Angelina Ramos - Cross Country Coach - Southern Illinois University Athletics

Angelina Ramos

Title:
Cross Country Head Coach
Email:
Angelina.ramos@siu.edu
Phone:
720-684-9315

By the Numbers:
• Produced a distance/middle distance event group conference champion at every coaching stop in NCAA DI or DII
• Ramos has recruited a conference championship team title at every D1 program she’s been a part of as she’s held the role of sole recruiting coordinator/ recruiter of every Track/Field event area: 2021 indoor conference championship team title by University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the Mountain West Conference and 2023 outdoor conference championship team title by Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana) in the Mid-American Conference.
• Produced 22 distance/middle distance NCAA Division I, Division II, and high school All-Americans across five coaching stops, five Olympic Trials Qualifiers 800m-marathon, and two World Championships appearances
• Coached NCAA D1 National championship bronze medalist Avi’Tal Wilson Perteete to her first-ever First-Team All American performance in the 800m in 2:02.02 in 2019, qualifying Wilson Perteete for the 2020 outdoor US Olympic Trials
• Coached Avi’Tal Wilson Perteete to gold medal at her first ever international competition in 2019 at 800m (2:05) at high altitude in Mexico at NACAC (North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association U18/U23 Under Age-23 Championships)
• Coached Agnes Mansaray to set the indoor 800m Sierra Leone National Record (2:07) a mere eight weeks following a tumor removal surgery and to earn a second-place finish at conference at high altitude, second only to her own teammate
• Produced a top 20 event squad ranking for 800m in both 2019 outdoors as well as in 2020 indoors with difference faces within those groups as well as advancing four 800m specialists from the prelim to the final at Mountain West Conference Championships
• She has produced an 800m national championships/national rounds qualifier at every NCAA program she has coached at
• Coached Elisa Rovere to qualify for Italy’s 4 x 400m national championships relay at European Championships

Angelina Ramos began her first season as the SIU Head Cross Country and assistant distance/ middle-distance coach for the track & field team in September of 2024, arriving after the team’s first competition had taken place. It was a building year for the cross-country program, given the program graduated out 2023’s top four men and top five female cross country Missouri Valley conference scorers. In her first season on staff, three of the men set lifetime best 8k marks at the conference championship meet and every team veteran male or female returning ran the fastest they’d ever run in a conference championship meet setting to date.

During her three-year coaching and recruiting tenure at Ball State as assistant track and cross-country coach and sole recruiter for all track/field event groups, Ramos left her primary mark on the program with her recruiting prowess. Tasked with the role of recruiter for the entire track and field team versus simply for her own event group, Ramos recruited Ball State’s Alana Springer, who went on to become the Mid-American Conference freshman of the year, Makayla Sumrall, who went on to become the Mid-American Conference 100m gold medalist, and identified walk-on Lindley Steele, who scored in the 400m hurdles and assisted towards the gold medal 4 x 100m 2023 and 2024 relay squads. Ramos recruited a large majority of the point scorers represented at the Mid-American indoor and outdoor conference meet in 2023 and 2024 in every event group area ranging from mid-distance (Evie Noel, Leila Williams-Molitor) to throws (Sydney Miller) to multis (Sophie Daugard) to hurdles (Lauren Graham, Lindley Steele), to sprints (Alana Springer, Makayla Sumrall, Paige Kirtz).

