American University

Sean Graham will enter his ninth year at the helm of the AU Cross Country and Track & Field program in the fall of 2025. Since his arrival in 2017, Graham has led the Eagles to success on both the conference and national level, and has set the stage for great success in years to come with another strong recruiting class starting in 2025.

Graham’s impact was felt almost immediately upon his arrival. In his first year, he led the program’s first pair of NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship Preliminary Round qualifiers since 2013 with Brianna Belo (800m) and Matthew Rainey (1500m). AU was back at the Preliminary Round the following year with Liam Purdy, who became the first Eagle to ever advance into an NCAA Quarterfinal, placing 18th in the 800m run. In 2025, juniors Kaden Kluth and Carver Morgan qualified for the NCAA East First Round, with Kluth placing 37th in the 1500m and Morgan placing 26th in the 800m.

On the conference level, the Eagles have earned 32 All-Patriot League finishes in cross country and indoor/outdoor track, including back-to-back titles for Brianna Belo in the indoor and outdoor 800m run in 2018, and the program's first 10k Patriot League title in 2019 with Adriana Hooks. In the 2021 spring cross country season, sophomores Ana Keene (6th) and Row Sullivan (7th) added their names to the program’s All-Patriot League list with First Team finishes. In 2025, Carver Morgan swept the indoor and outdoor 800m Patriot League titles and Kaden Kluth earned gold in the 1500m. Sophomore Lorelei Bangit earned All-Patriot League Second Team honors with silver medals in the indoor and outdoor 400, breaking her own program records in the prelims and finals of both. The DMR squad of Danny O’Neill, Brandon Williams, Carver Morgan, and Kaden Kluth earned Second Team honors with a runner-up finish at the Patriot League Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Graham has also seen success on the regional level, including a pair of All Mid-Atlantic Region finishes in 2017 with Alaeldin Tirba and Matthew Rainey.

Under Graham's tutelage, the Eagles have steadily been re-writing the program record books. Throughout the last five years, his student-athletes have earned 291 new indoor and outdoor all-time top-10 marks, including 102 in the 2025 season alone. Graham’s athletes also have school records in 20 events, including sophomore Lorelei Bangit, who broke her own program records 10 times in 2025. She earned a silver medal in the 400m at both the indoor and outdoor Patriot League Championships, scored in the indoor and outdoor 200m, and contributed to the Eagles’ bronze medal 4x100 relay at the outdoor championships. Freshman Tamara Dorval broke program records in the indoor 60m and outdoor 100m. She placed sixth in the 60m at the Patriot League Indoor Championships and fourth in the 100m outdoors. On the men’s side, junior Kaden Kluth smashed the program record in the indoor mile while becoming AU’s first four-minute miler. In 2024, he ran 1:48.93 in the indoor 800m to break a 51-year old school record. Carver Morgan cemented himself as one of AU’s best 800 runners in history, moving up to second all-time both indoors and outdoors.

The Eagles have also earned record-breaking success in the classroom, including the top cumulative GPA in Division I Track & Field from the women's team in 2021 (3.80), and back-to-back department records from the women's team in the spring (3.76) and fall (3.77) of 2018. In all, both the men’s and women’s teams have earned a combined 25 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team awards. Individually, Graham’s athletes have earned 28 Patriot League All-Academic Team selections. Highlighting the list, Row Sullivan was named the 2023 Outdoor Track Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year, with Graham mentoring them to a total of nine academic all-league selections over their career. Sullivan, alongside Shelbi Wuss, Ethan Puc, June Mwaniki, Cassie Daniele, and Lorelei Bangit have each additionally earned individual CoSida Academic All-District honors during Graham’s tenure.

Graham arrived at AU with eight years of Division I coaching experience under his belt, including three as an assistant coach at AU from 2009-11 and 2012-13. From 2013-17 he was an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky under then-head coach Edrick Floreal where he established himself as one of the rising stars in U.S. distance coaching. During his tenure with the Wildcats, he mentored some of the most-decorated male middle distance runners in the program's recent history, including a pair of podium finishes on the international stage with an 1500m gold medalist at the 2014 NACAC Outdoor Championships and an 800m silver medalist at the 2014 Canadian National Championship. He also mentored one of his student-athletes to a qualification for the 2016 World Junior Championships in the 1500m.

