Lena Bettis joined the GSU program in July 2013 to assist in all track and field and cross country student-athletes and program operations.
She has played an integral role in the 2013-14 improvement that saw the team finish second in the Sun Belt Championships with 111 points. Sprinter Ravin Gilbert qualified for the NCAA East Preliminaries with the second-fastest 100m time in school history (11.59) and finished fourth at the Sun Belt Championships, while also placing seventh in the 100m to earn points. Sprinter Wande Brewer set a school record in the 200m (23.47) and finished fourth at the Sun Belt Championships. Both 400m competitors, Tatiana and Talia Colbert earned Sun Belt Runner-of-the-Week honors during the outdoor season. The 4x100 relay was second at the SBC and the 4x400 was third to score points for the team. Jumper Gabby Brooks had a 5.99m long jump that tied for third-best in school history and finished sixth at the SBC. Bettis helped the team improve from a seventh-place finish to fifth-place finish in the Sun Belt Championship Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
Bettis came to Atlanta after a successful year in assisting with the sprints, hurdles and relays at Mississippi where she coached freshman Asia Cooper to a sixth-place finish at the SEC indoor championships and an All-America and eighth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
During the outdoor season, Bettis tutored Olympian, school-record holder and one of Ole Miss’ most decorated athletes, Isiah Young, to a gold medal finish in the 200m (20.20) at the SEC Championships. Bettis helped assemble one of the best recruiting classes in Ole Miss history.
Previously, Bettis spent two years at Michigan State, working primarily with the jumpers. She helped develop Tori Franklin and Ashley Stacey into record-setting jumpers. In 2012, Franklin set a school record in the triple jump and earned indoor and outdoor All-America honors.
In 2011, Stacey achieved a school record in the long jump and advanced to the NCAA Championships after scoring in the long and triple jumps at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Bettis spent the previous two seasons as a volunteer assistant at her alma mater Penn State.
The Riverside, Calif., native was a four-year letter-winner in track and a two-time NCAA Regional qualifier for the Nittany Lions. She was a member of the school-record and collegiate-record sprint medley relay squad. In her final year of eligibility, Bettis posted a career-best leap of 42 feet in the triple jump at the 2008 Big Ten Championships, aiding in the Nittany Lions’ first of three straight Big Ten outdoor team titles.
Under the tutelage of Bettis at Penn State, Tanaya Lloyd reached the 40-foot mark for the first time in her career. Lloyd also qualified for the NCAA Regional as a sophomore in the triple jump.
Bettis also aided in the development of Bianca Fung into a two-time NCAA qualifier in the long jump. Fung qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Fung continued her progress as she once again qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a leap of 20-8 at the NCAA First Round.
Bettis graduated from Penn State in 2008 with a degree in broadcast journalism and minors in women studies and movement science.
