Michael Britton enters his second season as Faulkner Assistant Cross Country Coach.
Along with head coach Caleb Kilpatrick, Britton oversaw a decorated first full-time season in the program. The year was highlighted by Chloe Helms earning the top individual finish in the SSAC Championships in program history, finishing in sixth place with a time of 22:48.7 to become the first Faulkner harrier since the program's rebirth in 2022 to make the NAIA National Championship field. In one season as full-time assistant coach, Helms and Avery Rogers set six of the top 10 all-distance paces and highest finish percentages in women's program history, eight of the top 10 6K times and four of the top 10 5K times. The duo owns those categories as they provided the remaining such top 10 times as freshmen in 2024 and now hold the top four SSAC Championship paces, finishes and finish percentages in program history.
In one season as full-time assistant, on the men's side, the Eagles set eight of the top 10 all-distance finish percentages, seven of the top 10 all-distance paces, nine of the top 10 8K individual times, the top eight 8K finish percentages, and four of the top 10 5K individual finish times and percentages, with those records all being held by David Robles, Brodie Moore, Cole Charles and Creed Spivey. In 2025, that group of runners earned four of the top five SSAC Championship individual times, finishes and finish percentages. In 2024-25, those four, in combination with Cam Waters and Carson Roberson, owns nine of the top 10 SSAC times and finish percentages and seven of the top 10 individual finishes. In one season, Robles owns six of the top eight all-distance paces, six of the top eight finish percentages, the top five 8K individual times and five of the top six 8K finish percentages.
His promotion came after he served as the primary Volunteer Assistant Coach alongside Kilpatrick under Reed Sutton in 2024-25, a campaign that saw program records fall like dominoes. Freshmen Brodie Moore and Chloe Helms set individual program records seven times in four meets apiece for the men and women. The Eagles and Lady Eagles broke the program record for 1-5 average time at the season-opening Jacksonville State Foothills Invitational. The teams also set new records for team averages in the 5k in the Dalton State Nooga at Night Invite and in the men's 8k and women's 6k at the SSAC Cross Country Championships. A total of 27 personal records were reached, with at least six occurring at each meet.
A former Marine, Britton is married to Shannon, and they are the parents of Mia and Micah. He was previously the head coach at Alabama Christian Academy where Kilpatrick served as his assistant, and together they coached their sons. Micah twice earned All-State honors at ACA and went on to run cross country in college at Auburn University at Montgomery, where he owns the first, second, ninth and tenth fastest 8k times in AUM history and took home Second Team All-Gulf South Conference honors as a senior in 2020.
