Shannon Popp Joins Elon Track and Field Coaching Staff

ELON, N.C. – Elon University head track and field coach Mark Elliston announced the addition of Shannon Popp as an assistant coach on his staff on Monday, Aug. 25. Popp joins the Phoenix after arriving from Concordia University Irvine where she spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach and will oversee the team’s throwers at Elon.

“I am excited to be able to mentor and teach these young student-athletes what I know and watch them succeed,” said Popp. “I am blessed to be starting this season with so many new faces. Thanks to (Elon Director of Athletics) Dave Blank and Coach Elliston and for the opportunity and can’t wait for the start of the season and to compete in the Colonial Athletic Association. We are the newcomers, but I think we are going to have a lot of fun this year and it will be a great experience for all of us. It’s going to be a great season.”

A native of Ojai, Calif., Popp has coached three national champions, four All-Americans, 11 national qualifiers, six conference champions and 38 all-conference honorees during her coaching career.

“We are very happy and excited to welcome Shannon to the Phoenix track and field family,” said Elliston. “She has a ton of great experience as an student-athlete and as a coach through the years. I am confident she will do an excellent job with our throwing crew as we start our quest for many CAA championships. We are very lucky to have someone of her caliber here at Elon.”

At Concordia, Popp guided her throwers to a number of achievements during her two seasons at the school including 11 all-conference honors between indoor and outdoor competition and six national qualifiers on both the men’s and women’s teams.

Prior to Concordia, Popp was the throwing coach at California Lutheran University for two seasons from 2010-12. While at Cal Lutheran, she had three national champions, six Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions, five national qualifiers and 27 all-conference honorees. Popp’s throwers also set five new school records.

A decorated track and field student-athlete, Popp was a two-time USA National qualifier in the hammer throw in 2009 and 2010. She began her collegiate career at Moorpark College where she was the two-time California state junior college runner-up in the hammer throw. After lettering at Kansas State for a season, Popp finished her career at the University of Wyoming and was the Mountain West Conference champion in the hammer and weight throw in 2007. She also was a national qualifier in the hammer throw that season.