Bio

Longtime high school cross country coach at West Des Moines Dowling Catholic High School, Jim Kirby enters his fourth season with the Simpson cross country teams in 2020

Kirby has been coaching cross country and track and field since 1992. He served as the head girls' cross country coach at Dowling from 2006-2016 and began as an assistant for the track and field team beginning in 1999. 

In his time as head cross country coach, Kirby guided Dowling to six state championship titles and coached five individual state champions. Two of his runners qualified for the Foot Locker Nationals and both finished in the top eight. Three of his teams at Dowling qualified for the NXN Team nationals in Portland, Ore. Future NCAA Division I Track Champion Katie Flood won NXN Nationals in 2010. Kirby also coached Karissa Schweizer, who was a National Champion in cross country and a five-time National Champion in track and field in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter events at the University of Missouri. Schweizer received the Honda Sports Award in 2017 as the nation's top female cross country runner and she set the American record in the indoor 3,000 meters in 8:25.70 on Feb. 28, 2020.

Additionally, he coached 15 individual state champions in track and field. 

Kirby is also an avid runner in his own right. He has competed in 24 martahons, qualifying for the Boston Marathon four times while finishing 20th at the 1989 Drake Marathon and 15th at the 1989 St. Louis Marathon. He also competed at the 1990 Berlin Marathon. 

He is a priest at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Carlisle.