Michael Tornifolio

Biography

Michael Tornifolio is entering his 11th season at College of Charleston and was promoted to track and field head coach in May 2024. He had been associate head coach since May 2019 and served as interim head coach during the 2023-24 academic year. He works primarily with the Cougar jumpers, sprinters and multi-event athletes. During his time at Charleston, Tornifolio has coached a pair of CAA champions in Julisa Tindall and Luzy Lieger. Tindall holds the school record in the indoor and outdoor high jump and won the CAA title in 2015 and 2016. Lieger took first place in the pole vault at the 2023 and 2024 indoor and outdoor conference meets and holds both school marks while also setting the CAA indoor pole vault record. Both athletes also earned multiple trips to the NCAA East Regional Meet and spots on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, and Tindall qualified for the 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships. In addition to Tindall and Lieger, five other Tornifolio-coached athletes have earned spots on the podium at CAA Championships. That group includes pole vaulters Chloe Christian, Tonet Tallie and Madison Jent as well as RoShani Glover (triple jump) and Jenny Martin (heptathlon). Tornifolio also mentored Kaitlynn Bailey, who established herself as one of the top sprinters in school history with school records in the outdoor 100 and 200 and the indoor 60 and 200. At the 2024 CAA Outdoor Championships, she became the first Cougar to qualify for the finals in the 100 since Charleston join