Former New York University runner Spenser Popeson is in his fourth season as an assistant track & field and cross country coach for both the men’s and women’s teams. His primary responsibilities include working with NYU’s distance runners and recruiting.
The 2012-13 season saw continued success for Popeson and both the men’s and women’s teams. During the cross country season, the men’s squad won the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship and posted a second-place finish at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship. The Violets also qualified for the NCAA Championship for the seventh straight season and finished 22nd.
On the track, senior Dylan Karten distinguished himself in several distance events over the indoor and outdoor seasons, winning his first career Association title at the UAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m and qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 5,000m, where he finished 16th.
On the women’s side, the cross country team matched its best-ever result of second place at the UAA Championship. The squad also had all-time best finishes at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, where they finished third, and at the NCAA Championship, where they appeared for the fourth straight season and finished 22nd.
Popeson also helped lead the women’s distance runners to a stellar year on the track. Junior Emily Cousens emerged as a star, winning three UAA titles by taking the mile indoors and both the 1,500m and 5,000m outdoors. She also established records for the 3,000m both indoors and outdoors, as well as the 5,000m outdoors. For her efforts across all seasons, Cousens was named NYU’s Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Senior Kirsten Keller also had a productive season under Popeson’s guidance, winning her first career Association title by taking the 10,000m at the UAA Outdoor Championships. She also qualified for the NCAA Championships in that event for the second time in her career and established the team record with her 35:13.21 performance at the Raleigh Relays.
The 2011-12 season was another successful one for Popeson and the Violets. The men’s cross country team placed second at the UAA Championship, fifth at the NCAA Atlantic Regional and 19th at the NCAA Championship. On the track, distance runner Matt Turlip earned the fifth and sixth All-America honors of his career, finishing fifth indoors in the mile and eighth outdoors in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Championships.
The women’s teams also had outstanding campaigns. The cross country squad qualified for the NCAA Championship and finished 30th in the nation. The Violets also posted a second-place finish at the UAA Championship, as Maeve Evans and Paige Zelinsky earned First Team All-UAA honors.
Popeson’s distance runners also fared well on the track. Evans, a two-time All-American, qualified for both the indoor (5,000 meters) and outdoor (1,500 meters) NCAA Championships. Indoors, Laura Santoski won the mile at the Metro Coaches Invitational and Zelinsky captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) 3,000m championship. In addition, the distance medley relay team (12:10.72) and the 4x1,500m relay team (19:21.98) established NYU records.
During Popeson’s inaugural season on staff, the men’s cross country team finished 10th at the NCAA Division III Championship, while the women’s team also qualified.
On the track, Turlip won the mile at the UAA Indoor Championships and went on to capture three NCAA All-America honors. He finished fourth in the mile indoors, sixth in the 1,500 meters outdoors and was a member of NYU’s seventh-place distance medley relay indoors (along with James Patterson, Daniel McKinney and Steven Au-Yeung). Turlip also broke NYU’s 44-year-old 1,500-meter record, running 3:45.76 in the event at the Swarthmore Invitational.
On the women’s side, Evans captured the 5,000-meter title at both the indoor and outdoor UAA Championships and earned All-America honors indoors with a fifth-place finish (team record-breaking time of 17:04.50). With guidance from Popeson, Evans set three more NYU indoor records (1,000m, 3,000m, mile) during the season.
As a student-athlete at NYU, Popeson competed in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. He was the captain of the 2007 Division III National Championship cross country team and received All-UAA (University Athletic Association) All-Academic honors six times.
A 2008 graduate of NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication studies, Popeson is a world-class tri-athlete and is a member of Team USA. He competed at the World Triathlon Championships in Beijing, China in 2011.
Popeson has worked as a volunteer assistant coach for Mainland Regional High School’s cross country and track & field teams, and as a running specialist for Nike’s Hudson River Runner’s Aid Station. He also spent over a year at MKTG Inc, handling clients such as Nike.
A native of Linwood, NJ, Popeson resides in Manhattan.
