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Alisha Samuel

Alisha Samuel

Alisha Samuel began her tenure at Marist in August 2024. 

She came to Poughkeepsie after two seasons as Head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach at St. Catherine University (Minn.). Samuel coached a first-year sprinter to three All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors at the St. Paul-based program. Makayla Stinson earned All-MIAC acclaim in the 60-, 100- and 200-meter dashes in 2023. The Wildcats also experienced success in the hurdles, jumps and throws events under Samuel. Gabby Bodin, a 100-meter hurdler, earned two All-MIAC honors in the event. A senior javelin thrower, Brianna Leverentz, won the MIAC in that event in 2023 and earned a spot at the Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. 

Before Samuel’s St. Paul stay, she served as head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach at William Jewell College. With the Liberty, Mo., program, Samuel helmed several athletes to first-time All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honors. At the 2019 GLVC Outdoor Championships, junior Ryan Hoffman became a first-time conference champion by winning the decathlon. Although the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated William Jewell’s 2020 outdoor season, Hoffman finished second in the heptathlon at the GLVC Indoor Championships. Tyrell Jeffries also finished third in the 200-meter dash at the 2019 outdoor meet, while Carly Thacker – a freshman 400-meter hurdler – finished fifth at the 2021 GLVC meet. The Cardinals also produced the GLVC Freshman of the Year in Cydney Banks, who won the shot put at the 2022 outdoor conference meet. 

Samuel spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Oberlin College (Ohio). During that time, the Yeowomen won North Coast Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor titles in the same year (2017) for the first time in program history. The team repeated that feat in 2018. In addition to sprints, Samuel began coaching hurdles in 2016. That season she coincided with Lilah Drafts-Johnson earning the first of her four All-American honors. Drafts-Johnson broke the Oberlin 400-meter and 400-meter hurdles records, along with the indoor and outdoor 200-meter marks. Drafts-Johnson finished her career by eclipsing her 400-hurdle standard, a time that secured her the 2018 Division III national championship. 

Other Oberlin school records fell during Samuel’s tenure. Two Yeowomen – Margaret Miller and Imani Cook-Gist – lowered the 60-meter school standard from 2015-16. Cook-Gist’s record has stood for nearly 10 years. The women’s indoor 4x400-meter relay team also set an Oberlin record in 2016. Two women’s 400-meter runners earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors at the 2017 indoor conference meet; two Yeomen’s 400 runners did the same at the 2018 NCAC Outdoor Championships. 

Samuel served as a graduate assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State University for two seasons as well. Coaching sprints at her alma mater, Samuel helped Rachel Lewis earn Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year accolades at the 2008 indoor conference meet. Lewis finished second in the 60-meter dash at that meet. At the 2009 MIAA Outdoor Championships, both the Bearcat men’s and women’s 4x100-meter relay teams finished third. 

As an athlete at Northwest Missouri State, Samuel was a two-time All-American in the 60-meter dash and made six appearances at the NCAA Division II indoor and outdoor championship meets. Samuel also won five MIAA titles – in the 60-, 100- and 200-meter dashes – and earned 17 all-conference honors. A five-time MIAA Athlete of the Week honoree, Samuel also won the Northwest Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year award in 2005. 

Samuel earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwest Missouri State. She is a native of San Juan, Trinidad, and a Certified Level 1 and 2 USATF Coach.

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