Coaches

Head Coach Dan Wallace will begin his 17^th year as a head basketball coach in the Greater Cincinnati area and his 19^th year coaching girls high school basketball. Dan is no stranger to Mercy education in Cincinnati; he served as the JV and assistant varsity coach at McAuley High School for two years before becoming head varsity girls basketball coach at Colerain High School for three years. Soon thereafter, he returned to McAuley as the Head Varsity Basketball Coach for five years, when he led McAuley’s team to 99 wins and appearances at Districts or Regionals every year.

Most recently, Dan served as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Lakota East High School from 2018-2026, where he developed the program and earned a State Top 10 ranking in 2023. During his coaching tenure at Lakota East, he achieved numerous awards, including GMC Coach of the Year, OH v KY All-Star Game Coach, and multiple Sectional and District Championships.

Dan has achieved multiple Coach of the Year honors, including Greater Cincinnati Hall of Fame Coach of the Year, and District Coach of the Year. Throughout his coaching career, he has achieved nine District appearances, three District Championships, and three Conference Championships. He is a three-time District All-Star Game Coach, and a two-time Ohio v Kentucky All Star Game Coach.

Head Bowling Coach Amy Feie began serving as the Head Varsity Bowling Coach in the 2020-21 season. She has been part of the Mercy McAuley coaching staff since the inaugural school year in 2018-19. The team was GGCL League Champions for the 2020-21, 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 seasons. During the 2020-21 season, the team finished as District Champions and in the top 8 at the State Tournament.

Amy has also been serving as JV Head Coach/Assistant Varsity Softball Coach at Mercy McAuley since the 2018-19 school year. At Mother of Mercy High School, she served as Co-Head Varsity Softball Coach for the 2017-18 season and Assistant Varsity Softball Coach for the 2016-17 season.

Amy is a graduate of Mother of Mercy High School, where she was a four-year member of the bowling and softball programs. She continued her education as a student athlete at Bellarmine University, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies along with minor degrees in Business Administration and Communication Marketing.

Contact Info
amfeie@gmail.com

John "Jack" Welch - JV Head Coach

Contact Info:
welchdecember29@gmail.com

Coach Tim Bley has over 17 years of experience coaching high school cross country and distance track and field, as well as high school classroom experience as a teacher. Coach Bley has over 40 years as an avid runner.

Along with Coaches Rick Witte and Natalie Lienhart (’16 McAuley), Coach Bley has been Mercy McAuley’s coach since 2019, and Mercy McAuley Cross Country Teams have posted a 561-251 record. The team has 1 GGCL title, 2 District Championship titles, and 1 Regional Championship title. They have qualified as a team to the Ohio State Meet 2 of the last 3 years, and in ,Mercy McAuley runner Abby Sewell '25 was the State Runner Up. 

Coach Bley is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and a Master of Arts in Education from the College of Mount Saint Joseph. He is also a retired Cincinnati Police officer who has had leadership roles in fitness training for the Police Academy and the Cincinnati Police Department. Coach Bley and his wife, Pauline, are active members of St. Jude parish, and his family has a strong commitment to Mercy education and the Mercy McAuley community. Coach Bley’s wife (Pauline- ’85 Mercy), 3 daughters (Ellen-’13 Mercy, Emma- ’15 Mercy, and Leah-’20 Mercy McAuley), and sister (Karen- ’94 Mercy) are all graduates of Mercy Education.

Contact Info:
mercymcauleycc@gmail.com
(513) 608-4060

Julia is a recent graduate of Xavier University, where she earned her degree in nursing and was a four-year member of the dance team. With an extensive list of dance background experience, Julia comes to us from the Toledo School for the Arts in her hometown of Toledo, Ohio. Julia will begin her role as Mercy McAuley's dance coach in the 2024-25 school year.

Contact Info:
jvaillant32@outlook.com

David Wolkoff - Head Dive Coach

David started coaching at Ursuline Academy during the 1996-97 season and continued through the 2020 season. He took one season off but returned to the Lions in 2024-25 and is joining Mercy McAuley for the 2025-26 season. He has taken many divers to the state meet and in 2006 his top diver, Jen Funch, won the State Title.

Contact Info:
dbwolkoff@gmail.com

Head Flag Football Coach Mark Hafner will begin his second season as head coach of the Wolves’ varsity team in 2027. He brings more than two decades of experience coaching high school football and currently serves as the Head Coach of Boys’ Football at Summit Country Day, a role he has held since 2023. From 2016–23, he also served as Summit’s defensive coordinator. Throughout his career, Coach Hafner has taught student-athletes all aspects of the game, including offense, defense, and special teams.

Contact Info:
HafnerM@mercymcauley.org

Sarah Enginger was a member of Mercy McAuley’s first-ever Flag Football team, helping lead the program to a League Runner-Up finish while earning Southwest Player of the Year honors in her lone season. Sarah was invited to tryout for the U.S. Women’s National Team and brings tremendous passion for the game to the coaching ranks.

