Otterbein University Women's Cross Country

Dara Ford enters her 12th year at Otterbein in the fall of 2025, recently being elevated to the Director of Cross Country and Track and Field for all programs. She

Heather Sandvik returns to the Cardinal cross country program as an assistant coach for the 2024-25 season. She previously served as the head girls' cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at Westerville Central High School from 2021 to 2023. Before that, she was a graduate assistant for the women's cross country and track and field programs at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., from 2019 to 2021, where she earned her Master's Degree in Sports Leadership in April 2021. A native of Westerville, Ohio, Sandvik graduated from Otterbein in May 2019 with a bachelor's degree in sustainability studies. During her time as a student-athlete at Otterbein, Sandvik was a four-year letter winner for the women's cross country and track and field teams. She earned seven Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) titles across a range of events, including the 1000m run, 3000m run, 3000m steeplechase and distance medley relay (DMR). Sandvik also achieved All-American honors three times as part of the school-record holding DMR team, which finished fourth at the 2019 indoor NCAA championships meet. Additionally, she qualified for the 2019 outdoor NCAA championships in the 1500m and competed in the NCAA cross country championships in 2017. In cross country, Sandvik was part of a team that won four consecutive conference championship titles from 2015 to 2018, becoming only the second team in OAC history to achieve that feat.