Laura Bowerman - Track and Field Coach - Air Force Academy Athletics

Laura Bowerman

Title:
Assistant Coach | Middle Distances, Distances
Email:
laura.bowerman@afacademy.af.edu
Phone:
719-333-4860

Laura Bowerman was named the head coach of the Air Force cross country team in the fall of 2022, following a successful seven-year stint at the University of New Mexico. Bowerman, who helped the Lobos to several national titles – including a pair of team championships, also oversees training for the women’s distance and middle distance runners during the track season.

During her first season with the women’s distance program, Bowerman saw Halle Hamilton claim all-conference and all-region honors, while advancing to her first NCAA Cross Country Championship. The women, who finished sixth at the conference meet and added a top-10 finish at the regional championships during the cross country season, accounted for three of the program’s four all-conference honors during the track and field season. Her athletes made 14 improvements to the Academy’s Top 10, while three qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The women’s distance success continued in 2023-24. Hamilton repeated her cross country trifecta of all-conference, all-region and NCAA qualification, while a second all-conference outing from Ally Peterson helped the women to a third-place finish at the MW Cross Country Championships. On the track, her runners accounted for four Air Force Top 5 performances during the indoor season and six more during the outdoor season – including a program-record in the 4x800-meter relay at Drake, while three Falcons qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Bowerman came to the Academy from New Mexico, where she had worked with the men’s and women’s distance and middle distance runners since her hiring in September 2015. After spending her first three years in Albuquerque as an assistant coach for the Lobos, she was elevated to the team’s associate head coach in July 2018.

She was on the sidelines in 2015, as the New Mexico women raced to one of the most dominant cross country seasons in NCAA history, winning the national championship as all five scoring runners captured All-America honors following top-25 performances. Bowerman also helped the Lobos to a second national title in 2017, seeing four of the five scoring runners finish within the top 15. In addition, the UNM women won seven-straight MW cross country titles during Bowerman’s tenure, extending their streak to a conference-record 14.

Bowerman also contributed to the success of NCAA champions Weini Kelati (cross country, 2019; 10,000-meter run, 2019) Ednah Kurgat (cross country, 2017), Josh Kerr (mile run, 2018; 1500-meter run, 2017; mile run, 2017) and Courtney Frerichs (3000-meter steeplechase, 2016), while also coaching multiple Mountain West champions and first-team NCAA All-Americans.

In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, Bowerman gained international experience this past summer as the women’s distance coach for Team USA at the World Championships in Eugene, Ore. – the first time that the event had been held on U.S. soil – with her athletes helping the United States to the team title.

Prior to her time with the Lobos, Bowerman was a volunteer coach at her alma mater (Florida State University), worked in the endurance sports industry at IRONMAN in Tampa, and coached one season of cross country at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque. She also gained sports marketing and event management experience with USA Track & Field and the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau.

A native of Temple Terrace, Fla., Bowerman completed her undergraduate education at Florida State, where she earned degrees in psychology and geography. While at FSU, she was a member of the Seminoles’ cross country and track teams, where she participated in the NCAA Cross Country Championships twice – once as an individual and once with the team. She earned All-South Region honors twice in cross country, while earning all-ACC honors in the 10,000-meter run, a regional qualifying spot in the 5000-meter run and Florida State’s first ACC Freshman of the Year award for her success on the track.

Bowerman went on to earn a master’s degree in sports administration at the University of New Mexico, where she ran for the Lobos and claimed all-MW honors in the 5000-meter run.