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Ann Alyanak enters her seventh season as the head coach of UD's women's cross-country program with the distinction of competing as an elite long-distance runner and developing student-athletes who succeed on the track and in the classroom.
She was named head coach of the Flyer women's cross country program on May 6, 2004 and also serves as an assistant track and field coach, working primarily with the distance runners. She is the first full-time distance coach at UD.
A Bluffton, Ohio native, she spent the 2003 season as a graduate assistant coach with the Flyers. Immediately after the season, she took over the program and led UD to instant success.
In her six seasons as UD's head coach, Alyanak's squads have been named to the All-Academic Cross County Team by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, meaning the team has maintained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.
Competitively, she has coached 16 of the top 35 fastest UD runners in the program's history.
In 2007, Alyanak led her team to one of its strongest seasons to date as two freshmen recorded three of the program's fastest times. Rookie Maureen Bulgrin finished the Louisville Cross Country Classic in 18:15.8 and clocked in at 18:24 at the National Catholic Invite for the 22nd and 29th fastest times in program history, respectively. Freshman Brigitte Sherman also notched a top time at the Louisville Classic finishing 18:35.8 for UD's 35th fastest time.
In 2008, UD continued its success behind Bulgrin. Bulgrin was named the A-10 Performer of the Week three times and led the team in seven of eight races. She logged the 11th best time in UD history (17:56) and was 10th overall at the Conference Cross Country Championships.
During the 2008-09 track season, Alyanak coached Bulgrin to a second place finish in the 5,000 meter run and a fifth place finish in the 3,000 meter at the A-10 Indoor Championship. In the outdoor portion of the season, Bulgrin captured third in the 5,000 meter and was a member of the 4x800 relay team that placed second and broke the school record. She finished the season at Cedarville, recording a school record in the 5000 meter run. Just missing the NCAA MidEast Regional mark by one second, Bulgrin placed first in a time of 16:53.00 smashing the meet record (18:59.00) and the track record (17:41.73).
As an elite athlete, Alyanak has participated in a number of high profile marathons. Recently, she competed in the 2008 Women's Marathon -- Olympic Trials where she finished in seventh place (four spots away from qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games) running the course in 2:34:46, which was a personal best by nearly four minutes.
Her previous personal best marathon time was recorded at last year's Boston Marathon where she qualified for the Olympic Trials by posting an "A" standard time of 2:38:55, which bested her previous marathon time by almost 10 minutes. Alyanak finished ninth overall and second among American women in the race. In total, 181 women qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2007 with either an "A" standard time (2:39:00) or a "B" standard time (2:47:00, or 33:33.00 for 10,000m). Out of the 181qualifiers, only 19 were "A" qualifiers, Alyanak among them.
It's been her will to succeed and positive nature that has kept Alyanak going as a coach and as a runner. Slowly, Alyanak has made strides to improve from a strong national runner to a competitor on the international stage.
In 2007, she competed in the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan where she placed first among American women and 31st overall.
Alyanak had a strong year in 2006, improving her personal bests in the 5K (16:34), 10K (34:19), and 10,000m (33:35.64), while also finishing fourth at the USA Half Marathon Championships in 1:15:30, and posting a 41st-place finish (second American) at the World Road Running Championships (20K) in Hungary.
Prior to beginning her coaching career, Alyanak was a 2001 graduate of Purdue University where she was a standout cross country and track runner for the Boilermakers. During each of her four years she was named cross country team Most Valuable Player, earning All-Region honors in 1999-2000. In track, Alyanak was an NCAA qualifier in the 10,000 meters after winning the Big Ten title as a senior. She also set the school record in the 5000 meters and placed second at the Big Ten Championship.
Along with her running and coaching responsibilities, Alyanak is also currently pursuing her master's degree in exercise science from UD.
She currently resides in Beavercreek, Ohio with her husband Ed, who is an assistant coach for the Flyers. They are expecting their first child this fall.