Shayla Houlihan - Cross Country Coach - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Shayla Houlihan

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
shayla.houlihan@gcu.edu

College Coaching Resume

YEAR	SCHOOL	POSITION
2007-09	Utah	Grad. Asst.
2012	Cal	Asst. Coach
2013	Cal	Asst. HC
2014-15	Cal	Assoc. HC
2016-18	Cal	HC
2021-22	UCSB	HC
2023	Iowa	Asst. Coach
2024-present	GCU	HC

Conference Champions

2021

NCAA Championships Appearances

Men - 2016 | Women - 2017

Conference Coach of the Year

2021

bold denotes at GCU

View GCU Cross Country coaching records.

Shayla Houlihan is in her second season as Grand Canyon cross country head coach after being named to the position in July 2024.

A decorated runner in her own right, Houlihan has an impressive coaching resume that includes several top-10 recruiting classes, appearances at NCAA Championships, conference titles, All-Americans, national team coaching experience and academic success.

"I'm thrilled to have found my home at GCU and am eager to work hard to elevate our distance program to national prominence," Houlihan said at the time of her hire. "As we transition from the WAC to the WCC, it will be vital to make the competitive jump in this distance-heavy, national-caliber conference. I want to thank the administration — (sport administrator) Anthony Martinez, (deputy athletic director) Nick Ojea and (athletic director) Jamie Boggs — for entrusting my vision for the future of our program here at GCU."

Working alongside track and field head coach Tom Flood, Houlihan oversees the distance component of the program including leading the cross country teams and assisting with distance runners for track and field.

"Shayla has produced elite results in every aspect of her career from her time as a student-athlete, to her career as a professional runner, to her results as a head coach producing nationally ranked recruiting classes and championship performances," GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said at the time of hire. "She is highly respected in the running world as a coach and, more importantly, as a great person who cares for and deeply invests in her student-athletes. We are excited to have her lead our cross country program."

A record-setting runner in college, Houlihan competed for Northern Iowa and Utah. She set Utah's 3,000-meter steeplechase record in 2008 and placed in the top 10 in two events at the Mountain West Championships.

Houlihan's running career continued into the professional ranks where she competed in the steeple. She posted a personal record of 9:51.26 in 2011 which qualified as an Olympic Trials A Standard time. She was ranked seventh in the country in the event by Track & Field News in 2010. Her career culminated with a top-25 finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012.

While still competing, Houlihan began the early stages of her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Utah (2007-10) and then an assistant coach at Team Run Flagstaff (2010-12).

After the completion of her competitive running career, Houlihan started a seven-year stint at Cal. In that span, she was expeditiously promoted up the ladder from assistant coach to assistant head coach to associate head coach and, ultimately, cross country head coach. In her seven seasons on staff, Cal had top-10 recruiting classes four times by identifying national and international talent.

Leading the Golden Bears cross country teams for two seasons, Houlihan led both the men's and women's teams to appearances at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. In 2017, Cal's women's team placed 22nd at the NCAA Championships with two All-American finishes. One of Houlihan's most decorated runners, Bethan Knights, also achieved All-American status in 2016 and 2017 at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. In her first season as head coach, both the men's and women's teams were the most improved academically in Cal's athletic department. The men's team had the department's top GPA in 2016 and 2017.

Houlihan returned to the Grand Canyon State in 2019 to help found Under Armour's Dark Sky Distance, a professional running club in Flagstaff. She served as a co-head coach and recruited national-level talent to join the team. In her two years with Dark Sky Distance, five Olympic-qualifying time standards were achieved by runners.

Returning to the collegiate coaching ranks, Houlihan took the reins of UC Santa Barbara's cross country program in 2021 and led the Gauchos for two seasons. Her impact was felt immediately, leading the men's team to the 2021 Big West Championship and picking up the conference's coach of the year award. In both of her seasons leading the cross country program, UCSB had the Big West's Freshman of the Year on the men's side.

Houlihan also has built a national reputation after serving as the men's national distance coach for USA Track & Field in 2022 as well as holding national positions with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

She also has coached her sister, Shelby, who holds the U.S. record in the 1,500-meter run and won the national championship in the 5,000-meter run in August 2025.

Houlihan spent 2023 in her home state of Iowa serving on the track and field and cross country staff of the Hawkeyes.