Pariseau Joins Cross Country and Track Staff for Willamette Bearcats

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Marissa Pariseau has been hired by the Willamette University cross country and track and field teams as an assistant coach and assistant director of operations and recruiting. She joins the Bearcats after receiving a master's degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Springfield College (Mass.) this past spring. She earned a bachelor's degree in Zoology at the State University of New York at Oswego in 2015.

While completing her master's degree at Springfield College, Pariseau coached Courtney Luscier to a fourth place finish in the 60-meter dash at the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Pariseau also helped Luscier earn a ranking of 19th on the NCAA Division III performance list in the 100-meter dash during the outdoor season.

As a track and field athlete at SUNY Oswego, Pariseau competed in the 400-meter dash. She set individual school records in the indoor 400-meter and 500-meter races as well as the outdoor 400-meter dash. She competed on record-breaking relay teams in the indoor 4 x 400-meter relay, the indoor distance medley relay and the outdoor 4 x 400-meter relay. She was a team captain for three years.

Her master's degree at Springfield College included research on the effects of imagery on performance in distance runners.