Laura Harmon - Cross Country Coach (2024)

Laura Harmon is entering her first year of coaching with the Washington State University cross country and track & field programs in 2022-23 as she continues a decorated 17-year coaching career that includes multiple high school team state championships in both cross country and track, numerous NCAA All-Americans and multiple conference champions. At WSU, she will work with the Cougars' women's cross country and track & field distance programs.

Harmon most recently spent one season as the head cross country/ track & field coach at one of her alma maters, Jesuit HS, where she also got her coaching start as an assistant coach back in 2005.

Before Jesuit HS, Harmon was the Director of Women’s and Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field at University of Minnesota Duluth. Her student-athletes found postseason success, including a NCAA Division II National champion in the 60-meter hurdles and multiple All-Americans. She had previously helped re-instate the women''s cross country/track & field programs at Sierra College where she served as the Head Cross Country/Track & FIeld Coach for two years. Harmon still serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at Sierra College.

Her first collegiate coaching conference was across the Pac-12 at Oregon State where she was and assistant cross country/track and field coach from 2011-14 before taking her first head coaching gig as the head cross country/assistant track & field coach at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth Texas. Her first Division I head coaching role came just one year later when she took over as the head cross country/track & field coach and recruiting coordinator at Sacramento State University in August of 2015.

As a runner,Harmon was a two-time team captain on the University of Oregon cross country and track & field teams, where she graduated with a bachelors in psychology in 2005. Harmon’s decorated competitive career included one NCAA Cross Country All-American nod, two second-team All-American Academic selections, and four NCAA Regional appearances in the 1500m and 5000m. Harmon later went on to complete her Master’s of Kinesiology with a focus on physical education at Fresno Pacific University, graduating in 2018.

Coaching Highlights:
Jesuit HS (Aug. '21 - July '22)
- Sixth-place team finish at the '21 Garmin Running Lane National Championship
- Coached Chloe Foerster to an eighth-place finish at the Garmin Running Lane National Championship (16:45). Foersteralso acheived Oregon State records in the mile (Arcadia Invitational, 4:40.27), an 800m meet record at Oregon Relays (2:05.80), and Oregon all-time state meet record in the 1500m (4:24.39), state titles in the 800m and 1500m, respectively.
- Coached freshman Emma Bennett to an all time freshman OSAA Meet Record in the 1500m (4:27.01).
Univ. of Minnesota Duluth (Nov. '18 - Aug. '21)
-Oversaw Danielle Kohlwey to an individual NCAA championship title in the 60m hurdles at the2019 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championship Meet along with All-Americanhonors in the 200m and a third place NCAA finish in the 100h outdoors in 2019. Kohlwey also won individual indoor conference titles in the 60m hurdles & 200m, as well as outdoor NSIC titles in the 100m hurdles and the 200m.
-Led Haleigh Reindl to five NCAA Track and Field appearances, and three NCAA All-American honors in the 800m ('20 indoor, '21 indoor & '21 outdoor) as well as a pair of outdoor NSIC titles in the 800m ('19 outdoor & '20 indoor)
-Oversaw the women to a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) title in the DMR in 2021.
Sierra College (July '16 - Nov. '18)
-Brought back the women’s cross country and track and field programs after a seven-year hiatusand coached the inaugural cross country team to a CCCAA state meet berth in 2016.
-Oversaw Chelsea Andrews to a 2016 Big 8 Conference title, third place finish in the NorthernCalifornia Championships in Cross Country, and a Big 8 Conference 5000m track 1st place finish.
-Coached Lucie Chevreuil to a 2017 Big 8 Cross Country Conference title by a twenty-nine second margin.
Sacramento State Univ. (Aug. '15 - July '16)
- 2016 Big Sky Indoor Conference Championship.
- 14 Sacramento State top-10 times between indoor and outdoor track & field and all-time cross country program record in the 6000m (Chloe Berlioux, 19:54). Chloe Berliouxwon three cross country races under Harmon's direction as well as indoor program records in the mile (4:43.56), 3000m (9:28.27). Berlioux also won a Big Sky conference title in the 1500m and finished third in the conference in the 800m, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 1500m (2016).
Oregon State (Jan. '11 - Aug. '14)
- Primary coach for Kinsey Gomez who set a program record in the 10,000m by over 50 seconds en route to an NCAA regional appearance where she finished 13th overall.
Jesuit HS (Aug. '05 - July '09)
- Helped oversee four girls 6A cross country state championships (2005-08).
- Oversaw first Jesuit 6A track team state title (2008) while helping to lead three athletes to individual state titles ('08-'09)
- Guided girls teams to three Nike Cross Country Team Nationals appearances with 18th, 12th, and 15th-place finishes, respectively.