Samantha Palmer enters her second season with the Gators, previoulsy working as a volunteer assistant coach with the program.
Palmer came to Florida from Alabama, where she spent the previous five years as a volunteer assistant coach working with distance runners. During her time at Alabama, the Crimson Tide Women's cross country team finished first at the 2022 SEC Cross Country Team Championships and third at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships. At the 2022 NCAA Championships, four Alabama runners finished in the top-20.
In addition to her work with the Cross Country program, Palmer helped coach Alabama women Track and Field athletes to eighteen top five finishes in various indoor and outdoor events including the mile, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 10000m and DMR.
Prior to Alabama, Palmer was an Assistant Coach at the University of Toledo where she coached 17 NCAA East Prelims qualifiers and two All-Americans on the track. In Cross Country, Palmer help lead the women's team to a MAC Championship and 30th place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2014 and a runner-up finish at the MAC Championships and a ninth place finish in the Great Lake region in 2017.
She was named the 2018 MAC Outdoor Track and Field Assistant Coach of the Year and coached a total of 25 top-5 finishers at Toledo.Â
As a runner, Palmer was a member of the Iowa State track & field team. She qualified for the USA Marathon Olympic Trials in 2016 and 2020 and the USA Track and Field Olympic Trails in the 10,000m in 2020.
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