Head Women's Coach Kathy Newberry

09/01/00

- Former Tribe standout Kathy Newberry assumed the role of head coach for both the women’s track and field and cross country programs in March 2005 after serving the previous two years as a volunteer assistant coach to the Tribe’s men’s cross country and track programs. Showing no drop-off in the tradition of excellence built over the past decade and a half, Newberry has already directed the program to four Colonial Athletic Association titles and was named CAA Coach of the Year in both cross country and track in 2005-06.

The 2006 cross country season was a solid entry into the College annals, as the team won its fourth-straight CAA title and placed a program-best second at the ECAC Championships. Meghan Bishop became the Tribe’s seventh harrier to earn four All-CAA honors by placing second at the CAA Championships, and was fourth at the ECAC Championships to earn All-East accolades. Junior Emily Gousen made huge strides last season, winning the Tribe Open by over 40 seconds and also earning All-CAA and All-East honors. Freshman Anna Brousell appeared in a team-high seven races, earning all-conference and All-East acclaim as well as running at the NCAA Southeast Regional.

The Tribe followed up in the spring by posting its first qualifier to the NCAA Championships since 2004, as Bonnie Meekins competed in the heptathlon and placed 16th. The College also produced six CAA champions and one ECAC titlist. The distance corps was in full force at the CAA Championships, taking every race 1,500m and longer at the conference meet. Freshman Emily Anderson was the CAA Champion at 1,500m, marking the fourth time in the past five years that a W&M athlete had won the event, and the third time in that span the winner had been a freshman. Senior Kate Willever won the 3,000m steeplechase for her first conference title, and Bishop won the 5,000m for her third crown. Gousen completed the sweep by winning the 10,000m in a meet-record time of 36:04.05. Gousen also earned All-East both indoors and outdoors at 5,000m, finishing second at the outdoor ECAC Championships in 16:58.90.

In Newberry’s first season at the helm of the cross country program, her athletes far out-stripped the expectations of most observers, culminating in an upset of 24th-ranked North Carolina for fifth at the Southeast Region Championships, gaining the team its first at-large berth to the NCAA Championship since 2002. Under her tutelage, the Tribe recorded four team victories in 11 attempts, including a third-consecutive CAA crown. Led by the efforts of juniors Meghan Bishop and Julia Cathcart, who finished one-two for the College in every race they ran, William and Mary’s return to the NCAA Championships was a success as the school placed 23rd and narrowly missed upsetting the Tar Heels again. The duo, who were the CAA Co-Rookies of the Year in 2003, finished 76th and 86th, respectively, and also earned all-conference and all-region honors.

Freshmen played a big role in the success of the harrier’s season as well, as three ran in the CAA Championships and one, Kelsey Snowden, also participated at the Southeast Regional. Fellow freshman Emily Schroeder not only counted an appearance at the CAAs in her season’s accomplishments, but also earned her first individual collegiate title at the Tribe Open. The team was also a hit in the classroom, earning Academic All-America honors from the women’s cross country coaches association (WICCCA) for the seventh consecutive season, and Bishop was honored by the CAA as Scholar-Athlete of the Year and by WICCCA as an All-Academic team member.

The 2006 track season also proved to be a smashing success, as the women won their sixth-straight CAA crown and sent numerous individuals to the NCAA Regional. Bishop earned All-East honors indoors and outdoors at 3,000m, and set huge personal records in both the 3,000m and 5,000m. She took fourth in the 3,000m indoors at ECACs, qualifying provisionally for the NCAA Championships and ranking fourth all-time at W&M with a time of 9:31.25. Outdoors, she ran a stunning 40 seconds below her previous best in the 5,000m at Stanford, timing 16:18.49 to qualify for the NCAA Regionals. The mark also ranks fourth in the school record books. Kristyn Shiring took second in the CAA 5,000m for the second year in a row, and was also a double All-East honoree at 5,000m, qualifying for the NCAA Regional with her runner-up performance at the outdoor ECACs.

At the CAA Championships, Newberry’s athletes won four titles, the 800m, 5,000m, discus, and heptathlon. They also earned second-place showings at 1,500m, 3,000m steeplechase, 10,000m, shot-put, and hammer throw. Senior Lydia Malley had a breakout season, winning the CAA 800m and earning All-East honors individually at 800m and as part of the 4x800m relay team that took second, along with sophomore Allie Lewis and freshmen Schroeder and Rebecca Ward. Cathcart was the CAA 5,000m champion in meet-record time and was named All-East outdoors. At the conclusion of the season, the CAA named Bishop as its Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s track, giving her an unprecedented third such honor. Also, the coaches voted Newberry as Coach of the Year, giving her the sweep of the year’s awards.

In 2005, the team took the conference track championships by storm, winning four titles and garnering 20 All-CAA nods. Senior Jackie Kosakowski was the runner-up in the CAA 3,000m steeplechase and followed up a month later with the ECAC crown in the same event. Bishop won her second 1,500m title at the CAA Championships, and was on pace for All-East honors in the event before she was knocked to the track in the finals. Shiring exploded at the indoor ECAC championships, running 41 seconds below her previous best at 5,000m to qualify provisionally for the NCAA Championships. She also hit the provisional mark outdoors for 10,000m, winning the Raleigh Relays in 34:46.60. In all, Newberry’s inaugural season yielded four CAA champions, one ECAC champion, 20 all-conference citations, three indoor and five outdoor All-East nods, four NCAA Provisional marks, 11 bids to the indoor ECAC meet, 26 bids to the outdoor ECAC meet, and five NCAA Regional berths (four individual, one relay).

Still an active competitor at the national level, competing regularly both on the track and in road races, Newberry qualified for the 2004 Olympic Trials finals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, finishing 13th and 14th, respectively. She also ended 2004 ranked 10th nationally in the 10,000m. A three-time qualifier for the U.S. National Cross Country Team, Newberry finished 25th at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships as the second-fastest American in the 8,000m race. She again competed at the 2005 Worlds, finishing in 38th as the third-fastest American, after qualifying with a fourth-place finish at the 2005 USA Cross Country Championships. In 2003, she was ranked 17th in the nation in the 5,000m and placed 11th in that distance at the 2003 USAT&F Championships. Newberry also raced to third in the 2003 USAT&F Fall Cross Country Championships and also competed at the 2005 USAT&F Championships in the 5,000m.

An ace for the Tribe from 1996 to 2000, Newberry claimed two CAA titles (3,000m and 5,000m) and earned multiple All-East designations. She was All-CAA and all-region in cross country every season and was the top finisher on the 1998 Tribe cross country squad that finished a best-ever 10th at the NCAA Championships, just missing All-America honors in 43rd place. She still holds the College records in the indoor distance medley relay (11:39.85) and outdoor 4x1,500m relay (18:08.88). She also boasts the Tribe’s fourth-fastest 1,500m time (4:28.37), fifth-fastest 3,000m time (9:38.13) and ninth-fastest 5,000m time (16:49.29). In her postcollegiate career she has dropped her times further, running 15:45.32 for 5,000m and 32:45.78 for 10,000m.

She has previous coaching experience at Stephen F. Austin State University where she served as a volunteer assistant, helping the Lumberjacks sweep the conference titles in both men’s and women’s cross country and mentoring several conference titlists and a national qualifier. A resident of Williamsburg, Newberry was married in the summer of 2005 to the Tribe’s head men’s track and cross country coach, Alex Gibby.