She left her coaching mark on Ball State’s program by producing the fastest 800m time in over a decade coming out of the Cardinals in leading athlete Kayla Jones from 2:13 to 2:06, guiding her to repeat conference outdoor 2022 and indoor 2023 800m gold medal titles in the Mid-American Conference, and just narrowly missing the all-time school record by .01 of a second! She coached the highest finishing distance medley relay performance (5th) in the last seven years in indoor 2022 and her 2024 indoor group bested that DMR mark as well to f inish 6th. Additionally, she coached Alexis Thigpen to an indoor conference bronze medal in the 400m, improving her from 56 to 54, and developed her as a dependable 4 x 400m relay leg for every championship meet thereafter. She led Ball State’s 2021 women’s cross-country team to their highest regional ranking (12th) since the reign of the Sue Parks era in the early 2000’s and guided them to a 7th place finish at the MAC conference championship meet. She led Elka Machan (now Elka McFarland) to an All-Academic and All-Region performance in her then personal best of 20:46 for 6k cross country. Elka earned a top 40 finish in the Great Lakes cross country region. Additionally, she coached numerous athletes to top-five Ball State all-time program marks including Sarah Mahnensmith’s indoor 5k (improved from 18:06 to 16:52), Sarah Mahnensmith’s indoor mile (5:00 to 4:53), Sarah Mahnensmith’s indoor 3k (11:00 3200m in high school to a collegiate 3k in 9:42), Sarah Mahnensmith’s outdoor 1500m (4:31), and Shelby Christman’s 3,000m steeplechase (10:56.96), and Carly Spletzer’s 10,000m debut (35:53). During her time at Ball State, she also held the role of director of operations, overseeing budget management, liaison with home meet officials, and more. Her team at Ball State posted the 4th highest GPA in the nation out of 249 programs for an NCAA Division I women’s cross-country team: 3.87, which also led the Mid-American Conference for strongest women’s team GPA additionally in 2023. Under her tenure, a home cross country meet was hosted for the first time in four years, as well as providing the team a pre-season cross country camp.

Ramos was the assistant coach for cross country and track and field programs at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas from 2018-2021. Some notable coaching accomplishments include improving the cross country squad from 11th to 9th in a single year, guiding seven student athletes to earn MW Conference Scholar Awards, doubling the roster size upon request of the athletic director, producing NCAA West regional qualifier marks in the 1500m, 800m, and 400m hurdles, and leading 17 athletes to personal best marks across 400m-10,000m. She improved Emma Wahlenmaier from a 2:22 800m to a 2:10 800m across a single year and improved their cross country pack differential time down to less than 25 seconds in cross country from first to fifth to improve two finish places on the year before. Ramos showcased her international recruiting skillset by identifying, connecting with and committing Spain’s Natalia Lara Ruiz in spring 2021, who went on to break every UNLV record book mark ranging from 4:52.58 indoor mile to 34:36 10,000m, 16:24 5,000m, and 19:49 6k XC, earning multiple Mountain West Conference Athlete-of-the-Week Accolades and the highest ever XC conference finish in the Mountain West Conference as well as at an NCAA XC Regional Meet for UNLV. During Ramos’ stint in Las Vegas, Nevada for three years, she also co-coached the men’s and women’s sub-elite professional running group Las Vegas Gold Elite, which included Olympic marathon trials qualifier Christina Vergara Aleshire, Keili Dorn, Omar Espinoza, Ellie Stevens Meany, and Max Jones amongst others. She assisted coaching Vergara Aleshire to a 32:55 in her debut track 10k. Ramos coached a handful of athletes professionally on the side including guiding Janelle Lincks to a top 15 finish in 2019’s Elite-Athlete Peach Tree 10k Road Race in a ninety second personal best of 33:31. Janelle also produced a sub 16:00 5,000m on the track that same season along with a top 15 performance at the Falmouth road race. She coached Kacey Gibson to win her marathon debut at 2019’s Reston marathon (Virginia), qualifying her for Boston. She has additionally coached Trevor Thiebaut of Michigan to qualify for the Boston marathon as well in the 20-29 age group and to his ten mile and marathon personal best marks.

