Mike Dager Named USTFCCCA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year The head women’s cross country coach and assistant track & field coach helped lead W&L to its first women’s track & field indoor ODAC Championship in 16 years.

By Brian Laubscher
April 1, 2025

Mike Dager, head women’s cross country coach and assistant women’s track & field coach at Washington and Lee University, was honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as the NCAA Division III South Region Women’s Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year.

Dager, who works primarily with distance runners, earned the citation after helping guide the W&L indoor women’s track & field team to its first Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship since 2009. The Generals won seven of the 16 events for 197.75 team points, 96 of which were gained in the distance events.

Two of Dager’s distance runners, Cassie Carr ’27L and Olivia Warr ’27, won a conference title and set a championship meet record in the process. Carr won the mile run with a school-record time of 4:57.66, and Warr eclipsed the program record with a win in the 3,000 meters (9:48.64).

Both Carr and Warr went on to compete at the NCAA Division III Championship where they each collected Second Team All-America accolades. Carr lowered the school-record time in the mile (4:56.58), placing 11th overall, while Warr finished ninth in the 2,000 meters with a program-best time of 9:40.37.

Dager, who is in his 11th year at W&L, was also honored as the USTFCCCA South Region Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year this past fall after leading W&L to an ODAC Championship, a South Region Championship and an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship.

Dager holds a Bachelor of Science in health and physical education from West Chester University and a Master of Science in classroom management from Wilkes University.