TicketsCINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati has hired Gabriella "Gabby" Gaudreault (pronounced goh-DROH) as its cross country head coach, Susan Seaton, director of cross country/track and field, announced Monday.
Gaudreault spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola Chicago, working directly with the Ramblers' middle-distance and distance athletes.
"After a very competitive and thorough search process, it was clear that Gabby Gaudreault was the right person to lead our men's and women's distance program," said Seaton. "She brings more than 10 years of coaching experience, including time at the Power Four level, along with a rare academic background in applied exercise science, strength and conditioning, and dietetics. But what really set her apart was her reputation — a hard worker, a passionate coach, and someone who is truly athlete-focused. She comes highly recommended by respected leaders across the cross country and track and field world, and we couldn't be more excited to start this next chapter of UC distance running with her at the helm."
“I want to thank Susan Seaton and the athletic administration for this opportunity to lead the men’s and women’s cross country and distance teams here at Cincinnati,” Gaudreault said. “I am excited to work with this talented group of student-athletes, and am honored to join the coaching staff here amongst such accomplished coaches. Both teams are returning with more experience in Big 12 competition and have set a foundation of success with last year‘s performances and results, which we will continue to build upon this year. I look forward to working with the student-athletes and continuing to establish a competitive presence with our cross country and distance programs in the Big 12 and NCAA.”
During Gaudreault's tenure at Loyola Chicago, the Ramblers swept the 2025 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships, winning both the men's and women's team titles for the third time in four years. The men's team also earned the program's first appearance in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Coaches' Poll.
Loyola's success carried into 2026, when the Ramblers earned 14 combined medals between the A-10 Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, including gold-medal performances from Nate Boutin in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Eileen Seebon in the 10,000 meters. Boutin and Roisin Treacy each broke school records during the outdoor season, and Boutin, Treacy and Rodolfo Sanchez all qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
Distance runner James Lawrence, whom Gaudreault coached, was named the 2025 A-10 Indoor Championships' most outstanding track performer after winning both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, and he later ran the nation's 13th-fastest 10K time of the season at Stanford, breaking Loyola's school record by 45 seconds.
Before Loyola Chicago, Gaudreault spent one season as an assistant coach at Georgia, where the Bulldog women finished third at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She individually coached Charlotte Augenstein to a personal-best 4:17.48 in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA East Preliminary Round and helped Wesley John qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in the steeplechase with a personal-best 8:53.52, the third-fastest mark in Georgia history.
Gaudreault also served as a volunteer distance coach at Vanderbilt, where she helped Niki Narayani and Caroline Eck qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Round, and spent three seasons at Towson (2020-22), including a stint as interim head coach. At Towson, Crystal Johnson was named the ECAC Championships' most outstanding performer, and the Tigers produced three conference champions. Gaudreault also coached at Louisiana-Monroe and Campbell, helping lead the Campbell men to the 2018 Big South cross country title.
A native of Leominster, Massachusetts, Gaudreault was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American in the 800 meters at Springfield College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in applied exercise science in 2014. She later earned a master's degree from Clemson in 2016 while serving as a graduate assistant coach.