Christine Engel

Biography

University of Massachusetts named Christine Engel its head coach for women’s cross country and track & field on July 30, 2021 and enters her fifth year with the programs. The Clemson graduate is now entering her 22nd year coaching at NCAA Division I institutions. During her first season as head coach at UMass, the Minutewomen won an Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track and Field Championship and a New England Outdoor Track and Field Championship, and Engel was named as the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year. In 2024-25, she coached the cross country squad to its best finish (second) at the Atlantic 10 Championships in 24 years and guided the Minutewomen to another Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track and Field title in the spring of 2025 while earning her second Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year honor. Massachusetts also claimed New England Team Championships in 2023 (Indoor) and 2025 (Outdoor) with Engel at the helm. Since coming to UMass, she has coached five Atlantic 10 Cross Country All-Conference Team honorees (Sarah Conant – 2021; Lily Robinson, 2021; Eugenia Fairhurst – 2023, 2024; Sydney Adams – 2024), eight Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team student-athlete (Eugenia Fairhurst – cross country, 2021; Annika Zuschlag - cross country/3,000 steeplechase, 2022/2023; Klara Hansen - cross country, 2024; Kaylie Dalgar - cross country, 2024; Leann Lombardi – steeplechase, 2025; Agnes Thundal – 1,000m, 2025; Anna McElhinney – 5,000m, 2025), 12 Atlantic 10 medalists (L