Since starting with Girls Track and Field in spring 2024, Coach Katherine Moran has already made a significant contribution to the team. Most notably, she helped lead the Girls Cross-Country team to Triple Crown success as conference, county and sectional champions. 

“Mrs. Moran was the perfect addition to the coaching staff this cross-country season,” senior captain Lilah Willis said. “Her spirit, encouragement and humor were all a crucial part of the puzzle this year. She laced up herself at practice and joined us for some runs, which was an awesome way to strengthen our team bond. We truly couldn’t ask for better coaches. Higgins, Jenna and Mrs. Moran are the heart of this team.” 

Beyond cross-country, Moran has worked closely with sprinters and hurdlers over the past year. Her presence has been a positive change for the sprinters, who appreciated having a female coach who could relate to and connect with them. 

After volunteering with the program for the past year, Moran will join Randolph as an official sprint coach this spring. While volunteering, she developed workout plans to help sprinters achieve personal bests and peak performance. Her emphasis on giving extra effort has already paid off, especially in the home stretch of races. 

Before coming to Randolph, Moran showed her strength in the sport, as both an athlete and coach. She previously worked at James Irwin Charter High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she coached track and field for several years. During her time there, several individuals and relay teams placed in the top five at the state championships. Prior to coaching,  Moran was a Division I collegiate runner at Fairfield University in Connecticut, serving as cross-country captain during her final two years. 

“I love coaching track because there’s so much for athletes to learn from the sport,” Moran said. “Patience, commitment and resilience are just a few things that go on behind the scenes to build a team to its fullest potential.” 

A military wife, Moran brings a coaching style that is both stern and direct, and her expertise continues to improve the team’s speed and explosiveness. 

“Coach Moran has been an outstanding addition to our coaching staff,” head coach Kevin Higgins said. “She has been very generous with her time, volunteering for several seasons, and has injected energy into our sprint and hurdles group.” 

Looking ahead, Moran noted the strong mix of freshmen and returning athletes on the winter roster. “I am looking forward to seeing how these new athletes can learn from our seniors and how all these girls will come together for relays and scoring points at meets,” she said. “We had a great cross-country season with our distance girls, and we can definitely continue this momentum with the whole track team into winter and spring. Even after our opening meet at Ocean Breeze, we can see some new school records on the horizon.” 

At that opening meet, sprinters Corine Denizard, Seannah Parsons, Jillian Liebhauser and Gabby Ball won the 4×200-meter relay with a time of 1:50.52, less than a second off the school record of 1:49.92. Senior captain Parsons ran 7.45 seconds in the 55 meters to place third all-time in Randolph history, while Ball ran 7.52 seconds to place fourth. Junior Carly Renna won the 600 meters in 1:39.92, and sophomore Samantha Cerulo placed second in the 1,000 meters with a time of 3:19.14. Senior captain Willis placed sixth in the mile, running 5:33.52. The meet concluded with the 4×400-meter relay with Willis, Renna, Cerulo and Mackenzie Sherrow placing second with a time of 4:23.58. 

As the season continues, Moran said she looks forward to watching her athletes continue to improve. “When an athlete gets a new PR, whether it’s by an inch or a second, it’s a testament to the collaboration that the athlete, coach and team put in every day,” she said. “It’s so much fun to witness the joy.”