Cooper begins her eighth season as a member of the Gannon cross country coaching staff in 2018, extending a 12-year affiliation to the program. A four-year letterwinner from 2007-10, Cooper excelled on the course and in the classroom. She was named a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Scholar-Athlete the first three years after Gannon entered the league in 2008. Cooper received the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award as a junior. Her top academic achievement is arguably being named to back-to-back U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II All-Academic teams as a junior and senior.
The Falconer, N.Y., native was Gannon’s top female runner at four of seven events during her senior campaign in 2010. Cooper’s top performances as a senior were an eighth-place finish at the California (Pa.) Invitational, an 11th-place finish at the Roberts Wesleyan Invitational and a 13th-place finish at the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invitational. She concluded her collegiate career as Gannon’s top runner at the 2010 PSAC Championships.
Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree in sport and exercise science from Gannon in 2010 with a minor in athletic coaching and sport behaviors. She later received a doctorate in physical therapy from Gannon in 2013.