John began coaching golf 16 years ago at McAuley High School. He has served as both an Assistant Coach and JV Head Coach, and has been the Head Varsity Golf Coach at Mercy McAuley since the 2024–25 season.

A passionate golfer, John introduced the game to his daughters at a young age—both are alumnae of McAuley—and one went on to play at the collegiate level. He enjoys helping his players develop their skills and confidence in a sport they can enjoy for life.

Contact Info:
bumpgolf@mac.com

Head Coach Emma Curnutte will begin her second season as head coach with Mercy McAuley Lacrosse in 2027. Emma worked alongside Co-Head Coach Kate Calder last season and as her assistant for the seven years prior.

Contact Info:
curnuttee5@gmail.com

Mike is in his first season as the Wolves Varsity Head Coach. Mike has previously served as the assistant varsity soccer coach at La Salle High School for the past three years. Prior to his coaching role at La Salle, he served as the head varsity boys' soccer coach and head track & field coach at Roger Bacon High School. Michael has also been a boys and girls youth soccer coach for Kings Hammer Academy since 2020.

Head Varsity Softball Coach Mark Rave has coached Varsity Softball in Cincinnati for over 22 years at Walnut Hills, Northwest, and now Mercy McAuley. He has also coached 16u, 18u, and 23u travel softball for Cincinnati Reds RBI, Cincy Magic, Cincy Venom, and Cincy Hornets. He has been the Softball Coach at Mercy McAuley since August of 2023.

Contact Info:
ravelandscaping.a@gmail.com

Caitlyn is a Cincinnati native who grew up swimming for the Cincinnati Marlins. She attended St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati. She recently graduated from St. Bonaventure University, where she swam at the Division I level and was a 2-year team captain. Caitlyn has also served as assistant coach for the St. Bernard Stingrays for two years.

Contact Info:
cclements2003@gmail.com

Assistant Swim Coach Anna Carroll swam for four years at Mercy McAuley and is returning to her alma mater to help lead the Wolves Swim Team. A 2023 graduate, she was also the recipient of the Circle of Mercy Award in her class.

Mauricio Vela joined Mercy McAuley for the 2025 Fall season after coaching at Anderson High School. Mauricio is an energetic coach with a lifelong passion for tennis, shaped by his years as a top-level collegiate athlete and youth mentor. He brings a balance of competitive drive, fun-focused coaching, and personalized player development, helping athletes of all ages grow in both skill and confidence.

Originally from Colombia, Mauricio came to the United States on a tennis scholarship. He competed for Southern Arkansas University and Wingate University (NC), where he was a National College Championship Quarterfinalist.

Mauricio holds a Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Certification for ages 11–19 and is also certified in tennis coaching. Beyond tennis, he is an Open-level racquetball player and a 3.5–4.0 level pickleball competitor.

Contact Info:
mpv4u2@outlook.com

Coach Benning's teams have experienced tremendous success during the short history of the Wolves Track & Field program. The team has finished as team runner-up at the GGCL meet twice, in 2019 and 2025. Several Wolves have won GGCL championships, and a Wolf has been voted as the league Runner of the Year three times (2021, 2022, 2025) and Field Athlete of the year twice (2024, 2025). The Wolves have also performed well on the state level, having placed in individual and/or relay events at the State Championship meet in five consecutive seasons (2021-2025). The Cincinnati Enquirer recognized Coach Benning as the Girls D2 Coach of the Year in 2025, after the team’s 3rd place Team finish at the 2025 State Championships.

Before becoming the head coach at Mercy McAuley, Coach Benning served as the head Track & Field coach at Summit Country Day High School, assistant coach at St. Xavier High School and head coach at McAuley High School.  He coached athletes that competed at the State Championships in 2008, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Coach Benning is a graduate of Miami University, where he was a 2-sport athlete. He was a 4-year football letter winner, and a member of the 1993 Mid-American Conference Track & Field championship team and winning 4x400 relay squad.

Coaching Experience:
   Mercy McAuley High School
   2019 - Present: Head Coach

   McAuley High School
   2018: Head Coach
   2016-17: Assistant Coach/Sprints

   St. Xavier High School
   2012-15: Assistant Coach/Sprints

   Summit Country Day High School
   2007-10: Head Coach

Contact Info:
mercymcauleytf@gmail.com.

Matt Schardine and Brittney Billiter serve as head coaches of our Varsity Volleyball team.

Coach Matt Schardine has been a part of the volleyball coaching staff at Mercy McAuley since 2019 as an assistant coach for the Varsity and JV teams. He also served as assistant volleyball coach at Mother of Mercy High School from 1998-2001.

In addition to his coaching roles at Mercy McAuley and Mother of Mercy, Coach Schardine has spent the past 24 seasons as an assistant varsity coach for St. Xavier High School’s volleyball program. He also previously served as head coach for both Northwest and Purcell Marian High Schools, assistant coach at Oak Hills High School, and a volunteer assistant for the University of Cincinnati volleyball program.

Coach Brittney Billiter, who also serves as a Learning Coordinator at Mercy McAuley, has been coaching Mercy McAuley's Varsity team since 2024.