Andrea Grove-McDonough

Biography

on Social Media Instagram: @coachgmcd Twitter: @andreagrovemcd Andrea Grove-McDonough joined the University of Toledo as the Director of Cross Country and Track & Field in July 2019 and enters her seventh season in 2025-26. As the director of the program, Grove-McDonough serves the head coach of the women’s and men’s cross country teams, and the women’s track & field team. Grove-McDonough has turned the cross country and track & field programs around into fierce competitors in the Mid-American Conference and recognition at the national level. Cross Country McDonough has led the Toledo cross country teams to tremendous success, including five-consecutive Mid-American Conference Women’s Cross Country titles (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) and Coach of the Year honors. In 2025, UT won its fifth-consecutive MAC Championship, totaling the program's 11th overall title. The win secured Toledo as the winningest women's cross country program in MAC history. Grove-McDonough saw each runner at the conference championship place within the top-35 runners, led by junior Karina James who won the individual title. James, Melody Jebiwot, Dorcas Jeptoo Kiptanui and Lianna Surtz all brought home First Team All-MAC accolades. The team carried the momentum to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship in Evansville, Ind. as they placed third overall. James led the way with a 13th-place finish while Hannah Ielfield took 19th and Lianna Surtz earned 22nd. James, Ielfield and Surtz were named to the