Stephanie Reily enters her sixth season as the head coachof Bryant's cross country and track and field teams taking the teamto new strides. In an interview with WomenTalkSports.com,Reilly said the future is bright for the Bulldogs cross country andtrack and field teams. “I love coaching and building theseprograms here at Bryant,” she said.
Prior to entering her fifth season with the Bulldogs last fall,Reilly competed for her home country Ireland in the 2012 OlympicGames that were held in London. Reilly competed in the 3,000mSteeplechase, finishing ninth in the second heat with a time of9:44.77. In her lead up to the Olympic Games she also competed atthe European track and field championships in Helsinki, Finland.The experience from her first European championships back in 2010in Barcelona, Spain proved strong as this time she advanced passedthe preliminary heats to qualify for the European championshipfinal in the 3000m steeplechase. Listen to Reilly talk about herlead up to the Olympic Games this summer:
http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/video/2012-13/Olympian_Steph_Reilly
She followed up her Olympic experience with a record setting2012-13 season. It started in the fall as Reilly engineered one ofthe best seasons in cross country history at the DI level. She ledthe women’s cross country team to a third-place team finishon her way to Northeast Conference Coach of the Year honors. UnderReilly’s tutelage, three runners enjoyed stellar seasons.Already one of the top runners to ever race at Bryant, juniorEimear Black established herself as the best runner in theconference, winning the NEC championship race by 13 seconds. Shewas also named the NEC Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year.Black wasn’t the only one to excel as freshman AnnmarieTuxbury was named NEC Female Cross Country Rookie of the Year.Tuxbury and junior Martha Reynolds also joined Black on theall-conference team. Reilly’s charges were also awarded theNEC Sportsmanship Award at the conclusion of the season.
This momentum carried the Bulldogs into the track and fieldseasons where Reilly’s squad rewrote the record book. In all,the Bulldogs set 13 school records during the indoor and outdoortrack and field seasons. Black continued her stellar juniorcampaign, setting school records in the 3000 and 5000 during theindoor season and then the 3000, 5000 and 10000 during the outdoorseason. Reilly’s jumpers also enjoyed success as freshmanNicole Dempsey set the long jump record during the indoor seasonand Patrick Decker and Tyler Egner combined to break the indoor andoutdoor pole vault records. At the NEC outdoor championships, Blackwas a two-time All-NEC performer as she finished second in the 5000and 10000. Bryant’s three pole vaulters, John Somers, Egnerand Decker, also earned All-NEC honors at the outdoor meet.Reynolds joined Black on the all-conference team in the 5000 with afourth-place finish.
During the 2011-12 season she continued to build the Bulldogcross country and track and field programs. That building includeda pair of All-NEC runners during the cross country season.Sophomore Eimear Black emerged as one of the top runners in theconference and one of the best to race for the Black and Gold. Shefinished second at NEC Championships with a time of 18:47.40. Onthe men's side, Reilly saw junior David Hurley become the firstmale to earn All-NEC honors as he finished 14th at thechampionships.
The success continued into the track and field season asReilly's charges rewrote the indoor and outdoor record books. Inall, the Bulldogs set 13 new school records. Under Reilly's watch,freshman Jasmine Bryant had an excellent rookie season, settingfour school records. At NEC indoor championships, Reilly watched asher women's and men's distance medley relay teams both set schoolrecords and finished in the top 10. The women's side ran to athird-place finish, while the men finished sixth.
The 2010-11 season in Bryant's third year competing at theDivision I level, Reilly and her staff engineered anunfaltering season that saw the improvement of multiplerunners. A tactical mix of freshman and upperclassmen paved the wayfor Bryant XC to continue to elevate its level of competition, asthe men's and women's side captured sixth and eighth placerespectively in the conference.
In the 2009-10 season, Reilly guided first-year phenom DeirdreDoyle (Carlow, Ireland) to winning multiple conference titlesincluding the 1500 meter in track, the 3,000 meter and the mile inindoor, and a seventh-place overall finish at the crosscountry NEC Championships in November 2009. In addition, at the NewEngland Championships, Doyle broke the Bryant 1500 meterrecord.
Born to be a runner
Reilly is from a track and field family. Growing up in Ireland,her mom founded an athletic club when Reilly was just a baby.
Reilly became a three-time Irish national champion in the 800meters, 1,500 meters, and 3,000 meters in high and represented theIrish National team at the European Junior Cross CountryChampionships in 1996.
A 2001 graduate of Providence College, Reilly was a member oftwo New England Championship teams in 1998 and 1999 and one BigEast Conference Championship team in 1997. She received her M.Ed inGuidance and Counseling from Providence College in 2004.
Following graduation Reilly continues to race competitivelylocally, around New England and Internationally, andcurrently holds best times of: 1000m - 2:48, Mile - 4:36,3000m – 9:02, 3000m steeplechase – 9:42, 5000m –15:46.
Reilly and her husband Paul live in Northbridge, MA, with theirtwo sons, Marcus, and Dylan.
