MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg men's and women's track & field and cross country head coach and senior woman administrator Danielle Lynch has accepted a position as associate director of athletics for compliance at Susquehanna University.

In addition to her administrative role as senior woman administrator, Lynch had served as an athletics coordinator, a student-athlete welfare coordinator, a Title IX resource, a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) advisor, the athletics designee for inclusion diversity, and an inclusion designee since joining Penn State Harrisburg in 2013.

In the spring of 2019, Lynch helped thrower Cameron Yon reach the pinnacle of college athletics when he won the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championship in the discus throw. Yon became the first student-athlete in school history to win a national title, while Lynch became the first coach at Penn State Harrisburg to achieve the feat.

"We are all extremely excited for Danielle," said Penn State Harrisburg director of athletics Rahsaan Carlton. "She has worked very hard for this career advancement opportunity and will absolutely thrive in her new role. What she has accomplished here over the past eight years is nothing short of amazing. Our entire campus community will miss her tremendously."

Under Lynch's leadership, four men's and women's track & field athletes combined for six USTFCCCA All-America honors. Her athletes racked up 19 NCAA national qualifications, two regional athlete of the year awards, 42 all-region honors, 25 conference championships, 43 all-conference honors, and nine conference major awards since the 2015-16 season.

Lynch joined Penn State Harrisburg as the men's and women's cross country head coach in the fall of 2013 before starting the track & field program from scratch, taking the program from club team to contender on the national level in less than a decade. She took over at Penn State Harrisburg following an eight-year stint as an assistant at Bucknell where she coached the sprinters, middle distance runners, and hurdlers. She coached over 30 Patriot League champions and 20 of her runners held school records at Bucknell. Several of her student-athletes were also NCAA Regional and Junior National Qualifiers. Prior to her time at Bucknell, Lynch spent two years as an assistant at West Point. She coached the sprinters and hurdlers, helping the men's team win a pair of Patriot League outdoor championships, as well as an IC4A outdoor title.

A hurdling standout and graduate of Rutgers, Lynch competed in the sprints, hurdles, and multi events and was named co-captain and MVP of the Scarlet Knights women's team her senior year.  She clocked a 400m hurdle time of 58.28 and competed at the NCAA Championships, USATF National Championships, and the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.

After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Anthropology from Rutgers in 2003, Lynch earned her Masters of Science in Education from Bucknell in 2010 and is a licensed teacher. Lynch is a Doctoral Candidate in the Lifelong Learning in Adult Education program at Penn State University and has a research focus on the lived experiences of Black male professional athletes in light of the ongoing social justice movements. Lynch is an NCAA and GreenDot bystander intervention facilitator and a ONETEAM LGBTQ faciliator. Lynch has a passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion and was recently featured on an episode of CNN's Facebook news show "Go There," during which she and her husband addressed the challenges of raising Black children in today's America.

Penn State Harrisburg will begin conducting a search for the college's next men's and women's track & field and cross country head coach.

Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using the handle @pshbgathletics.