Mark Coogan and the evolution of Abbey D'Agostino
May 16, 2013
It's a long year for Dartmouth's Abbey D'Agostino. The goal of 2013 is to make the World Championship team in the 5k, so scheduling is key. Between a packed NCAA racing circuit and that race in late June, assistant coach Mark Coogan and D'Agostino have had to pick specific races to achieve specific goals. Recently, Coogan has seen a more mature Abbey D. When we saw her at Mt. SAC, she wanted to the run the IAAF "A" standard. A tough task with little help and no rabbits, right? Well, she went out and did it herself. This kind of confidence is the difference between '12 D'Agostino and '13 D'Agostino. Last year, the U.S. Olympic Trials were "icing on the cake." It was an added bonus and even though she fell just short of making the team, she was still the NCAA champion. Now, it's the other way around. The NCAA 5k title is important, but D'Agostino now knows that she belongs among the elite Americans in the 5000m.
