Track & Field To Break In New Facility With Friday Intrasquad Event
08/17/2012
Laura Harmon Hired As Assistant Cross Country and Track & Field Coach
Laura Harmon Hired As Assistant Cross Country and Track & Field Coach
After serving the previous year and a half on staff as a volunteer, Laura Harmon was elevated to the position of full-time assistant coach in August 2012. She is a former collegiate cross country All-American, two-time 5,000-meter NCAA qualifier and two-time Oregon 4A high school state champion.
Harmon, a native of Vancouver, Wash., was an all-state performer at Jesuit High School in Beaverton and concluded her high school career in 2000 with 4A wins in the 1,500 and 3,000 in times of 4:39.67 and 10:04.32, respectively. In cross country Harmon finished third as a senior at the 1999 state meet (19:03), ninth as a junior (19:42) and eighth as a sophomore, also leading her Jesuit squad to team titles in 1998 and 1999.
Continuing her collegiate career at Oregon, Harmon was a 2004 cross country All-American and NCAA qualifier in the 5,000 in both 2004 (outdoor) and 2005 (indoor). She wrapped up her cross country career and claimed All-America honors in her second NCAA championship race in November 2004, finishing 31st against the top 255 runners in the nation in the 6K race (21:08) and in the process notched UO's highest NCAA women's placing since 1998.
On the track, in the spring of 2004, she received a NCAA invite after posting a personal best in the 5,000 final at the West Regional (third, 16:33.17). In her NCAA outdoor debut two weeks later, she bettered her pre-meet seed by three positions and finished 18th in a time of 17:18.41. On Feb. 12, 2005 Harmon ran an indoor personal best of 16:18.56 in the 5,000 at the Husky Classic and finished 15th at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 11 (17:24.21).
After her career in Eugene, Harmon returned to Jesuit where she coached for four years, helping the Crusaders to a quartet of cross country state titles and the school's first women's track state championship in 2008.
