KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan Division of Intercollegiate Athletics and head coach of track & field/cross country Kelly Lycan are pleased to announce the hiring of Taryn Sheehan as associate head coach for cross country/track & field. Sheehan, a Pittsburgh, Pa., native, will deal primarily with the distance runners at WMU.
"She's a high-energy person and she really wants this distance program to be top-level," Lycan said. "We made some really great strides with the distance crew last year with our best finish at the MAC Championships in a long time. I think she's exactly the right person to keep that momentum going and help us be a year-in and year-out contender in the MAC Championship as well as a team that is high in the region every year."
Sheehan graduated from St. Francis (Pa.) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 2007. While with St. Francis she was a NCAA qualifier in the 10k and held the school and Northeast Conference record in the event. Following her time at St. Francis, she had one year of eligibility left and after graduating went to the University of Louisville, where she scored at the Big East indoor meet and holds the Cardinal record in the indoor 3,000-meter run.
She graduated from Louisville in 2009 with a Master's of Science degree in sport administration. Afterward, she served as an assistant coach with Western Michigan under Lycan from 2009-2011. Following her stint with the Broncos, Sheehan became the assistant coach at Louisville from 2011-2015. She helped coach the Cardinals to their highest finish in the cross country NCAA Regionals in school history in 2015.
"I'm really excited to be back in Kalamazoo, it's a great supporting community with a rich tradition of excellence within all of its programs," Sheehan said. "We want to build off of the past year and really continue to grow the group and to be a conference powerhouse and a regional threat every year as an entire program. We want to continue to bring in the best student-athletes that fit into the Bronco family from the Midwest region."
Sheehan resides in Kalamazoo with her husband Ryan and her daughter Sloane, who was born in 2014.
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