Now in her second stint at the helm of the program, Megan Patterson returned to Manhattanville as the head coach of Valiant men’s and women’s cross country and track & field in 2018-19. She previously served as head coach at Manhattanville in 2014-15 before spending three years as the top assistant at Division I Sacred Heart University.
Following up her strong season in 2018-19, the 2019-20 campaigns saw more success. The men's cross country team saw much success, four 8k times that ranked in the top 10 all-time. Additionally, Papa Diop ('21) claimed the program's first-ever individual conference championship when he took home the Skyline Conference individual title. Additionally, the men's indoor team set nine program records, while the women set one.
Patterson had a huge impact on the immediate success of her teams in 2018-19. In the Fall, three separate men's cross country runners broke their way into the all-time top 10 fastest 5k times in program history, led by Lucas Dellaporta's ('20) 16:27.30, good for second best all-time. During the indoor and outdoor seasons, Patterson helped guide the men's team to a combined 16 new program records (eight indoor, eight outdoor). She also mentored eventual ECAC Outdoor 800m Champion Diop to his medal.
Patterson had spent the previous three years as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart, serving as assistant cross country coach and assistant track coach for mid-distance and distance. On the cross country course, she helped the women’s team to a pair of Northeast Conference championships while Sean Ferguson and Conor Rog became the first two members of the SHU men’s team to capture NEC individual titles in 2015 and 2016.
Patterson helped to elevate the Valiant programs to new heights in her first stint at Manhattanville, as her student-athletes produced numerous program records and collected multiple conference honors. During the cross country season, the Valiants earned their first All-Middle Atlantic Conference honor and broke a pair of school records, including a 31-year-old 8K standard. The team also made huge strides on the track, breaking 27 program records a total of 44 times and earning a sixth-place finish for the women at the MAC Outdoor Championships, including the program’s first individual MAC Outdoor championship from Shannon Roberts ’15 in the 200-meter dash.
On the track, Patterson was part of the staff that earned NEC Coaching Staff of the Year in all three of her seasons. She helped guide the Pioneer women to five NEC championships in three years, including back-to-back-to-back NEC Outdoor Track titles. In all, the SHU women combined for 10 individual NEC titles over three seasons, including back-to-back Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance) honors for Kate Svenson at the 2018 NEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The SHU men’s team also combined for eight individual titles in three years on the track, including Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance) honors for Trevor Guerrera at the 2017 NEC Indoor Championships.
Prior to her first stint at Manhattanville, Patterson spent two years with the SUNY Maritime men's and women's cross country programs, serving as an assistant coach in 2012 before being elevated to the head coaching position for the 2013 season. She led the Privateers to three All-Skyline Conference recognition in 2013 after a 2012 campaign in which five Maritime runners earned All-Skyline honors, including men's individual champion Cameron Coneys.
Patterson competed collegiately at Division I Fairleigh Dickinson University, starring in both cross country and track for the Knights. A combined 10-time All-Northeast Conference honoree, she captured the NEC title in the 800 meters three times and was a four-time team Most Valuable Player selection. The 2010-11 FDU Female Student-Athlete of the Year as a senior, the Freehold, N.J., native graduated from FDU in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in mass communication.
