Harper's Macnider, Oakton's Savage named to NJCAA Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame
(Story courtesy of NJCAA.org)
Charlotte, NC – The NJCAA has announced five honorees to be inducted into the NJCAA Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Three coaches and two student-athletes have been selected to join the 2025 class. Read below for more on David Barney, Faith Linga Chepengat, James Macnider, Patrick Savage, and AG Bradford. (Official Press Release)
James Macnider | Coach | Harper (IL)
James Macnider has been the head coach of the Harper College cross country programs since 2011 and track & field programs since 2018. During his 15 years as the cross country head coach, Macnider guided multiple student-athletes to win the National Championship and earn All-America status. Macnider led the Hawks to their first ever NJCAA DIII Men's Cross Country Championship. The men went on to win eight straight titles from 2011-2018 and won their ninth in 2023, as the women won five NJCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships, including three consecutive titles.
A former runner for Harper, Macnider was the Skyway Conference Cross Country Champion in 1969 and 1970 and was the NJCAA Region IV mile and two-mile Champion in 1971. Macnider returned as an assistant coach, helping guide both teams to NJCAA DIII championships in 2011. Since becoming head coach, he has won numerous USTFCCCA Coach of the Year Awards, was a recipient of the 2025 NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award for Men's Cross Country, received the Harper College Distinguished Alum Award in 2025 and was inducted into the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame (ITCCCA) in 1995.
Patrick Savage | Coach | Oakton (IL)
Patrick Savage was the head coach of the men's and women's cross country, track & field, and half marathon teams at Oakton College for 32 years. During Savage's tenure, he coached 39 NJCAA All American recipients, four NJCAA individual national champions, and 19 Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference MVP Runners.
Oakton won eight NJCAA Region IV Championships, eight Illinois State Community College Championships (Men's and Women's Track and Cross Country), 18 top-two finishes in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference Championships and the 2002 NJCAA Marathon Championship. Savage played an instrumental role in Oakton hosting the NJCAA Marathon Championship from 1988-1995.
Savage was awarded the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award and was inducted into the NJCAA Region IV Hall of Fame, the Skyway Conference Hall of Fame, Depaul University Athletics Hall of Fame, Illinois High School Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Niles West Hall of Fame. Savage was also President of the Chicago Area Runners Association, which is the third largest in the United States, from 1992-1994. Savage has endowed two athletic scholarships, one at Oakton College, and one at Depaul University Athletics.
List of NJCAA Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductees from Region 4