Dawson Named Assistant Track and Field Coach

Stephen Walsh, head coach of cross country and track and field at the University of Hartford, announced the hiring of Aimée Dawson to the coaching staff. Dawson will serve as an assistant track and field coach, primarily responsible for coaching and recruiting student-athletes for sprints, jumps and throws.

"I am very pleased to welcome Coach Dawson to the Hartford track and field staff,” Walsh said about the hire. “Her extensive knowledge and experience working with the sprints, hurdles, jumps and multis will have an immediate impact on the program. She is an excellent coach and educator who has a proven track record of developing quality student-athletes in every event area.

Dawson comes to the University of Hartford with more than a decade of coaching experience at the club, high school, and collegiate levels. Most recently, Dawson was an assistant coach for men's and women's track and field at the State University of New York at Brockport. While at Brockport, she designed and implemented workouts for jumps and multi-events, guiding four student-athletes to scoring finishes in six different events.

Prior to her stint at Brockport, Dawson was the head coach for track and field and associate head coach for cross country at SUNY Oneonta. She has also held the head coaching position for Tenino (WA) High School, Jacksonville (AL) State University, and the Sycamore Jets Youth Track Club and has served as an assistant coach at Valparaiso, Indiana State, and Hartwick College.

In more than 14 years as a track and field coach, Dawson has coached NCAA champions in the high jump and indoor 4x400 relay as well as several All-Americans. Additionally, Dawson is credited with establishing the women's track and field program at Jacksonville State.

Dawson was a four-year letterwinner at the State University of New York at Geneseo before graduating in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in communication. As a student-athlete at Geneseo, she earned All-Conference honors in the high jump, long jump, 55-meter hurdles, 100-meter hurdles, javelin, pentathlon, and heptathlon. In 1995, she qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship as a high jumper.

This August, Dawson earned a Master's of Arts degree in communications from SUNY Brockport. She has also earned Level II coaching certification from USA Track and Field for sprints, hurdles and relays, throws, jumps, combined events, and endurance.