Cortney Stafford was named the head coach of the women's track and field programs on Aug. 30, 2021, and is entering her fourth season on the ESU staff in 2024-25.
ESU has consistently performed at the top of the leaderboard at both the indoor and outdoor conference championship meets, achieving a runner-up finish at the 2026 Indoor PSAC Championships. Shannon Harnett (high jump) and Gabriela Pifano (shot put) won titles to push the Warriors to their best finish since 2014, and they totaled eight top-three finishes. Harnett and Porschia Bennett competed in the NCAA Championships to close the indoor season, both earning First Team All-America honors. Bennett placed eighth, while Harnett finished as the national runner-up and broke a PSAC record that was set in 1977. ESU placed seventh at the PSAC Outdoor Championships, as Zianna Dobson (discus) and Aina Galan (pole vault) became PSAC champions for the first time, and Harnett broke the program record in the long jump. ESU completed its season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with Harnett and Bennett finishing the year as First Team All-Americans in the high jump. After both the indoor and outdoor seasons, Harnett was named the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year.
The Warriors made their first jump under Stafford in 2024-25, as they finished third at the indoor championship meet and fourth at the outdoor meet. ESU won five events, as Shannon Harnett (triple jump), who was also named the Outstanding Field Athlete of the Meet, Samiyah Little (weight throw), Payton Falkenstein (5,000-meter), Riley Trentowski (800-meter), and Porschia Bennett (high jump) all took home first-place finishes. Harnett was also crowned the PSAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. At the PSAC Outdoor Championships, Little continued to dominate, winning her second consecutive title in the hammer throw. Harnett and Bennett took the top two spots in the high jump, and Harnett also finished first in the triple jump, leading to her winning Outstanding Field Athlete of the Meet once again. As the season continued, Bennett and Harnett would compete at the NCAA Championships, with Bennett finishing third in the high jump to become an All-American. Coming off her first All-American performance, Bennett was crowned the PSAC Freshman of the Year.
In 2023-24, the Warriors captured a fifth-place finish at the PSAC Indoor Championships for the second straight year, before taking ninth at the outdoor championships. Junior Samiyah Little secured the third PSAC weight throw title in school history and became the first thrower in program history to win the hammer at the outdoor conference meet. During the indoor season, the Warriors broke a trio of school records, which included Destiny Thompson (200m), Nickolina Annelli (pole vault), and Little (weight).
ESU continued to improve in its second year under Stafford as the Warriors finished fifth at both the PSAC Indoor & Outdoor Championships. Graduate student Jeanette Jones wrapped up an outstanding career by capturing the conference title in the 400m hurdles, and the Warriors broke several school records, which included Destiny Thompson (55m, 60m), Nickolina Annelli (pole vault), and Elizabeth Makar (hammer throw). Academically, Makar was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Third Team, becoming only the ninth selection in program history.
In her first season at the helm, ESU finished ninth and tied for seventh, respectively, at the PSAC Indoor & Outdoor Championships. Additionally, the Warriors set six school records, which included Elizabeth Makar in the shot put (indoor/outdoor), Nikolina Annelli in the pole vault (indoor/outdoor), and Isabella Marte in the discus. Makar also earned a pair of Second Team All-America honors in the shot put, the PSAC Athlete & Freshman of the Year awards during the indoor season, and a conference title in the shot put at the outdoor championships.
Stafford brings seven years of collegiate experience and joins the Warriors after previously working as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton from 2015-21.
Stafford coached three student-athletes to four Big West individual titles and has had 13 NCAA DI West Preliminary Qualifiers. The women’s team had their first-ever high jump competitor at the NCAA Championships, who went on to earn 2nd Team All-American status with a top-15 finish. Under Stafford’s direction, five women's school records were also broken.
She was a part of four Big West Conference Championships and had 18 student-athletes earn All-Academic honors.
Before joining Cal State Fullerton in 2015-16, Stafford spent one year as a volunteer assistant coach for UC Irvine, where she focused on the horizontal jumps.
Before coaching at UCI, Stafford spent four years (2010-14) serving as an assistant sprints and jumps coach at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. Stafford assisted the Jackrabbits in their 2011 Boys and Girls CIF-Southern Section and the CA-CIF State Championship titles, as well as the Girls 2013 & 2014 CIF-Southern Section and CIF State Championship titles.
During her stint, the Jackrabbits also produced numerous national leading marks, and in 2011, ESPN ranked the track and field program as #1 in the nation.
Prior to her coaching career, Stafford competed for four years as a jumper at Cal Poly. Competing in both the long and triple jump, and sprint relay, Stafford was a two-time Big West Conference champion in the triple jump in 2004 and 2005. As a Big West Conference triple jump record holder, her mark of 13.45m (44-1 ¼) still stands today. During the 2005 season, Stafford placed ninth in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships, fourth at the NCAA West Regional, and competed at the Outdoor NCAA Championships that year.
Stafford earned her undergraduate degree in political science and ethnic studies from Cal Poly in 2005. She earned a master’s degree in sport management from Long Beach State in 2012.
She is a certified USATF Association Level Official, Level 3 Jumps & Multi Events coach, and an IAAF Level 5 Jumps & Multi Events coach.
Recent PSAC Championships by ESU
2026 outdoor – Zianna Dobson (discus)
2026 outdoor – Aina Galan (pole vault)
2026 indoor – Shannon Harnett (high jump)
2026 indoor – Gabriele Pifano (shot put)
2025 outdoor – Samiyah Little (hammer throw)
2025 outdoor – Shannon Harnett (high jump)
2025 indoor – Shannon Harnett (triple jump)
2025 indoor – Samiyah Little (weight throw)
2025 indoor – Payton Falkenstein (5,000-meter)
2025 indoor – Riley Trentowski (800-meter)
2025 indoor – Porschia Bennett (high jump)
2024 outdoor - Samiyah Little (hammer throw)
2024 indoor - Samiyah Little (weight throw)
2023 indoor - Donavan Anderson (triple jump)
2023 outdoor - Jeanette Jones (400m hurdles)
2023 outdoor - Kobe Jenkins (110m hurdles)
2023 indoor- Donavan Anderson (triple jump)
2022 outdoor - Elizabeth Makar (Shot Put)
Recent NCAA Qualifiers by ESU (All-Americans bold)
2026 outdoor – Shannon Harnett (High Jump – First Team)
Porschia Bennett (High Jump – First Team)
Shannon Harnett (Triple Jump)
2026 indoor – Shannon Harnett (High Jump – First Team)
Porschia Bennett (High Jump – Second Team)
2025 outdoor – Porschia Bennett (High Jump – First Team)
Shannon Harnett (High Jump)
2023 outdoor - Donavan Anderson (Triple Jump - First Team)
2023 indoor - Donavan Anderson (Long Jump - Second Team)
Donavan Anderson (Triple Jump - Second Team)
2022 outdoor - Elizabeth Makar (Shot Put - Second Team)
2022 indoor - Elizabeth Makar (Shot Put - Second Team)
PSAC Overall Award Winners
2026 – Shannon Harnett – Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year
2026 – Shannon Harnett – Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
2025 – Porschia Bennett – Outdoor Freshman of the Year
2025 – Shannon Harnett – Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
2024 - Bri Hennett - Indoor Track & Field Freshman
2022 - Elizabeth Makar - Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year, Freshman of the Year
