emory athletes at the 1997 NCAA outdoor championships; a national triple jump champion in 1995; and a school-record five All-Americans at the 1994 NCAA outdoor championships. That same year, Curtin was honored as the region's Coach of the Year.

In his 26 years at Emory, Curtin's track and field athletes have amassed four individual National Championships, 87 All-America certificates, 39 conference Most Valuable Performer awards, and 415 conference event championships.

Curtin was selected the region Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track Coaches Association for the 1994 outdoor season, 2003 indoor season (men), 2003 outdoor season (men), the 2004 outdoor season (men), the 2009 outdoor season (women), the 2010 indoor season (women), the 2011 indoor season (women) and the 2012 outdoor season (women).

Eighteen times, he and his assistants have been honored by the University Athletic Association as its track and field "Coaching Staff of the Year," most recently during the 2012 women's outdoor season.

Prior to Emory, Curtin was the head men's cross country and track and field coach at Simpson College (Iowa) from 1979-85. He also coached the Simpson women's cross country and track teams for two years. In 1995, Curtin was inducted into Simpson's Sports Hall of Fame.

Aaron Campbell
Aaron Campbell
Title: Assistant Coach
Phone: 404-727-2074
Email: aaron.campbell@emory.edu

Aaron Campbell was appointed as assistant coach for the Emory track and field program in August of 2012.   His primary responsibilities are working with the sprints, horizontal jumps, hurdlers and relays. 

Campbell joined the Eagles’ program after spending the 2011-12 season as a volunteer coach at Duke University.  While with the Blue Devils, he worked with the sprinters, hurdlers and relays while assisting in the development of multi-event athletes.  During his stint at Duke, he helped mentor one NCAA indoor champion, a three-time All-American, two Atlantic Coast Conference champions and athletes who set six school records. 

Prior to Duke, Campbell served as a volunteer coach at the University Vermont during the 2010-11 campaign.  At his alma mater, he oversaw the Catamounts’ sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers.  He also assisted with the team’s strength and conditioning programs.

A native of Bend, Ore., Campbell was a five-time All-New England honoree and three-time America East sprint champion during his three seasons at the University of Vermont. He was also a two-time NCAA Regional Qualifier, in addition to earning All-IC4A distinction twice in his career. As a member of the Catamounts' sprint corps, Campbell established five program records and was nationally-ranked in the 100m during his junior season.

Prior to competing at Vermont, Campbell spent one season as a member of the University of Oregon's track and field program, helping the Ducks capture the 2007 Pac-10 title outdoors.

Campbell is certified USATF Level I.

He graduated from the University of Vermont in 2010 with a bachelor of arts degree in English and history.  

Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson
Title: Assistant Coach
Phone: 404-727-6523
Email: m.johnson@emory.edu

Mark Johnson joined the Emory University track and field program as assistant coach in September of 2011.   His duties primarily consist of coaching the vertical jumps and throws while assisting with the Eagles' multi-event athletes.

In his first year on the squad, he helped coach Theresa Ford to an all-America finish in the high jump at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and to a University Athletic Association (UAA) Most Valuable Performer honor.  Johnson's athletes combined for two UAA Championships and seven all-UAA honors during the indoor and outdoor seasons, and he was part of the UAA Women's Coaching Staff of the Year during the outdoor season.  He also saw two of his athletes named to the Capital One/ CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team.

Johnson’s most recent coaching stint was at Sandia Preparatory School in Albuquerque, New Mexcio, where he was responsible for the boys and girls throws and horizontal jumps.  He had nine state qualifiers representing every event and coached one state champion.

Johnson served as an assistant track and field coach for the men’s and women’s programs at Williams College in 2007-08, working with the multi-events, pole vault and high jump performers.  He helped coach both teams to New England and NESCAC championships and had a pair of his athletes garner All-New England and All-NESCAC acclaim.

Prior to his stint at Williams, Johnson was an assistant coach at the University of New Mexico for two seasons (2005-06 and 2006-07) where he designed and implemented workouts for multi-events and all jumps.  He coached a total of 10 NCAA Championships qualifiers and mentored one All-American. 

As an athlete, Johnson enjoyed a stellar career at the University of New Mexico.  He won the Mountain West Conference titles in both the decathlon (2002) and heptathlon (2004) and finished 15th in the decathlon at the 2004 NCAA Championships, scoring just shy of his personal best of 7,325 points.  A five-time all-MWC honoree, Johnson also qualified for the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in the pole vault, finishing ninth with a career-best vault of 16-05.25.

He was a two-year letterwinner at goalkeeper for the UNM men's soccer team, appearing in six games from 2000-01. He and skier Stian Erikson were the first two athletes in UNM history to appear at the NCAA Championships in two different sports. The two were teammates on the 2001 men's soccer team which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Johnson earned First-Team Academic All-American honors for the Lobos in 2004.  The Fontana, Wisconsin native graduated in 2003 with a degree in Spanish and in 2004 earned his MBA in Marketing and Operations Management.  He posted a 3.85 undergraduate GPA, a 4.0 as a graduate student, and was a recipient of a 2004 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

Carl Leivers
Carl Leivers
Title: Assistant Coach
Phone: 404-727-1572
Email: cleiver@emory.edu

Carl Leivers joined the Emory University Track and Field Team as a volunteer assistant in the spring of 2006 before joining the program in his current post in the fall. Carl also serves as the Eagles' assistant cross country coach.

During his time at Emory, Leivers has  named as part of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Coaching Staff of the Year on four occassions, in addition to helping the squad to team titles during the 2009 Men's Indoor, 2010 Women's Outdoor, 2011 Women's Indoor and Outdoor and 2012 Women's Outdoor conference championships.  Twelve of his athletes have won individual conference championships under his tutelage.

Leivers graduated magna cum laude in earning his bachelor's degree in sociology from Colorado Springs in 2003. While at CC, he competed on the both the cross country and track and field teams. He served as the track team's captain his senior year and was the recipient of the program's "Most Inspirational" Award. He was team captain of the cross country team his final year of competition in 2002.

After graduating, Leivers worked in the sociology department at Colorado College where he served as a tutor for upper-level courses and thesis projects. In addition, he created course web sites and maintained the department's web site.

While living in Colorado Springs, he became Head of New Project Development and Producer with Negative Split Pictures. Among his duties there were the procurement of corporate funding and in-kind donations to help finance the film Five Thousand Meters: Nothing Comes Easy. He is the Co-Founder and Senior Event Coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Distance Summit.

Pedro Vasquez
Pedro Vasquez
Title: Assistant Coach

Pedro Vasquez has served as an Emory assistant coach since 1981, working primarily with sprinters and middle-distance runners. He has been honored 18 times as a member of the University Athletic Association track & field "Coaching Staff of the Year." During his tenure, the Eagles have won 20 UAA team championships (11 men's and nine women's).

Vasquez has been a long-time active runner who won the 400-meter dash in the Masters division at the Georgia State Games four consecutive years. His 1994 winning time of 53.57 earned him All-America honors from USA Track & Field and placed him sixth in the nation in the men's 40-44 age division. He also has run the annual Peachtree Road Race (10,000 meters) many times.

He is a nationally certified track official, who worked the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta. Every year since 1996, Vasquez has worked as an official at the annual USA Track & Field Championships, including the 1996, 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. He has served as a board member for the Atlanta Track Club.

Vasquez is a 1982 graduate of Emory where he received his Ph.D. degree in organic chemistry. He completed undergraduate and master's studies at the University of Panama. Currently, he is a chemistry research instructor at Georgia State University.