Christine MacDonald

Biography

Former Central Michigan gymnast and longtime assistant coach Christine MacDonald is in her seventh season as the Chippewas’ head coach in 2025-26. MacDonald, who was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year in 2026 and 2022, has guided Central Michigan to four MAC Championships titles in the last five seasons (2022, 2023, 2025, 2026) and two regular-season titles (2022, 2026). In 2025, MacDonald led the Chippewas to the MAC Championships title in their home gym, McGuirk Arena, in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Senior Hannah Appleget won the all-around and junior Luciana Alvarado-Reid won the floor exercise, earning the MAC Gymnast of the Year Award. Five Chippewas, Hannah Appleget, Alvarado-Reid, Lia Kmieciak, Zoie Pelfrey, and Zoë Zimmerman, were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team. In addition, Alvarado-Reid competed in the all-around in the NCAA Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala. In 2024, three MacDonald protégés, Alvarado-Reid, Elizabeth Cesarone and Hallie Hornbacher, earned medals at the MAC Championships and then went on to compete as individuals at the NCAA Regional in Fayetteville, Ark. Alvarado-Reid capped her sophomore season with a MAC title on bars and a berth on the all-tournament team along with Second Team All-MAC honors; Cesarone won a bronze medal on vault at the MAC Championships, and Hornbacher won the individual MAC crown on floor. In 2023, MacDonald guided CMU to a first-place finish at the MAC Championships as Hannah DeMers won three individual titles and

Career Path