Betsy Emerson has led the women’s cross country and distance track and field programs since 2010. In the last five years, Emerson has coached the cross country team to top-six finishes each year with a fourth-place team finish at the MIAC Championships in 2013. This was the best team placing since the 1999 squad finished second. The cross country teams have also finished in the top 10 in the Central Region in each of the past five seasons. Under Emerson’s guidance, Kimber Meyer achieved All-America status in cross country as a first year, sophomore and junior, while winning the MIAC Cross Country title in 2015. Meyer was also a two time All American distance runner in track and field and was awarded an NCAA post graduate scholarship upon graduation in 2017.
Under Coach Emerson’s leadership the distance runners have set several new school records in track and field and have competed at national meets. During Emerson’s tenure at Mac, her cross country teams have had great success in the classroom, posting the top team grade point average among women’s teams at Mac in seven of her eight years of coaching. The team consistently has earned an overall GPA of 3.5 or better.
Before Mac, Emerson was head women’s cross country and women’s track and field coach at Luther College in Iowa for 17 years. At Luther, she received Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Coach of the Year honors six times in cross country and three times in track and field. Emerson led the Norse to a third place NCAA Division III finish in cross country in 2000 and a fourth place national finish in outdoor track and field in 1997.
Emerson has coached two NCAA Division III cross country individual champions and seven All-Americans. Her track and field athletes have won 50 conference championships and 49 All-America honors.
