Union College Athletics

Laura Nardelli finished her seventh season as head coach of the Union College men's and women's cross country and track & field programs in 2024-25, continuing to guide the program to greater successes each season.

Under Nardelli's direction, the Union cross country and track teams had tremendous success on the course, on the track and in the field during the 2023-24 season, setting multiple program records and seeing results that had not been achieved in decades.

The men's cross country team was regionally ranked by the USTFCCCA for much of the fall and placed eighth at the NCAA Mideast Regionals for its best regional finish in 40 years. Meanwhile, the women's team placed 11th at regionals for its best finish in over three decades. Individually, Cat Dacey set multiple program firsts for the women's team, becoming the first runner to earn All-Liberty League first-team and USTFCCCA All-Region recognition while earning the team's first individual qualification to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The eight fastest 6K races in women's program history were run this season (including the top five by Dacey), while the men's team posted six of the top-nine fastest 8K times in program history this season as well.

The success continued moving to the track for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. The women's team saw 12 program records broken over the course of the year, led by USTFCCCA All-America honorable mention Ashley Sheldon, who became Union's second NCAA Indoor Championship qualifier in the high jump and broke five school records on the way to Liberty League Indoor Co-Rookie of the Year honors. Sheldon (indoor high jump) and Allison Malatesta (outdoor 3000 steeplechase) earned conference titles for Union as well. The men's team combined to break nine program records over the course of the season and won three Liberty League individual championships from Sam Ahern (indoor 60, indoor 200) and Jason Bois (outdoor 110 hurdles), who combined for three of the team's four USTFCCCA All-Region honors.

That success continued into the 2024 cross country season, where the men's team was regionally ranked in every week of the season and both the men (10th) and women (12th) finished in the top-half of the field at the NCAA Mideast Regionals. Both teams had individual qualifiers for the NCAA Championships for the first time ever in the same season, and all three runners (Cat Dacey, Ben Neff and Ryan Russell) all earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors as well. Russell recorded the top-five 8K times in program history while Dacey outdid herself with the top-two spots in the 6K record books, giving her all of the program's top-10 times.

The 2024-25 track season saw more unprecedented success, with the men's and women's teams combining to break 16 program records and sending individual qualifiers to both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Senior Sam Ahern became Union's first male sprinter to qualify for nationals in 20 years in the 200-meter dash and broke three school records during his final season, while sophomore Ashley Sheldon reached nationals for the second straight year in the high jump and captured another conference title during the outdoor season. The men's team capped a successful year by winning the 4x800 relay title at the AARTFC Championships, the first regional title in program history. In total, the track teams combined for six All-Region honors.

Nardelli wrapped up the 2022-23 season with the men's outdoor 4x800m relay team taking second place at the AARTFC Championships and breaking the school record in the process. She saw two individuals and one relay team earn Liberty League honorable mentions for the women's track team, in addition to three USTFCCCA All-Region performers on the men's side between indoor and outdoor track and field. In cross country, sophomore Cat Dacey grabbed the program's first All-Liberty League honor since 2009 with an honorable mention. 

Coming back for a full season following the global pandemic, Nardelli led Union's teams to another successful year in 2021-22. The men's outdoor 4x800 relay team took third place at the AARTFC Championships, while first-year Sam Ahern broke the school record in the 60-meter dash as the first Union runner to crack seven seconds indoors. On the women's side, Union earned three podium finishes at the AARTFC Outdoor Championships, led by the 4x400 relay team that broke a 31-year-old school record, while first-year Marley Froe also broke the school record in the indoor 60-meter dash.

Despite having the 2020-21 season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Nardelli led Union to a very successful year on the track, leading the teams to a combined 21 individual titles and 45 All-Conference honors at the 2021 Liberty League East Outdoor Championships as well as three podium finishes at the AARTFC Outdoor Championships.
 
Nardelli previously served as head coach at Division I Colgate University, leading the women’s track & field program for 16 years, the women’s cross country team for 13 years and the men’s track & field team for three years between 1998-2014. She was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year for the third time and also earned Colgate’s Coach of the Year honor in 2010-11 after leading the women’s cross country team to its first Patriot League championship and junior Elise DeRoo to her second straight individual title and the program’s first individual NCAA Championship appearance. In all, she coached 42 Patriot League individual champions, 13 NCAA qualifiers and more than 150 All-Patriot League performers as well as five Patriot League Scholar-Athletes of the Year during her time in Hamilton.
 
After leaving Colgate, Nardelli served as head cross country coach at Brewster Academy from 2014-16, leading the girl’s team to a Lakes Region championship in her final year. She most recently was a teacher and coach at Susan Odell Taylor School in Troy.
 
Nardelli began her coaching career in 1983 at SUNY Cortland, and in her third year led the Red Dragon women’s track team to a Division III Outdoor Track national championship and a runner-up finish at the Division III Indoor Track Championships in 1985. She also served five years as head cross country and track & field coach at Division I West Virginia University beginning in 1986, where she coached 68 All-ECAC selections and four All-Americans.
 
Nardelli graduated from Syracuse University in 1982 and captained the Orange cross country and track & field teams in 1981 and 1982. She also earned a master’s degree in physical education from Syracuse in 1984.