Alison Duffy - Assistant Coach - Women's Track & Field Coaches

Alison Duffy

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Alison.Duffy@unh.edu

Alison Duffy enters her second season as the Women’s Cross Country/Distance Coach and Assistant Track & Field Coach at the University of New Hampshire. In her first year in Durham, Duffy led the Wildcats to great success, highlighted by an America East Cross-Country Championship, multiple individual and relay conference titles across indoor and outdoor seasons, and an NCAA Second Team All-American performance by Ruth White.

Coaching Highlights

• America East Cross-Country Conference Champions (2024)
• New England Cross-Country Champions (2024)
• America East Coaching Staff of the Year – Cross Country & Outdoor Track (2024–25)
• Three individual America East champions and one relay conference champion
• Two New England individual champions and one relay champion
• NCAA Second Team All-American athlete (Ruth White)

Cross Country
• Paul Short Invitational Champions – 1st of 41 teams (program’s first-ever victory)
• New England Champions – 1st of 20 teams
• America East Champions – St. Albans, VT
    o 4 women placed in the top 10
• 17th place at NCAA Regional Championships — one of the highest finishes in program history
• 3 - America East Rookie of the Week
• 3 - America East Performer of the Week
• First Team All-Conference: Claire Ronan
• Second Team All-Conference: Lily Doody, Jill Walker, Gabby DeAngelis
• America East Most Outstanding Female Rookie: Gabby DeAngelis
• 3 - America East All-Academic Team
• 4 - National Collegiate Honor Roll
• America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll – Entire women's team (each with 3.5 GPA or higher)

Track & Field
• America East Indoor Championships
    o Individual Champion: Claire Ronan (1000m)
    o Eight total medals
• America East Outdoor Championships
    o Team Finish: 2nd place
    o Individual Champions:
• Claire Ronan (1500m)
• Ruth White (10,000m)
    o 4x800m Relay Champions: Gabby DeAngelis, Mia Carbone, Ella Malone, Claire Ronan
    o Seven total medals
• Five school records broken
• Three New England Indoor Champions (Steeple, 5K, DMR)
• America East Performer of the Year: Ruth White
• America East Most Outstanding Rookie: Ruth White
• 4 - America East All-Academic Team

Coaching & Professional Background

Duffy brings 27 years of coaching experience at both the college and high school levels. She has coached many state champions, record holders, and national qualifiers. Along with coaching in these early years, she maintained a professional career as an energy engineer. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she competed in the high jump, long jump, hurdles and heptathlon. She earned her undergraduate degree in economics, participated in the university’s music program, and later completed graduate coursework at Northeastern University to become certified in energy management.

Athletic Background

A former elite athlete, Duffy set and held the U.S. high school national indoor high jump record (6’1) for 34 years and qualified for the 1988 (HJ) and 2000 (Hept) Olympic Trials. She competed professionally for the BAA, Saucony, and Puma, and spent two years on the U.S. Women’s World Cup Bobsled Team. An accomplished obstacle course racer, she has won the Masters division of the Fenway Spartan Race multiple times.

Personal

Duffy remains highly active, enjoying triathlons, hiking, and participating in nearly any sport alongside her four sons and husband of 26 years. She grew up just outside Buffalo, New York—and is, proudly, a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan.