Eastern Michigan Athletics
Women's Track & Field
Best, Chris
Chris Best
- Title:
- Co-Director/Women's Head Coach (Sprints/Hurdles)
- Email:
- cbest3@emich.edu
- Phone:
- 734.487.7501
Now Co-Director of EMU Cross Country/Track & Field, Chris Best concluded his four-year run as associate head coach in 2023-24, as he was promoted to co-director of track & field and named the women's track & field head coach, July 1, 2024. He is entering his 11th season at Eastern in 2024-25.
At the 2024 MAC Indoor Championships, Best earned the Women's Assistant Coach of the Year award after his women's sprints and hurdles group accounted for 45.5 points in the meet. The award for Best is the first in his career and the first in program history on the women's side. It stands as the fourth assistant coach honor the overall program has earned with Sterling Roberts (2018 and 2019) and Mark Rinker (2023) being recognized on the men's side previously.
The duo of Saraiah Walkes and Alyson Davis finished one-two in the 60m dash for 18 points before Walkes won the 200m to become the 11th woman in MAC history, the seventh in EMU history, and first since Ashlee Abraham in 2011, to win the sprint double. After adding six points in the 400m dash, the 4x400m relay captured the crown in repeat fashion for 10 more points to go along with the 400m leg of the third-place distance medley relay for the final 1.5 points. Additionally, five of Best's women sprinters (Davis, Walkes, Tijana Japundzic, Noriyah Johnson, and Josephine Oloye) earned all-conference honors.
Best's men also performed well at the MAC Indoor Championships, as Callum Robinson earned All-MAC First Team honors, placing first in the 200m dash in 21.43, Robinson also placed second as a member of the 4x400m relay team along with Shelton Bass, Gabe Singh, and Tajay Roberts, all earning All-MAC Second Team honors.
In the women's outdoor season, Davis, Walkes, Makiya Worthy, and Oloye each earned all-conference second team honors as they placed second in the 4x100m relay in 45.28. Walkes went on to place third in the 100m dash in 11.51.
Eastern sprinters churned out another successful season under Best’s tutelage. In the 2022-23 MAC Outdoor Championships, the women’s 4x400m relay team of Angel Gazaway, Mair Edwards, Chevonne Wheeler and Johnson placed first in 3:40.87, joined by the women’s 4x100m relay, whom placed third in 45.73. For the men, Kaleb Simpson notched a personal-best in the 200m dash, sprinting the distance in 20.80 for a second-place finish. Simpson’s 20.80 200m also marked the seventh-fastest time in program history. Apart from Simpson, Dante Lander ran well at the outdoor championships, setting a personal-best in the 400m, following suit with Simpson, Lander would also place second in the respective event. His time (51.41) also went down as the seventh-fastest in Eastern history.
At the 2022-23 MAC Indoor Championships, Simpson again led Eastern’s male sprinters as he brought home two titles, sprinting to gold in both the 60m and 200m dashes. In the shortest sprint, Simpson clocked in at 6.76 to tie his personal best and the No. 9 time in program history. He came back at the end of the meet and completed the single-lap race in 21.60 to take first.
Outside of collegiate competition, Best mentored Callum Robinson, who captured gold in the 2023 NACAC Track & Field Championships when he ran a personal-best in the 200m (20.52). Robinson again competed internationally, this time in the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile, where he would place fourth in the 200m in 20.85.
In 2021-22, Best’s sprinters had another outstanding season. Sophomore Kilani Harvey qualified for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round, ultimately finishing 44th in the 100m dash with a time of 11.84. At the MAC Outdoor Championships, the 4x100m relay team earned gold for the sixth-straight season under Best’s leadership. Additionally, Mair Edwards became EMU’s fist 400m champion since 2017, while four Eagles scored points in the 200m race. At the indoor league meet, Best’s 4x400m relay crew took first while Edwards finished third in the 400m competition.
Best helped develop and mentor Brittni Mason, who individually earned silver in the 100m (11.97) and 200m (25.00) at the 2020 Paralympics Games. Additionally, Mason helped Team USA take home the gold in the first-ever 4x100m Universal relay.
In the 2021 outdoor season, the women’s 4x100m team of Davis, Micah Johnston, Mason, and Kolby Ganther captured the program’s fifth-straight Mid-American Conference title in the event with a time of 45.64. The same crew achieved a 45.42 clip earlier in the season, good for eighth-best in program history.
Under Best, the EMU women’s track & field program has thrived, winning five indoor Mid-American Conference Championships (2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2022-23). Best also assisted the team to both indoor and outdoor MAC Championships in 2015-16, helping secure the team’s first Triple Crown in school history.
In 2019, Coach Best coached the 4x100m relay squad to their fourth-consecutive MAC championship under his leadership while the cohort also finished their conference championship race with a meet record of 45.04. With their efforts at the MAC Outdoor Championships, the squad qualified for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round, where the quartet broke their own EMU record and set a MAC All-Time record with a mark of 44.65.
Individually, the 2018-19 campaign saw Best continue his reign of coaching some of the most dominant sprinters in the MAC, as Jessica Harris placed third in the 100m at the conference championships with a time of 11.56, the fifth-best time in program history, while qualifying her for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Rounds. Harris also tied her lifetime-best 60m mark at the indoor championships, placing second with a time of 7.48, followed by Brittni Mason, who placed third in the same event with a personal-best effort of 7.49. Micah Johnston made her mark in the Eastern record books in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, finishing third in the indoor 400m with the second-fastest time in program history (53.70) while finishing second in the same event at the outdoor MAC meet with the seventh-fastest mark in EMU laurels and qualifying for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Rounds (53.55).
Not only did Best lead some of the MAC’s best sprinters to top conference efforts, but the Eagles’ hurdlers leapt over the MAC competition with their 2019 outdoor conference championship performances. Allyson Goff earned a second-place finish in the 100m hurdles while Tiffany Cernej-Garcia finished fifth in the 400m hurdles with the seventh-fastest mark in program history, both qualifying for the NCAA East Regionals. Alysse Wade saw an incredible freshman campaign that included qualifying for the USATF U20 Championships, finishing 11th with a time of 13.87.
The 2017-18 season saw Best have monumental success with the 400m and 1600m relay team. On top of the 400m relay team winning the outdoor conference championship title for the third straight year, the quartet tied the school and conference record at the TCU Invite, recording a time of 44.99. Moreover, the 1600m relay team clocked the third-fastest time in program history during the outdoor campaign, running to a time of 3:37.31 at the Penn Relays.
In previous seasons, Best has continually aided some of the most dominant sprinters in not only the MAC, but in Eastern Michigan history. Specifically, Best has personally assisted Jasmine Jones, Jessica Harris, and Micah Johnston on their rises to success. Jones closed out her career at EMU qualifying to the NCAA East Regional, where she ran the second-fastest 200m time in school history (23.20). Before that, Jones was named the Most Outstanding Female Track Performer at the 2017-18 indoor championship, was a three-time 200m conference champion, and two-time 400m champion, and was a member of the record-setting 400, 1600 relay squads.
Before her record-setting senior campaign, the duo of Harris and Best saw success ever since Harris came to Ypsilanti. In her first year, Best coached her to MAC Indoor Freshman of the Year honors, as well as a runner-up finish in the 60m dash at the MAC Championships. Additionally, in her rookie campaign, Harris posted a top-10 time in school history in the 60m, and earned MAC Outdoor Freshman of the Year honors.
Leading up to her record-breaking junior campaign, Best oversaw Johnston’s emergence as a young force to be reckoned with. In her first two seasons as an Eagle, Johnston was named a First Team All-MAC honoree, was a Second Team All-MAC honoree three times, and was a key piece in the then-school record-setting 400m relay performance, as well as the third-best outdoor 1600m relay.
Best came to the Eagles after a season-long stint at Garden City Community College in Kansas, where he coached sprints, hurdles, jumps, and multi-event athletes as an assistant coach. He also served as the primary recruiting coordinator as well as assisted with various administrative duties.
Prior to his work with the Broncbusters, Best was a graduate assistant coach at Troy University for the 2012-13 season. In addition to designing training and conditioning plans for the sprints, hurdles, jumps, and multi-event athletes, he also served as the assistant recruiting coordinator. Best started off his coaching career at Iowa Western Community College, serving as an assistant coach from 2011-12, where he worked with the hurdles, pole vault, and multi-event athletes, as well as served as the head strength and conditioning coach for the track program.
Best adds a successful career as a student-athlete to his coaching experience, as he was a member of the track and field team at Liberty University from 2007-10. He competed in the sprints on a team that dominated the Big South Conference with championship titles in every one of his seasons. In 2009, he was a member of the conference’s winning 4x400m relay team during the indoor season. Best stayed on with the Flames for an extra year to serve as an intern for the program and taking on administrative and analytical duties while he completed his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology.
At the 2024 MAC Indoor Championships, Best earned the Women's Assistant Coach of the Year award after his women's sprints and hurdles group accounted for 45.5 points in the meet. The award for Best is the first in his career and the first in program history on the women's side. It stands as the fourth assistant coach honor the overall program has earned with Sterling Roberts (2018 and 2019) and Mark Rinker (2023) being recognized on the men's side previously.
The duo of Saraiah Walkes and Alyson Davis finished one-two in the 60m dash for 18 points before Walkes won the 200m to become the 11th woman in MAC history, the seventh in EMU history, and first since Ashlee Abraham in 2011, to win the sprint double. After adding six points in the 400m dash, the 4x400m relay captured the crown in repeat fashion for 10 more points to go along with the 400m leg of the third-place distance medley relay for the final 1.5 points. Additionally, five of Best's women sprinters (Davis, Walkes, Tijana Japundzic, Noriyah Johnson, and Josephine Oloye) earned all-conference honors.
Best's men also performed well at the MAC Indoor Championships, as Callum Robinson earned All-MAC First Team honors, placing first in the 200m dash in 21.43, Robinson also placed second as a member of the 4x400m relay team along with Shelton Bass, Gabe Singh, and Tajay Roberts, all earning All-MAC Second Team honors.
In the women's outdoor season, Davis, Walkes, Makiya Worthy, and Oloye each earned all-conference second team honors as they placed second in the 4x100m relay in 45.28. Walkes went on to place third in the 100m dash in 11.51.
Eastern sprinters churned out another successful season under Best’s tutelage. In the 2022-23 MAC Outdoor Championships, the women’s 4x400m relay team of Angel Gazaway, Mair Edwards, Chevonne Wheeler and Johnson placed first in 3:40.87, joined by the women’s 4x100m relay, whom placed third in 45.73. For the men, Kaleb Simpson notched a personal-best in the 200m dash, sprinting the distance in 20.80 for a second-place finish. Simpson’s 20.80 200m also marked the seventh-fastest time in program history. Apart from Simpson, Dante Lander ran well at the outdoor championships, setting a personal-best in the 400m, following suit with Simpson, Lander would also place second in the respective event. His time (51.41) also went down as the seventh-fastest in Eastern history.
At the 2022-23 MAC Indoor Championships, Simpson again led Eastern’s male sprinters as he brought home two titles, sprinting to gold in both the 60m and 200m dashes. In the shortest sprint, Simpson clocked in at 6.76 to tie his personal best and the No. 9 time in program history. He came back at the end of the meet and completed the single-lap race in 21.60 to take first.
Outside of collegiate competition, Best mentored Callum Robinson, who captured gold in the 2023 NACAC Track & Field Championships when he ran a personal-best in the 200m (20.52). Robinson again competed internationally, this time in the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile, where he would place fourth in the 200m in 20.85.
In 2021-22, Best’s sprinters had another outstanding season. Sophomore Kilani Harvey qualified for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round, ultimately finishing 44th in the 100m dash with a time of 11.84. At the MAC Outdoor Championships, the 4x100m relay team earned gold for the sixth-straight season under Best’s leadership. Additionally, Mair Edwards became EMU’s fist 400m champion since 2017, while four Eagles scored points in the 200m race. At the indoor league meet, Best’s 4x400m relay crew took first while Edwards finished third in the 400m competition.
Best helped develop and mentor Brittni Mason, who individually earned silver in the 100m (11.97) and 200m (25.00) at the 2020 Paralympics Games. Additionally, Mason helped Team USA take home the gold in the first-ever 4x100m Universal relay.
In the 2021 outdoor season, the women’s 4x100m team of Davis, Micah Johnston, Mason, and Kolby Ganther captured the program’s fifth-straight Mid-American Conference title in the event with a time of 45.64. The same crew achieved a 45.42 clip earlier in the season, good for eighth-best in program history.
Under Best, the EMU women’s track & field program has thrived, winning five indoor Mid-American Conference Championships (2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2022-23). Best also assisted the team to both indoor and outdoor MAC Championships in 2015-16, helping secure the team’s first Triple Crown in school history.
In 2019, Coach Best coached the 4x100m relay squad to their fourth-consecutive MAC championship under his leadership while the cohort also finished their conference championship race with a meet record of 45.04. With their efforts at the MAC Outdoor Championships, the squad qualified for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round, where the quartet broke their own EMU record and set a MAC All-Time record with a mark of 44.65.
Individually, the 2018-19 campaign saw Best continue his reign of coaching some of the most dominant sprinters in the MAC, as Jessica Harris placed third in the 100m at the conference championships with a time of 11.56, the fifth-best time in program history, while qualifying her for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Rounds. Harris also tied her lifetime-best 60m mark at the indoor championships, placing second with a time of 7.48, followed by Brittni Mason, who placed third in the same event with a personal-best effort of 7.49. Micah Johnston made her mark in the Eastern record books in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, finishing third in the indoor 400m with the second-fastest time in program history (53.70) while finishing second in the same event at the outdoor MAC meet with the seventh-fastest mark in EMU laurels and qualifying for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Rounds (53.55).
