Contact Coach Casey at cacasey@smu.edu
Cathy Casey enters her 16th season at SMU and is the head coach for the SMU cross country and track & field programs. Casey has been the head of the Mustangs cross country program since 2005, while assuming the role of head track & field coach in 2015, replacing legendary coach Dave Wollman, who stepped down after 28 years on the Hilltop.
Casey has played a pivotal role in the Mustangs' swift rise to national prominence in cross country, winning six conference championships (four in Conference USA & two in the American Athletic Conference) in the last nine years. During each of the championship seasons, she earned Coach of the Year honors. On the track, Casey specializes in the development of middle and long distance student-athletes. Casey is well-respected coach among her peers and has had the opportunity to coach 2016 Sweden Olympian Lovisa Lindh, who finished third in the 800-meters at the 2016 European Championships and 10th at the Rio Olympic Games.
Last season, Casey led SMU to the American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship after a two-year hiatus. Casey earned The American Coach of the Year after leading SMU to its fourth league title in the past six years and sixth conference championship in the last nine years. The Mustangs had four runners make the all-conference team, including two freshman place in the top five. Hannah Miller was the runner-up, while Charlotte-Tara Murphy finished fifth. Seniors Holly Archer and Agnes Sjostrom helped secure the victory placing sixth and 15th, respectively. A trio of Mustangs (Miller - 4th, Archer - 14th, Murphy - 19th) earned All-Region honors at the NCAA South Central Regional Championship after leading SMU to a fifth-place finish. Miller advanced to the NCAA Championship and finished 144th as she was one of 38 individual qualifiers. She finished 23rd among the 49 freshman in the field. The Mustangs turned their attention over to indoor track, where SMU finished sixth overall at the conference championship. Casey coached Miller to a runner-up finish in the 5,000m and a bronze medal in the 3,000m, while also guiding Archer to a third-place finish in the mile. Casey and her staff had an even better outdoor season as the Mustangs crowned four champions and finished fifth with 96 points, which was 11 points shy from second-place. Archer set a meet and stadium record to win the 1,500m (4:22.36), while Shanoah Souza picked up her first career individual title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The Mustangs placed four in top-six in the 5,000m led by Miller's third-place finish. Miller also placed third in her first career 10,000-meters. SMU sprinters were impressive with Chelsea Francis winning her first conference title as the freshman set The American record in the 100-meter dash with a personal-best time of 11.34 seconds. Latessa Johnson set a stadium record with a time of 23.10 to claim her second career conference 200m title (2016 indoor champion). Coach Casey and her staff qualified five Mustangs (Archer, Francis, Johnson, Miller, Souza) to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Round.
Casey led SMU to a runner-up finish at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship and a third-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional. The Mustangs trio of Holly Archer, Shanoah Souza and Karoline Skatteboe earned all-conference honors. Souza led the way at the regional with a ninth-place finish to earn South Central All-Region honors. The Mustangs then transitioned over onto the indoor track, where the team finished fourth at the conference championship behind gold medalists Tochi Nlemchi and Latessa Johnson. Nlemchi set a conference meet record en route to winning the shot put at the AAC Championship with a personal best toss of 16.32m, while Johnson broke the school's and conference meet 200-meter record, clocking a time of 23.48 to win her first conference individual title. Casey and her staff had an impressive outdoor season as they sent three Mustangs (Lucija Cvitanovic-Heptathlon, Latessa Johnson-200-meters, Tochi Nlemchi-shot put) to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. All three earned second-team All-American honors with Johnson and Nlemchi both placing ninth, while Cvitanovic finished 15th. The trio also helped the Mustangs to a sixth-place finish at the outdoor conference championships. Nlemchi set a conference meet and stadium record after recording a 16.76m toss in the shot put to win the event, while Johsnon placed second in the 200-meters and Cvitanovic took home the gold in the heptathlon and runner-up honors in the javelin.
In 2015, Casey's distance group played a key part in the Mustangs' repeat as outdoor conference champions. The SMU trio of Karoline Skatteboe, Shanoah Souza and Agnes Sjostrom swept the 3,000-meter steeple chase, while Souza and Caitlin Keen both placed third in the 5,000-meters and the 10,000-meters, respectively. The Mustangs finished third at both the cross country and indoor conference championships.
The track & field team in 2014 saw SMU win the inaugural AAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Casey coached two conference champions and five other all-conference performers between the two meets. The titles were the first women's conference crowns in program history. In addition, Coach Wollman and his staff were named the Coaching Staff of the Year at both championships.
