Head Coach at Westfield Since:  2022

Season Highlights:

2023:  Berg led the Owls' men's and women's cross country team to the MASCAC Championships, as the Owls took home the titles at Willard Park at the Devens Recreational Facility.   The Owl men were led by individual champion, Nathan Sylven, who was named as the league's runner and rookie of the year.   John Nekitopoulos, Will Buckley, Abdi Nassir and Scott Porter all earned all-conference honors.   The Owl women placed five runners on the all-conference team, led by Shea Hamel, who placed second overall in leading the Owl women to the team title.  The Owls women's and men's teams each placed 18th at the NCAA Regional meet, which Westfield hosted on their home course at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass.

2022: In her first season as the head coach of the men's and women's cross-country teams, Marlee Berg-Haryasz led the women's cross country to their third-straight MASCAC Championship and 25th title in program history while also guiding the men to a second place finish at the at the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championships. Coach Berg-Haryasz was selected as the 2022 BSN Sports Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for her efforts to leading both teams to strong postseason performances. The women's team distanced themselves from the rest of the field, winning the championship with a total of 31 points. First-year Shea Hamel was named the MASCAC Rookie of the Year after finishing third individually at the meet. She also received MASCAC All-Conference honors for finishing in the top ten in the race along with teammates Tealei Chandonnet, Julianne Kelly, Mia McDonald, and Ariann LeCours. After being selected fourth in the MASCAC Preseason Coaches Poll, the men's team finished as a close second place with 46 points, just four points behind conference-champion Bridgewater State. Two Owls, Juniors John Nektiopolous and Brandon Hager, earned All-Conference honors by finishing top ten individually at the MASCAC Championship meet. Following her conference championship meet.

About Coach Berg-Haryasz:

No stranger to Westfield State, Owls athletic hall of famer Marlee Berg-Haryasz '09 was named as the head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country teams, in March of 2022, when she  became the first female head coach of a male sport in the history of the Owls athletics program.

"I am honored and thrilled to be named the head coach of the men's and women's cross country programs at Westfield State," said Berg-Haryasz.  "Thank you to Dick Lenfest for his trust in me to carry on and build upon the rich history and traditions that both programs hold."

Berg-Haryasz has been employed in the athletics department at Westfield State since 2016, and was promoted to the role of Assistant Athletics Director for recruitment, retention and student-athlete well-being in 2020.  She has served as an assistant coach for both the Owls cross country and track and field teams, and was a member of the NCAA Division III track and field and cross-country committee, which manages the annual national championship meets.

She ran for former Owls head coach Bill Devine and Bob Rausch as a student-athlete, and joined Devine as a member of the Owls' Athletic Hall of Fame this past fall.  The 2009 NCAA Division III National Champion in the women's high jump was also a cross-country runner for the Owls as an undergrad, where she was part of two straight MASCAC Championship-winning women's cross country teams, finishing fourth individually in the MASCAC Championships in 2008 as a senior.

"I had the privilege of being coached by Bill Devine, and had the opportunity to learn from him as his assistant from 2017 up until his retirement," said Berg-Haryasz. "Bill continues to be a mentor.  I'm grateful for his guidance and his trust.  He provided an environment where I could learn and grow as a coach.  He made a big impact on the program and I am thankful that I was able to be one of his students as both an athlete and assistant coach."

Berg was a four-time qualifier for the NCAA Division III National Championships, three times for the high jump in 2008 and 2009, and for the pentathlon in 2009, the first-ever NCAA Division III women’s pentathlon event. She also holds school records in four events: the high jump, 200-meter dash, 500-meter run, and pentathlon. As a three-year team captain, she set the standard of excellence for the team with three All-ECAC honors and nine All-New England awards. She was also a member of four school-record-setting relay teams.

Berg dominated the MASCAC by winning fifteen different events over a three-year span (2007-2009). In 2008 alone, Berg won eight events (indoor/outdoor high jump, indoor long jump, indoor/outdoor 200 and 400-meter dash, and outdoor triple jump). She set the MASCAC’s outdoor high jump record.

A native of Chelmsford, Mass., Berg graduated from Westfield in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, public and corporate relations. She also furthered her studies at Smith College, earning a Master’s of Science in Exercise and Sport Studies.

Berg is married to Westfield State alumnus Daniel Haryasz as the couple resides in Longmeadow, Mass.