SANTEE, Calif. – With the resignation of Cassie Hansen, men's and women's cross country coach, the SDC athletic department is pleased to announce Jennifer Nanista as the new head coach for both teams, effective immediately.

"Jennifer brings exceptional experience in coaching and managing cross country," athletic director Carolyn Peters said. "She is a wonderful addition to our Hawk family."

Most notably, Nanista was the head cross country coach for San Diego State University from 1993-2009. She was also the interim head coach for the track and field teams for two years in 2008 and 2009.

During her time at SDSU, she helped lead the Aztecs to its first conference championship in program history. She also maintained a perfect Academic Progress Rate for the cross country team each year. The APR is a term-by-term measure of eligibility and retention for Division I student-athletes that was developed as an early indicator of eventual graduation rates.

In 2017, Nanista was the team manager for the United States Track and Field team in the International Association of Athletics Federations World Relay Games in the Bahamas.

Nanista will make her SDC coaching debut when the Hawks run in the Mark Covert Classic hosted by Cal State Fullerton on September 1.