In 2013, SMU won its third straight conference title as it won the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship. The Mustangs also placed second of 20 schools at the South Central Regionals and finished 31st at the NCAA Championship meet. SMU achieved many individual honors during the 2013 season to go along with the team aformentioned team finishes. The Mustangs had six individuals earn All-AAC honors and three student-athletes earn All-Region accolades. All-American Athletic Conference selections inlcuded Tova Magnusson, Holly Archer, Caitlin Keen, Karoline Skatteboe, Agnes Sjöström and Melanie Stemper. In addition, Magnusson, Sjöström and Shanoah Souza were named as All-Region runners.
In 2012, Casey led SMU to the C-USA title for the fourth time in five years. Senior Mary Alenbratt was the team leader, qualifying for the NCAA Championship, where she set a personal-best time of 20:52.9 in the 6K in the final race of her career. Alenbratt was joined by freshman Ashlee Powers as a first team all-conference selection, while freshmen Karoline Skatteboe, Shanoah Souza and junior Caitlin Keen all took second team honors.
Injuries affected the 2010 team but in 2011, SMU added another C-USA Championship. The Mustangs were led by All-American Silje Fjortoft, who had a program-best 13th-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Leading up to nationals, she captured her third South Central Regional title. That first place finish earned her South Central Region Athlete of the Year merits by USTFCCA. Prior to that, she won her second C-USA Championship. In all, Fjortoft won six races in 2011 and led SMU to three first-place finishes. Future Olympian, Lindh had a great season as well in 2011 as she earned gold in the 800 and was C-USA's Freshman of the Meet at the indoor conference championship. At the C-USA Outdoor Championships, Lindh won the same event for an indoor-outdoor sweep.
SMU won its second straight C-USA title and finished 25th at the NCAA Championships in 2009. The Mustangs had a 3.41 team GPA and were honored for the second straight year as an All-Academic Team by the USTFCCCA.
In 2008, SMU Cross Country vaulted to 20th in the NCAA Division I Championships. It was the highest placing for the program in more than a decade. The Mustangs' captured the C-USA title and were a mainstay in the national rankings throughout the year. Now sophomore Fjortoft was named C-USA Athlete of the Year by league coaches. Also in 2008, the Mustangs were named one of the 2008 NCAA Division I Scholar Teams of the Year by the USTFCCCA. The team posted a cumulative 3.29 GPA with Fjortoft and Simmons selected to the C-USA All-Academic Team.
In 2006, Casey coached Forish to one of the best individual seasons in SMU history, as she became the Mustangs' first-ever C-USA cross country champion and C-USA Athlete of the Year. A few weeks later she became the NCAA South Central Region champion (20:30.4) and was named NCAA South Central Region Athlete of the Year. After finishing 35th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, she received all-America honors. As a team, the Mustangs finished fifth at the 2006 NCAA South Central Regional.
In addition to Forish, at the 2006 Conference USA Cross Country Championships, the team placed third for the second year in a row. Forish, then senior Jackson, and sophomore Jessa Simmons received all-conference honors. The 2007 season saw Casey lead the Mustangs to a No. 6 ranking in the South Central Region. That was when then freshman Silje Fjortoft was named C-USA Newcomer of the Year, posting an impressive performance at Regionals (20:35 in the 6k). Fjortoft was the second straight Casey-coached athlete to win athlete of the year honors in the region, following Forish in 2006.
In her first season as head coach in 2005, Casey led the team to a third-place finish in the C-USA standings. Then sophomore Rachel Forish and freshman Jessie Jackson earned all-conference honors, and Forish was selected to the all-region first team with a seventh place finish at the NCAA South Central Region meet. That finish qualified her as an individual for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. During the indoor season, the distance medley relay team comprised of then junior Rachel Barber, sophomores Franziska Lakomy, Ilyssa Pettigrew and Jackson, ran to a second place finish at the C-USA Indoor Championships. In addition, Jackson (Mile) and Pettigrew (800m) earned all-conference honors. In the spring, Casey guided Forish to her first-ever NCAA Outdoor appearance in the 6k where she ran a personal best of 16:27.5. At the C-USA Outdoor Championships, Forish, along with Pettigrew, earned individual All C-USA honors in the 1500m and 800m, respectively. Forish was named All-Midwest Region in the 5000-meter run.
Prior to joining the staff full time (2002-2004), Casey assisted in the development of standout distance runner Karin van Rooyen, a two-time All-American, NCAA South Central Regional Champion, Western Athletic Conference (WAC) & SMU record holder, two-time WAC Athlete of the Year, and three-time WAC Champion.
A native of Carbondale, Illinois, Cathy Casey was a member of the cross country/track and field team at the University of Texas, earning her degree in 1997. Casey currently resides in Dallas, TX with her husband Jim.