On the national level, Graham was also vital in the development of two NCAA Cross Country Championship qualifiers, two NCAA Indoor All-Americans, two NCAA Outdoor All-Americans, six SEC titles, eight All-SEC finishers, and five Kentucky school records.

Before he established himself as one of the premier coaches in the U.S., Graham was first one of the top distance runners in the country. An All-American finisher during his time at William & Mary ('03), he went on to compete post-collegiately with the Nike Farm team in Palo Alto, Calif., and the Nike Oregon Track Club Elite in Eugene, Ore., where he qualified for two U.S. Olympic Trials and was a top-10 finisher at three U.S. Track Championships.

A native of Stillwater, Minn., Graham graduated from William & Mary in 2003 with a bachelor’s in business administration in information technology and marketing. He also earned his Master's in business administration from American University's prestigious Kogod Business School in 2011.

THE SEAN GRAHAM FILE - COACHING HIGHLIGHTS
While at Kentucky (2013-17)...

• 2016 Junior World Championships qualifier – Kendall Muhammad, U.S. (1500m)
• 2014 Gold Medalist at the NACAC Outdoor Championships – Matt Hillenbrand, U.S. (1500m)
• Two NCAA Cross Country Championships qualifications - Jacob Thomson (2015-16)
• One USTFCCCA Indoor First Team All-American - Keffri Neal (mile, eighth)
• One USTFCCCA Indoor Second Team All-American - Matt Hillenbrand (mile, tenth)
• Two USTFCCCA Outdoor First Team All-Americans - Keffri Neal (800m, third) and Jacob Thomson (10k, sixth)
• One USTFCCCA Outdoor All-American Honorable Mention - Jacob Thomson (10k, 22nd)
• 17 NCAA Championships East Preliminary Round qualifiers
• Seven SEC individual titles (three indoor, four outdoor)
• Eight All-SEC finishers (three cross country, three indoor, two outdoor)
• Helped coach Matt Hillenbrand to the prestigious Cliff Harper Trophy during the 2014 SEC Indoor Championships, awarded to the highest individual point scorer in the meet - Hillenbrand won titles in both the mile and 3000m runs
• Five Kentucky school records (two indoor, three outdoor)
• Three Kentucky freshman school records (two indoor, one outdoor)
• 17 Kentucky All-Time Top Ten performers (eight indoor, nine outdoor)

While at American (2009-11, 2012-13)...

• Two NCAA Cross Country Championships qualifiers - Octavia Rinehardt (2010), Mark Allen (2012)
• Two NCAA Championships East Preliminary Round qualifiers - Erin Koch (2011), Octavia Rinehardt (2011)
• Five NCAA Mid-Atlantic All-Region finishers - Octavia Rinehardt (2010), Colin Eustis (2010), Mark Allen (2012), John Pope (2012), Nick Regan (2012)
• Seven Patriot League Champions (three indoor, four outdoor)
• 13 All-Patriot League finishers in cross country
• 19 All-Patriot League finishers (seven indoor, 12 outdoor)

THE SEAN GRAHAM FILE - COMPETITIVE CAREER
While at William & Mary...

• 2017 Inductee into the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame
• 2003 USTFCCCA Outdoor First Team All-American in the 5000m run (sixth)
• 2002 CAA Cross Country Athlete of the Year
• 2002 NCAA Southeast Cross Country Regional champion
• 2002 NCAA Southeast Cross Country Regional Athlete of the Year
• School Records in the indoor DMR and outdoor 4xMile 

Post-collegiate career...

• 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in the 5000m and 1500m runs
• 2007 USATF Outdoor Championships in the 5000m run (eighth)
• 2007 USATF Indoor Championships in the 3000m run (third)
• 2006 USATF Outdoor Championships in the 5000m run (fifth)
• Represented the U.S. at the U.S. vs Great Britain vs China Meet, placing fourth in the 3000m run
• 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in the 5000m run (11th)
• PR's: 3:40.30 (1500m), 3:58.40 (mile), 7:46.50 (3000m), 13:23.27 (5000m)