On Sept. 3, 2019, WKU Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Brent Chumbley announced the hiring of Tosha Ansley as the sprints, hurdles and relays coach on The Hill.
In Ansley's second season on The Hill, she was able to expand the sprinting group with the addition of two freshmen and a JuCo transfer. The crew earned multiple event titles and All-Conference accolades throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons. She also served as the meet director for the team's annual Hilltopper Relays.
Marlowe Mosley led the whole year with Third-Team All-C-USA selections in the indoor 200, indoor 400 and outdoor 400, earning bronze medals in each event. At the Outdoor C-USA Championships, he ran the 200 and 400 on back-to-back days, logging PRs in both events on both days. Mosley was named C-USA Indoor Male Track Athlete of the Week on February 17.
Alexis Williams also continued her trend of success from her freshman year on The Hill. Ansley coached the sophomore sprinter to numerous top conference times and the fourth-best female 60-meter time in school history. Both Williams (200) and Mosley (200, 400) made appearances at the NCAA East Preliminaries becoming Ansley's first regional qualifiers in her time at WKU.
Ansley coached numerous student-athletes to personal-bests and event titles throughout her first season (2019-20) at WKU. Several sprinters on the male side notched PRs and meet records at the Marshall Invitational while three sprinters earned individual titles including Dartez Hamlin, Mosley and Williams.
Hamlin was awarded back-to-back Conference USA Male Track Athlete of the Week awards for his performance at the Samford Open and Jim Green Invitational while Williams earned Conference USA Female Track Athlete of the Week for her pair of top-10 finishes at the Jim Green Invitational. Hamlin won the C-USA Indoor 200-meter title with a PR of 21.12. Williams earned points at the meet for the Lady Toppers with a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter as well.
Prior to the cancellation of spring sports, Ansley was preparing her squad for the outdoor season, including an expansion into more hurdles and relays.
Ansley arrived in Bowling Green after stops at a pair of Division I programs in Charleston Southern and Winthrop.
From 2002-2016, Ansley served as the head women’s cross country and track & field coach at Charleston Southern, producing competitors that were constantly rewriting the Bucs’ record books.
In her time at CSU, Ansley guided five NCAA Division I All-Americans, two All-American Honorable Mentions, two Academic All-Americans, 48 Big South champions, five Big South Freshman of the Year, four Big South Outstanding Track & Field performers, and seven Big South Athletes of the Year.
Still today, 18 outdoor school records still stand for the women’s track & field squad that were set under Ansley’s guidance. Sixteen indoor records remain as well.
Ansley was tabbed the 2008 Big South Women’s Coach of the Year after her squad claimed a league-best eight event titles at the outdoor championship meet where her team earned runner-up honors. Under Ansley’s direction, Charleston Southern posted 13 top-five finishes at the Big South Outdoor Conference Championships and 12 more top-five finishes at the indoor championship event.
Prior to returning to CSU, Ansley spent two years at Winthrop as the men’s and women’s assistant cross country and track & field coach. At Winthrop, she coached sprints, hurdles, jumps and relays. During her time there, she coached 24 school record-holders, 13 conference champions, 38 all-conference performers, and one Junior National qualifier, two Big South Conference Most Outstanding Track Athletes, one Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, 16 Big South Presidential Scholars, and four Dean’s List Scholars.
Besides coaching at Winthrop, Ansley was a volunteer coach at Summerville High School, where she helped coach the women’s track and field team.
As a collegian, Ansley established herself as one of the top hurdlers and jumpers at Charleston Southern. She was an eight-time Big South Conference individual track and field champion, and earned all-conference honors during each of her four seasons. A four-time track & field team MVP and twice-selected Big South MVP in track, Ansley still holds several school records in indoor and outdoor track competition. On Oct. 27, 2006, she was inducted into the CSU Hall of Fame. She was named to the Big South's All-Decade Team in May of 2014.
Ansley received her bachelor’s degree in physical education and psychology from Charleston Southern University in 1999 and recently completed an Associate of Science degree in physical therapy from Keiser University. She is Level II certified in sprints, hurdles & relays, and a member of the South Carolina Coaches Association, USA Track and Field Association & US Track Cross Country Coaches Association.
