POTTER NAMED XC/TF HEAD COACH & FITNESS/NUTRITION ADVISOR

BOSTON, Mass. – Following a national search, the Emmanuel College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the appointment of Reava Potter as the Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach and Fitness & Nutrition Advisor.  Potter becomes just the second head coach in the program's history and will become the program's first full-time Head Coach.

Along with her Head Coaching responsibilities, Potter will work in partnership with Bon Appetit and the company's regional nutrition staff to develop nutritional plans for students that align with their individual training regimen, personal health goals, or sport. She will also create, oversee and organize new fitness programs that will be open to the entire Emmanuel community.

Potter joins the Saints after serving as an Assistant Coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham for four seasons where she specialized in coaching the multi-event, jumping and throwing athletes. While at the UAB, she coached three student-athletes to All-Conference accolades in the NCAA Division I Conference USA.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to be the first full-time head coach of the Cross Country and Track & Field programs at Emmanuel," said Potter. "It is an honor and a privilege to be selected for this position and I'd like to thank all the administrators, staff and coaches on the selection committee that were involved in the hiring process. Emmanuel truly feels like home and I consider myself very fortunate to be a part of this great college community."

Prior to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Potter severed as an Assistant Coach at Bethune-Cookman University for the 2013-14 season. There she coached a total of 17 All-Conference student-athletes including five conference champions in the NCAA Division I Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), leading the Wildcats to the program's first-ever MEAC Men's Conference Championship. Three student-athletes at Bethune-Cookman were named USTFCCCA (United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) All-Americans under Potter's guidance.

Potter spent the 2012-13 season as an Assistant Coach at Shaw University, her first stop after seven years at Temple University where she competed as an undergraduate before severing on staff as a Graduate Assistant. While on staff, she helped coach her alma-mater to an Atlantic-10 Conference Championship during the 2009-10 campaign.

As a student-athlete at TU, Potter was a four-year member of the Owls Track & Field squad serving as a team captain during her senior campaign in 2009. She qualified for the Atlantic-10 Conference Championship in the heptathlon, triple jump, pentathlon and relays all four seasons and was awarded the Spirit and Sportsmanship Awards during her time at Temple, where she also served as a member of the NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) from 2007-09.

"We are very fortunate to have Coach Potter join our staff as the program's first full-time head coach," said Brendan McWilliams, Emmanuel College Director of Athletics & Recreation. "Her coaching skill set paired with her background as a Division I student-athlete made her a great fit to take over the program and we look forward to watching it grow under her leadership."

Potter graduated from Temple University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology before completing a Master of Science in Exercise and Sport Psychology at Temple in 2012. She holds a USATF Level One Certification and is also USTFCCCA Certified in Jumps, Throws and Strength and Conditioning.