NEW HAVEN, Conn. –  Taryn Sheehan, who helped Louisville to the best finish in school history at NCAA cross country regionals as an assistant coach, has been named Yale's head women's cross country coach/middle distance and distance coach. David Shoehalter, Yale's Mark T. Young '68 Director of Cross Country and Track and Field, announced Sheehan's hiring today.
 
"Taryn stood out in a field of exceptional candidates and I am so excited to welcome her and her family to Yale Cross Country and Track and Field," said Shoehalter. "I am confident that she is going to do a great job guiding our women's cross country, distance and middle-distance groups and am excited to get things started." 
 
Sheehan joins the Bulldogs after spending three seasons at Western Michigan, where she was associate head coach for track & field/cross country and also served as interim head coach for the 2019 outdoor track season. She helped the women's cross country team improve its finish at NCAA Regionals each of the past two years, rising from 19^th in 2016 to 16^th in 2017 and 14^th in 2018.  She coached Hanne Christensen to the 2017 NCAA Championships, helping Christensen become just the second Bronco since 1986 to achieve that feat. She also coached two record-setting performances (in the 800-meter run and the mile) during the 2019 indoor track season and a pair of NCAA qualifiers (in the 800 and the 10,000-meter run) during the 2018 outdoor track season.
 
From 2011 to 2016 Sheehan was an assistant cross country/track & field coach at Louisville, where she helped the Cardinals to their best finish in school history at the NCAA cross country regionals in 2015. During her tenure she also helped several individuals achieve significant honors, including school records in five events indoors and six events outdoors. Under Sheehan's guidance Holly Knight earned the first distance All-American honors for a female at Louisville in more than 15 years. Knight was also named a CoSIDA Academic All-American.  Sheehan also helped Kelsey Cramsey break the school record in the 800-meter run and win the AAC title in the event at the 2014 AAC Indoor Championships. Sheehan coached NCAA qualifiers in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
 
Sheehan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from St. Francis (Pa.) in 2007. While with St. Francis she was an NCAA qualifier in the 10k and set the school and Northeast Conference records in the event. Following her time at St. Francis, she had one year of eligibility left. She went to Louisville, where she scored at the Big East indoor meet and set the school record in the indoor 3,000-meter run. Sheehan earned a Master of Science degree in sport administration from Louisville in 2009, then served as assistant women's track coach at Western Michigan from 2009 to 2011. She coached three school record-setting performances in that time.
 
Sheehan takes the helm of a Yale women's cross country team that is coming off a third-place finish at last year's NCAA Northeast Regional. The Bulldogs had one runner, Andrea Masterson '19, advance to the NCAA Championship.
 
"I am thrilled for the opportunity to lead Yale women's cross country team and be a part of an incredible coaching staff," said Sheehan. "I would like to thank David Shoehalter and [Sr. Associate Athletic Director] Andy Dunn for entrusting me with this incredible group of women.  From the minute I stepped on campus, it was evident the tradition and legacy at Yale is unparalleled from anywhere in the country. I believe I can help continue the Bulldog tradition of winning in cross country and track and field."