From 2015-2018, Ramos had the pleasure of working for Director of track and field Rod Cowan as his women’s cross country coach and assistant distance/middle distance track and field coach for Saginaw Valley State University (Michigan). In 2015, she led the women’s distance medley relay to a third place bronze All American accolade at NCAA National Championships with an 11:31, shattering their previous school record. She coached Taylor Stepanski to an NCAA Division II indoor 800m (2:07) runner-up silver All American performance in the 800m in 2015, and a 4th place outdoor 1500m All American performance and 1500m school record of 4:21 in 2017. She produced 800m conference champions each year at SVSU, in Deanna Stickler Gatson as well as in Taylor Stepanski. In 2016, she led the women’s team to score in every event at the GLIAC conference championship meet [800m, 1500m, 3k steeplechase, 5k, and 10k], rewrite two school records (800m/ 1500m), and guide individuals to achieve over ten personal best times in events ranging from 400m up through 10,000m! In 2017, she coached athlete Allison Dorr to qualify for NCAA DII cross country nationals (6k) after she ran a personal best 6k time of 21:16 (going through 5k in 17:42) at the regional championships, placing 15th. Ramos guided Morgan Fuerst to an indoor 800m bronze medal and personal best at the conference championship meet, the DMR to a bronze championship finish in 2018 indoors, and an indoor 600m school record by Fuerst. Ramos notably recruited the now 10k school record holder of Arianna Wegienka, as well as three of the four members of the distance medley relay current school record: Sydney Kreger, Lauren Buckner, and Morgan Fuerst.

From 2012-2015, Ramos worked at Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado. During that time, Ramos assisted then head coach John Supsic guide the men’s team to their first NCAA DII cross country championship berth alongside repeat appearances for the women under both Head Coach John Supsic and Head Coach Nick Maas. Ramos assisted Supsic lead Jenelle Lincks, Nick Kadlec, and Kirk Harvey to NCAA Division II cross country All-American status on the grass. In the oval office, Ramos assisted Janis Christopher and Nick Maas prepare the women’s DMR to take fifth in the nation and produce both indoor and outdoor All Americans at both genders in the mile, 3k, 5k, 3kSC, 1500m, and 10k. As the sole recruiting coordinator for distance/middle distance, Ramos was paramount in recruiting multi-time NCAA All American Sabrina Rautter to the program (from her high school alma mater New Fairfield high school!), alongside 10k and cross country All American Amy Johnston, and over 15 other conference point scorers on both sides including seven future cross country top-five performers and/or All Americans for the program.

Ramos is a New Jersey native who competed NCAA Division I for the Florida State Seminoles (800m/1500m/ XC) and who started their coaching career at Niwot high school while concurrently pursuing their graduate coursework at the University of Colorado, Boulder. At Niwot, Ramos was the girls’ cross country coach and boys’ assistant coach. She was 5k/10k Olympian Elise Cranny’s first cross country coach. Ramos led Niwot high school women to their first ever regional championship team title and started the momentum for them to become the powerhouse program they are known as today. She coached the women to a runner-up performance at the Colorado 4A state cross country meet. Cranny went on to win USATF 6k cross country junior championships, qualify for U20’s USATF championships, for the Prefontaine outdoor track classic, for the USATF senior outdoor trials, held the fastest indoor mile time in the nation, and finished second nationally in cross country at Nike cross country nationals. Ramos continued her tutelage learning from Colorado area greats, ranging from working as both a youth and masters coach under legendary Ric Rojas and assisting the professional and elite men and women’s marathon training groups alongside renown Brad Hudson. In the past 18 years, she has coached 18 cross country and track programs consisting of youth, masters, high school and collegiate co-ed athletes alike, qualifying two athletes for the world championships stage and another to become the USA track & field club outdoor track championships 1500m gold medalist in 2015 (Mesfin Ferede in 3:50, a personal best by 5 seconds)! Ramos is a co-founder of New Fairfield high school’s indoor track program and is a co-founder of the USTFCCCA (US track and field cross country coaches’ association) female coaching mentorship program. Ramos is also the executive director of the non-profit 8020foundation.org, the coaches of color initiative. Ramos is a certified USTAF Level I coach, USA Weightlifting Level 1, and has a USTFCCA Strength and Conditioning Coach certification and has been the recipient of the USTFCCCA Endurance Coaching scholarship, learning from brilliant minds ranging from Carrie Lane and Boo Schexnayder to Houston Franks and Derek Standley.