Sophie Dryden joined the Southern Virginia University staff as Assistant Coach for Cross Country and Track & Field in August 2026.
Dryden graduated from BYU-Hawaii in 2024 with a B.S. in Biology, also studying ecology, evolution, and conservation. Before her time in Hawaii, she spent two years competing on the SVU cross country and track and field teams.
She found success as a student-athlete, winning her first-ever collegiate cross country meet in 2019 at the UMW Opener and was awarded Runner of the Week in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) as a result. She followed that performance with several more impressive showings during one of the best rookie season's in program history.
Outside of coaching, Sophie is pursuing a career in environmental science. She's currently manager of SVU's biochemistry lab, but has also worked in an environmental microbiology lab, environmental education at Kahuku Elementary, and in the nonprofit space at Boxerwood Nature Center.Â
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