The Official website of the Clarion Golden Eagles
Eric Laughlin, a Clarion Area graduate, NCAA Division II All-American and a successful collegiate head coach, enters his tenth season as the Golden Eagles' head cross country coach in 2024. He also continues to assist the track & field team as a distance coach.
With Laughlin at the helm, the 2023 Golden Eagles cross country team placed 12th in the PSAC, with senior Mackenzie Carver leading the way individually. She took 11th place at the conference championship to earn First Team All-PSAC honors and then followed up with a command performance at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships, placing ninth in the field for USTFCCCA All-Region honors. That was the best finish for a Golden Eagle at the regional championship meet since Erin Richard in 2007. Carver was among the top performers for the Golden Eagles track & field team in the spring, winning conference championships in both the indoor 800m and the outdoor 800m. That made her the first multiple-time PSAC champion for the track & field program since Richard, and Carver netted two more All-Region honors in the process.
Clarion also succeeded in the classroom in 2023-24. In the fall the Golden Eagles were recognized as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, with Carver and Allison Farson earning individual recognition along with their teammates. In the spring, Carver and Autumn Pettinato were among the five Golden Eagles recognized as College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honorees.
The cross country team enjoyed their second straight season in the top-10 in the PSAC, placing ninth at the conference meet. That was part of a season that saw them rank as high as ninth in the NCAA Atlantic Region, with the team eventually placing 11th at the Atlantic Regional championship in November. On the track, distance runner Mackenzie Carver was a 2023 USTFCCCA All-Region honoree in the indoor 800m, and went on to place fourth in the outdoor 800m at the 2023 PSAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The Golden Eagle cross country program enjoyed their best season in more than a decade in 2021, with the team finishing eighth at the 2021 PSAC Championships followed by an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regionals. In regards to the former, it marked the first time the Golden Eagles cracked the single-digits in overall finish since the 2009 season, when they finished in seventh place. Haley Schaller finished 18th at the conference meet for the best placement of her career, and the best for a Clarion student-athlete since Kayce Bobnar placed 11th in 2018. Schaller earned All-Region honors with a 22nd-place finish at the Atlantic Regional, and in spring 2022 the senior was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.
On the track, Laughin's Golden Eagle distance runners continued to impress. Three Clarion student-athletes scored in the 3000m Steeplechase at the 2022 PSAC Outdoor Championships, led by Abby Sullivan, while Schaller also cracked the top-eight in the 5000m. Schaller also earned PSAC Champion Scholar honors at the 2022 PSAC Indoor Championships, given annually to the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing at that year's conference championship.
Laughlin's Golden Eagles have improved individually and as a team over the course of his career, both in cross country and track competitions. In the former, Clarion placed 11th at the 2020 PSAC Championships hosted by Lock Haven, with sophomores Courtney Kosanovic and Abigail Sullivan leading the way as the high placers. The Golden Eagle distance squad excelled at the PSAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2021 as well, with Haley Schaller and Abigail Sullivan earning United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region honors in the 3000m Steeplechase in 2021.
The Golden Eagle cross country team had their best season in recent memory in 2018, cracking the top-10 rankings of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Atlantic region after a standout performance at Lehigh. They stayed there for most of the year before finishing 11th in the Atlantic Regional race. Clarion took 10th at the PSAC Championships, their first top-10 finish since 2012, and saw senior Kayce Bobnar place 11th in the field. That made her the highest-finishing Golden Eagle since Erin Richard won the race in 2007. Freshman Anna Foster also earned All-PSAC honors.
Later that same year, Allison Gates made the podium at the PSAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The sophomore distance runner placed in the 10,000m on the first day of the event.
Before coming to Clarion, Laughlin was the was the men’s and women’s cross country head coach and assistant men’s and women’s track and field coach at West Liberty from 2010-15. In cross country, his 2014 women’s team placed 3rd in the Mountain East Conference and the men were 4th, while in 2013 both men’s and women’s teams placed third in the MEC.
From March 2000 through January of 2010 he was the women’s cross country, and men’s cross country and track and field coach at Buckeye Local High School in Rayland, Ohio. The 2007 girls cross team was OVAC AAAA Team Champions and runners-up in 2006 and 2008. The boys cross country team won the OVAC AAAA team title in 2003, 04 and 05.
Laughlin attended Slippery Rock, and after sitting out his first season, became a 6-time NCAA D-II All-American in cross country and track. He was inducted into the Slippery Rock Athletic Hall of Fame in Fall 2016. His cross country career saw him placed 7th at PSAC’s, 7th at Regionals and 48th at the NCAA Championships as a freshman in 1990. In 1991 he was 3rd at the PSAC’s, 2nd at Regionals and 6th at the NCAA D-II championships. In 1992 Eric was 4th at PSAC’s, 3rd at Regionals and 14th at the NCAA’s, while in his senior year (1993) he was 2nd at PSAC’s, 7th at Regionals and 21st at the NCAA’s. Laughlin was inducted into the Slippery Rock Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
Laughlin's top outdoor track seasons started in 1992 as a sophomore when he was 1st at PSAC’s in the 1500 and 5000 events, and then earned All-America honors with a 5th place finish in the 5000 at nationals. In 1993 he was 3rd in the 1500 and 5000 at PSAC’s and earned A-A honors with a 6th place showing at nationals in the 5000. In 1994, his senior year, Laughlin place 3rd in the 1500 and 5th in the 5000 at the PSAC’s, then went on to an A-A 6th place ending in the 5000 at nationals.
Laughlin earned a B.S. Degree in Physical Education from Slippery Rock in 1995.
