Paul Kurtz is serving his 11th season at the helm of the Fire cross country programs, which began in 2012.

In 2024, the women's team took the Fire Invitational to kick off the year and finished third at the Sun Conference Championships. Grace Feder earned First-Team All-Sun Conference honors and ran a personal best at the NAIA National Championships. The men's team turned in four top-five finishes, with a fourth place finish at the Sun Conference Championship with two earning All-Conference honors.

In 2023, Kurtz coached the men's team to another Sun Conference Championship, led for the third straight year by champion and Sun Conference Runner of the Year John Perez-Dunn. The women's team claimed a third place finish in the Conference Championship. Six from the men's team and three on women's side were named All-Sun Conference. The men's side and Grace Feder headed Nationals, Feder finished 163rd in her field, and the men finished 32nd.

The men's cross country team was The Sun Conference champion in 2022 with six runners earning All-Conference recognition, led by conference champion John Perez-Dunn. Kurtz was selected as Sun Conference Coach of the Year on the men's side. The women's team finished second and earned an at-large trip to NAIA Nationals, securing a trip for both teams for the second time in program history. The women finished 28th and the men were 29th. 

In 2021, the program sent three individuals to the NAIA National Championships. Kurtz was named The Sun Conference Women's Coach of the Year and helped Julia Rohm to Sun Conference Runner of the Year honors. 

The 2020 season was a monumental achievement for both the men's and women's programs. On the men's side, the Fire claimed their first ever Sun Conference Championship, thus earning the program's first NAIA National Championship appearance.

On the women's side in 2020, the Fire earned their fifth-straight team NAIA Nationals appearance after winning The Sun Conference Championship. Junior Julia Rohm was named The Sun Conference Runner of the Year,  The USTFCCCA NAIA Cross Country South Region Female Athlete of the Year, and became the program's first two-time NAIA All-American.

Coach Kurtz was named TSC Coach of the Year on both the men's and women's side in 2020.

In 2019, the SEU women's program won The Sun Conference Championship for the second time in three seasons. Additionally, Coach Kurtz was voted TSC Women's Coach of the Year for the second time in three years. The women's team earned their highest position ever in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll at No. 8 and the Fire finished a program-best 14th at NAIA Nationals. Sophomore Julia Rohm became the program's first NAIA All-American.

In 2018, the SEU women's team qualified for an at-large invite to the NAIA National Championship after a third-place finish in The Sun Conference. SEU finished 29th, led by freshman Julia Rohm, who ran a program record 18:08.1 5K on the national stage.

In 2017, the women's cross country team won their first Sun Conference Championship in program history, earning their first ever team berth at the NAIA Cross Country Nationals. The Fire also sent two athletes to the NAIA Indoor Track Nationals in the Spring of 2018

In 2016, the Fire sent four runners to the NAIA National Championship with Trae Miller on the men's side, and Julia Kaster, Sydni Ogilvie, and Megan Fitzgerald all returning to nationals. Kurtz was named The Sun Conference Coach of the Year for women's cross country, guiding the Fire to a Top 25 ranking, and a second-place finish at the conference championship meet.

The 2015 season saw the Fire reach milestones on both teams. Deion Cossio and Miller became the first two male runners to qualify for the NAIA National Championship. Additionally, Fitzgerald, Ogilvie, and  Kaster all qualified on the women's side. Both the men's and women's teams finished second at The Sun Conference Championship, hosted by SEU at Holloway Park. 

Kurtz started both of the Southeastern cross country teams from scratch. In the first meet for the women’s team, the Fire failed to have a runner break 23:00 in the 5k. Over the course of the next two months under Kurtz’ direction, the women developed a pack mentality and ran to a third-place finish at The Sun Conference Championship meet, dropping 10 minutes off their total time. The Fire placed four runners in the top 25 at the meet.

On the men’s side, Kurtz worked his magic on the 3–4–5 runners in the lineup and helped them all drop at least four minutes off their times. As a team, they finished sixth in their first Sun Conference Championship meet, placing three runners in the top 30.

In their second season, the men’s squad recorded a victory at their first home meet, and then went on to win the Southern Wesleyan Warrior Invitational and the NCCAA South Region Championship.

The Fire have also enjoyed success in the classroom, with both squads being named NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Teams. A total of 12 men and 25 women have been named NAIA, NCCAA, or Sun Conference Scholar-Athletes. The Fire have also had six Sun Conference Champions of Character Award recipients, and seven CoSIDA Academic All-District selections.

Before coming to Lakeland, Kurtz served as the head men’s cross country and track and field coach for Roberts Wesleyan University (New York) from 1991–2010. In 1998, he was named the women’s cross country coach while also assisting the women’s track and field program as an assistant coach.

In just his third season with the Redhawks, Kurtz led his men’s program to the 1993 NCCAA Championship and was named the 1993 NCCAA National Coach of the Year.

During his 20-year tenure at Roberts Wesleyan, he coached 18 Individual National Champions, 51 All–Americans, and more than 200 Scholar-Athletes within the NAIA and NCCAA. Also, nine times he led the Raiders to a top five national finish within the NCCAA National Championships, and eight times his teams placed at NAIA Nationals, including one top 10 national finish.

In addition, Kurtz coached future Olympian Jen Suhr during her freshman year at Roberts Wesleyan College in the high jump. Suhr would later pick up the pole vault during her senior year at Roberts and is now considered the No. 1 women’s pole vaulter in the world.

In 2008, she won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics and, in 2012, was the gold medal winner at the London games. Track & Field News named her American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008.

Four of his players have also won the prestigious Wheeler Award, given to one outstanding student-athlete in cross country by the NCCAA.

He also served as the American Mideast Conference cross country sports chair from 2002–2010 and the NCCAA sports chair from 1997–2000.

During his own collegiate career, Kurtz was one of Messiah College’s top runners from 1988–1990. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1990. In 1997, he earned a second degree, this time from Roberts Wesleyan in nursing. Kurtz has 12 years of experience in cardiac rehabilitation, training patients who suffered cardiac events back to a healthy lifestyle.

Kurtz has a USA Track and Field Level II Coaching Certification and is a member of the USA Track & Field / Cross Country and the NAIA Cross Country and Track & Field Coaches Associations.

Kurtz is still an active runner today, running marathons and training with his teams. He and his wife, Susanne, have four children and reside in Lakeland.