Emily Hosker-Thornhill 2025-26 Track and Field Staff
Assistant Coach
Emily Hosker-Thornhill joined the Irish as an assistant coach for the track & field and cross country program in 2022.
In 2025, the Irish women’s cross country team placed seventh at the NCAA Championships and captured their fifth-consecutive NCAA Regional title. Mary Bonner Dalton and Amaya Aramini both earned All-American honors in a historically fast NCAA Championship race. Dalton then broke the program’s indoor 5,000m record before earning All-American honors at the 2026 NCAA Championships. Fellow distance runner Sophie Novak captured the 2026 ACC Championship in the 3,000m steeplechase before taking second place and earning All-American honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the event. Dalton was tabbed as the Great Lakes Region Women’s Athlete of the Year for the 2025 cross country season while tabbed as the Great Lakes Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
Hosker-Thornhill coached at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in January 2026 in Tallahassee, Florida. She served as the team coach for the U20 women for Great Britain at the event. A two-time competitor for team Great Britain in the event, it marked the first time she was part of the event as a coach.
In 2024, the Irish women’s cross country team captured the program’s first ACC championship. Led by Siona Chisholm’s sixth place finish, which earned her a third-consecutive All-ACC honor, the Irish had a team score of 115 to win the race by six points over the field.
The fall of 2023 saw the Notre Dame women’s cross country team take fourth place at the NCAA Championships. The squad was paced by All-American performances from Olivia Markezich, Andrea Markezich and Erin Strzelecki.
The women’s cross country team placed second at the ACC Championships and had five athletes garner All-ACC honors at the race in the fall of 2022. The 2023 outdoor track & field season included a national championship by Olivia Markezich in the 3,000m steeplechase.
“We could not be more excited to welcome Emily to our staff. Her experience as a member of an NCAA Championship team at New Mexico coupled with her professional running experience representing Great Britain in the World Cross Country Championships will serve as an inspiration to our entire program,” said Sparks.
Hosker-Thornhill is a two time member of the Senior Women’s World Cross Country Championships team for Great Britain. She placed 49th overall in the 2019 Arhus race and fifth on the team. She also placed 57th in the European Cross Country Championships.
She also placed ninth in the European Team Championships in the 3000m race. She claimed the title in the England National Cross Country Championship in 2019, and has three top ten finishes at the England National Cross Country Championships.
Hosker-Thornhill’s professional background also includes placing sixth in the Great Britain Cross Country Championships in 2019 and being named the England National 10km Road Champion. She is ranked in the top six of Track for Women of Great Britain for the 3000m, and is the British University Indoor National Champion in the 3000m.
In the United States while competing at the University of New Mexico, Hosker-Thornhill placed third in the Mountain West Conference championships in the 1,500m in outdoor track. She also participated in the Indoor NCAA championship for the distance medley relay, and the Outdoor NCAA championships in the 1,500m.
She carries personal bests in the 800m (2.08), the 1500m (4.14), the 3000m (8.58), the 5000m (15.46) and 10,000m (32.52).
Prior to Notre Dame, Hosker-Thornhill worked for RightTrack Sports Consultancy, and DSJ Global. She has two master’s degrees in Sport Administration (University of New Mexico) and Applied Sport Nutrition (St. Mary’s Twickenham). While completing her master’s degree at New Mexico, Hosker-Thornhill was part of the Lobos’ coaching staff for the 2015 NCAA Cross Country National Championship. She holds a bachelor’s degree is in Nutrition and Sport Science form St. Mary’s Twickenham.