Emma Wren - Track & Field Coach - Boise State University Athletics

Emma Wren

Title:
Associate Head Coach - Cross Country, Distance
Email:
emmawren@boisestate.edu

Emma Wren enters her second season as the track & field and cross country staff associate head coach in 2025-26. Wren joined the Broncos with four years of coaching experience, and assists McCurry with the distance runners and the cross country program.

In her first season leading the Broncos during cross country, Wren played a key role in the program’s success at the conference and regional levels. The women’s team placed second and the men’s team fourth at the Mountain West Championships, before finishing sixth (women) and seventh (men) at the NCAA West Regional. Four Broncos earned All-Mountain West honors, while four collected all-region recognition.

Two athletes qualified for the NCAA Cross Country National Championship following their performances at the NCAA West Regional. Robertson earned a 53rd-place finish and became the first Bronco woman to advance to the national meet since 2022, while Hudson placed 101st.

During the track season, Wren guided athletes to a Mountain West Championship in the women’s distance medley relay, earning the program’s first title in the event since 2019. She also helped Angus Fitzgerald set the indoor program record in the 800 meters (1:50.86) after a year away from competition. Tom Graham-Marr recorded what was then the second-fastest indoor mile in program history (3:59.18) and the fourth-fastest indoor 3,000 meters (7:54.48).

The outdoor season continued the strong performances from Wren’s distance group, which claimed one individual conference title and three additional podium finishes. Robertson won gold in the 1,500 meters and finished second in the 800 meters. Meshack Kuyo took bronze in the 5,000 meters, while Graham-Marr placed third in the 1,500 meters. At the same meet, Hanna Ackermann and Abby Kendrick recorded the third- and fourth-fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase times in program history.

Wren guided eight athletes to the NCAA West First Round, where two qualified for the NCAA National Championships: Ackermann in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Robertson in the 1,500 meters. Ackermann and Robertson became the first Bronco women to qualify in their respective events since 2019.

At the NCAA National Championships, Ackermann finished 16th to earn Second Team All-America honors, while Robertson finished 22nd and was named Honorable Mention All-America.

Prior to Boise State, Wren most recently served as an assistant at Bradley During the 2023-24 season. In her lone season with the Braves, Wren coached 17 all-conference runners, seven Missouri Valley Conference champions, and three athletes to NCAA Preliminary Rounds. Wren also guided runners to school records in the men's indoor mile, 800-meter, 5000-meter, and outdoor 1500-meter, as well as the women's indoor mile and outdoor 800m.

Before her time at Bradley, Wren assisted with the distance squad at Washington State during the 2022-23 season. With the Cougars, she sent eight athletes to NCAA Preliminary Rounds and saw school records set in the men's and women's indoor distance medley relay.

From 2020-22, Wren worked as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Adams State while earning her master's degree in applied sport psychology. She led the women's cross country squad to a national championship, and the men to a second-place finish in 2021. In her two seasons with the Grizzlies, Wren coached 58 NCAA All-Americans, five individual NCAA champions, helped shatter five school and two NCAA DII records, and also helped Eilish Flanagan qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Wren used her additional season of eligibility at Adams State to earn All-American honors in the 1500-meter at the 2021 NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Her previous years of competition were spent at Kansas State between 2015-20. As a Wildcat, Wren was a member of the 2018 Big-12 Championship team, team captain from 2019-20, and served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Wren's passion for coaching and sport psychology extends outside of the collegiate realm. She is a member of the Women's Running Coaches Collective, the USTFCCCA Female Coaching Mentorship Program, and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. In 2021, Wren was named one of the ten recipients of the Women's Sports Foundation VanDerveer Fellowship, an esteemed award that provides women coaches the resources to excel and become better leaders. Since 2016, she has also worked as a Coach/Camp Assistant for the Steens Mountain Running Camp in Burns, Ore., guiding high school athletes through running and hiking activities. Wren is also a Certified Mental Performance Consultant, and recently created Headwaters Performance LLC to provide consultation services to individual athletes and teams seeking mental strength skill development to improve their performances and experiences in sport.