Coach Mike VanAuker, who was named the Atlantic Region's Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018 after landing two more student-athletes in the NCAA Track and Field Championship, was hired in 2011 as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams. VanAuker serves as the hurdles coach alongside Fisher head coach Mike Henchen and associate head coach Angela Ryck.
Coach VanAuker’s many accomplishments at St. John Fisher include coaching Peter Girardi to All American status four times in both the 400 hurdles and 110 hurdles. In particular, his hurdlers have excelled during the 2017 – 2018 indoor and outdoor seasons. During the 2018 season, Girardi was joined at the national Championship with yet another Fisher hurdler, Edward Mahana. VanAuker then exceeded that accomplishment during the 2018 outdoor season as he coached Girardi, Mahana and sophomore Tayler Dence to qualifying for the National Chamionshp. Dence is the first Fisher woman to qualify for the National championship in a track event.
Van Auker’s accomplishments include coaching track and field at SUNY College at Brockport in 1973 in which the Golden Eagles won both SUNYAC and the New York State Collegiate Championships and was named Coach of the Year. Van Auker also coached track and field at Hilton High School from 1974-1991 leading Hilton to eight divisional championships. During his time at Hilton he initiated the girls’ cross-country and track and field programs.
He then coached at Greece Athena High School from 1992-2002 and was named Section V Coach of the Year in 1993.Â
Before arriving at Fisher, Van Auker had been coaching the girls’ track and field program at Fairport High School since 2002 and has led the lady Raiders to nine divisional titles, three Section V outdoor titles and five Section V outdoor titles.
The Hilton native attended Orange County Community College where he was a two-time All-Conference in wrestling and baseball and was also named Most Outstanding Athlete in 1968. VanAuker then transferred to SUNY College at Brockport and competed in football, baseball, and track in which he won the New York State Collegiate Championship in the 400 Intermediate Hurdles in 1970 and 1971.
Van Auker retired after 35 years of teaching physical education at Hilton High School. He also served as the assistant director of the Junior Elite Distance Camp at the Olympic Training center for 17 years.
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