Michael Hickey is in his second year as a volunteer assistant coach with the men’s cross country and track and field teams. In his first year with the Pilots, Hickey assisted the team to their best-ever finish at the NCAA XC Championships with Portland placing second. In 2018 the Pilots followed up their historic performance with another podium finish, their third top-3 finish in five years, placing third at the 2018 Championships.
“Coach Hickey made an immediate impact when he joined our program,” said men’s head coach Rob Conner. “He is a true expert in many areas and elevated the performance of our athletes.”
Hickey also currently coaches for Nike, working with elite level athletes such as Alexa Efraimson (Nike), Maddie Meyer (Portland Elite), McKayla Fricker (Nike), and Paul Kezes (Athletics Northwest). In 2005 Paul Kezes finished 7th in the 12k at the US Championships, qualifying for the World Championships, representing the United States.
Prior to coming to Portland, Hickey began his coaching career at Colfax as a volunteer before accepting the Head Cross Country / Assistant Track and Field position at his Alma Matter Clackamas Community College. At Clackamas, he coached four NWAACC Championship teams and mentored twenty individuals to All-American honors. He was also voted Coach of the Year for the Southern Region, and the NWAACC Conferences in 1999 and 2000.
In 2001 coach Hickey was hired by Portland State University. During this time with the Vikings, the men’s team finished the 2004 season ranked 12th in the NCAA Western Region and the women’s team finished 11th at the NCAA Western Region Championships in 2002.
Coach Hickey spent six years coaching at Camas High School, coaching his teams to two state championships and a 13th place finish at the Nike Cross Country National Championships (NXN). He also helped guide seven athletes to WIAA first team State Championship honors.
As a student-athlete at Clackamas Community College, he won two individual NWAACC Championships and three team Championships. After Clackamas, Hickey competed for Washington State University and under the tutelage of Bill Dellinger at the University of Oregon.