Not only did Best lead some of the MAC’s best sprinters to top conference efforts, but the Eagles’ hurdlers leapt over the MAC competition with their 2019 outdoor conference championship performances. Allyson Goff earned a second-place finish in the 100m hurdles while Tiffany Cernej-Garcia finished fifth in the 400m hurdles with the seventh-fastest mark in program history, both qualifying for the NCAA East Regionals. Alysse Wade saw an incredible freshman campaign that included qualifying for the USATF U20 Championships, finishing 11th with a time of 13.87.
The 2017-18 season saw Best have monumental success with the 400m and 1600m relay team. On top of the 400m relay team winning the outdoor conference championship title for the third straight year, the quartet tied the school and conference record at the TCU Invite, recording a time of 44.99. Moreover, the 1600m relay team clocked the third-fastest time in program history during the outdoor campaign, running to a time of 3:37.31 at the Penn Relays.
In previous seasons, Best has continually aided some of the most dominant sprinters in not only the MAC, but in Eastern Michigan history. Specifically, Best has personally assisted Jasmine Jones, Jessica Harris, and Micah Johnston on their rises to success. Jones closed out her career at EMU qualifying to the NCAA East Regional, where she ran the second-fastest 200m time in school history (23.20). Before that, Jones was named the Most Outstanding Female Track Performer at the 2017-18 indoor championship, was a three-time 200m conference champion, and two-time 400m champion, and was a member of the record-setting 400, 1600 relay squads.
Before her record-setting senior campaign, the duo of Harris and Best saw success ever since Harris came to Ypsilanti. In her first year, Best coached her to MAC Indoor Freshman of the Year honors, as well as a runner-up finish in the 60m dash at the MAC Championships. Additionally, in her rookie campaign, Harris posted a top-10 time in school history in the 60m, and earned MAC Outdoor Freshman of the Year honors.
Leading up to her record-breaking junior campaign, Best oversaw Johnston’s emergence as a young force to be reckoned with. In her first two seasons as an Eagle, Johnston was named a First Team All-MAC honoree, was a Second Team All-MAC honoree three times, and was a key piece in the then-school record-setting 400m relay performance, as well as the third-best outdoor 1600m relay.
Best came to the Eagles after a season-long stint at Garden City Community College in Kansas, where he coached sprints, hurdles, jumps, and multi-event athletes as an assistant coach. He also served as the primary recruiting coordinator as well as assisted with various administrative duties.
Prior to his work with the Broncbusters, Best was a graduate assistant coach at Troy University for the 2012-13 season. In addition to designing training and conditioning plans for the sprints, hurdles, jumps, and multi-event athletes, he also served as the assistant recruiting coordinator. Best started off his coaching career at Iowa Western Community College, serving as an assistant coach from 2011-12, where he worked with the hurdles, pole vault, and multi-event athletes, as well as served as the head strength and conditioning coach for the track program.
Best adds a successful career as a student-athlete to his coaching experience, as he was a member of the track and field team at Liberty University from 2007-10. He competed in the sprints on a team that dominated the Big South Conference with championship titles in every one of his seasons. In 2009, he was a member of the conference’s winning 4x400m relay team during the indoor season. Best stayed on with the Flames for an extra year to serve as an intern for the program and taking on administrative and analytical duties while he completed his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology.
The Chris Best File
Name: Chris Best
Hometown: Charlottesville, Va.
College: Liberty - B.S. in Kinesiology and Exercise science - 2011
Hometown: Charlottesville, Va.
College: Liberty - B.S. in Kinesiology and Exercise science - 2011
Professional Experience
Year School/Team Position
2024-Pres. Eastern Michigan University Co-Director of Cross Country/Track & Field
2020-24 Eastern Michigan University Associate Head Track & Field Coach
2014-2020 Eastern Michigan University Assistant Women’s Track & Field Coach
2013-14 Garden City C.C. Assistant Track & Field Coach
2012-13 Troy University Graduate Assistant Track & Field Coach
2011-12 Iowa City Community College Assistant Track & Field Coach
2007-10 Liberty Student-Athlete
Track & Field at 2025 Spartan Invitational
Tuesday, April 08
2025 MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships Cinematic Recap
Wednesday, March 05
2025 MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships Day 1 Highlights
Saturday, March 01
2025 MAC Indoor Championships Hype Video
Wednesday, February 26
