Mario Wilson brought 26 years of elite collegiate coaching experience to his role as Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the University of Lynchburg, beginning in July 2025. Wilson spent over two decades at the NCAA Division I level and played a key role in 24 conference championship teams before arriving in Lynchburg.
In his first track & field season, Wilson led senior Lamont Victoria to claim the 60-meter dash national title at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Victoria's accomplishment, which marks the first 60-meter title in program history, represents one of 13 All-American performances from the 2025-2026 track & field season. In addition, Wilson helped the Hornets post 34 indoor all-region performances and 35 outdoor all-region marks. On the men's side, the Hornets claimed ODAC Championships during the indoor and outdoor seasons, while Wilson secured ODAC and South Region Coach of the Year honor for both seasons.
On the cross country course, Wilson oversaw a 26th-place team finish for the men, while Alex Jordan raced to South Region and ODAC Runner of the Year honors. For the first time in program history, seven regional entries posted top-35 finishes to earn an All-South Region distinction at the NCAA South Region Championships.
During his 13-year tenure at UVA as the associate head coach, Wilson specialized in coaching jumpers, sprinters, and multi-event athletes. He was named USTFCCCA Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year twice (2010, 2020) and helped lead the Cavaliers to historic success, including the 2024 men’s outdoor ACC Championship - the program’s first ever - and the 2025 women’s outdoor conference title, their first since 1987.
Wilson’s athletes have excelled on the national stage. In 2024, Celia Rifaterra claimed an ACC high jump title and earned First Team All-America honors, while freshman Carly Tarentino secured All-America honorable mention status in her NCAA debut. Under Wilson’s guidance, numerous athletes have become NCAA qualifiers, All-Americans, national champions, and school record holders. Among them was Jordan Scott, who captured the 2019 NCAA indoor triple jump title—the first ever by a male ACC athlete.
Before his time at Virginia, Wilson held coaching roles at Clemson, New Mexico, Bucknell, and St. Francis (Pa.), with consistent success at each stop. At Clemson, he helped secure six ACC team titles and mentored NCAA champion heptathlete Miller Moss. Wilson launched his coaching career at St. Francis, guiding the program to seven Northeast Conference championships.
A former student-athlete himself, Wilson was a four-year starter on the Marist College football team and earned the 1998 Sportsman of the Year honor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Marist and a master’s degree in education from St. Francis.
