Michigan State University Athletics
Track and Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Distance
- Email:
- simonea4@ath.msu.edu
Aaron Simoneau is in his 12th year overall as a member of the Michigan State University Athletics coaching staff, having joined the full-time staff in December of 2014 as Head Men's Cross Country Coach and recruiting coordinator while working directly with the Spartans' distance runners.
Simoneau's leadership and coaching impact reached a major milestone when he was named the Big Ten Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2025. He guided the Spartan men to a stellar second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships—marking the program's highest conference finish in years—highlighted by standout individual seasons from top runners.
Across his tenure in a full-time capacity, Simoneau has helped coach 14 cross country All-Americans, including most recently Katie Osika, who earned the honor in 2022. Since the 2015 cross country season, he has coached 20 men's and 25 women's cross country runners to Great Lakes All-Region accolades, alongside 12 men and 19 women earning All-Big Ten honors. He has also been a key part of the coaching staff leading the women's cross country team to three Big Ten titles (2019, 2020, and 2022) while finishing on the podium in seven of eight seasons during his early tenure. Furthermore, he aided the women's squad to a Great Lakes Regional Championship in 2019 and the men's squad to a regional title in 2017, securing automatic bids to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. At the 2020 NCAA Championships, the Spartan women raced to a fourth-place finish, their highest since winning the national title in 2014.
One of the brightest stars under Simoneau's guidance was Morgan Beadlescomb, a 10-time All-American across cross country, indoor, and outdoor track, who was twice an NCAA runner-up, a three-time Big Ten track distance champion, and the 2022 Great Lakes Region Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
On the track, Simoneau has been integral in mentoring distance runners to the NCAA Finals. Since joining the staff for the 2014-15 season, he has guided 10 Big Ten Champions on the men's side and 17 on the women's side in distance events, while contributing to the success of 28 men's All-Americans and 15 women's All-Americans. During the 2019 outdoor campaign, he helped coach three athletes to the NCAA Finals, including NCAA Runner-Up Justine Kiprotich in the 1,500 meters (who became the program's first three-time outdoor All-American on the track), Karrigan Smith in the 3,000m steeplechase, Dillon McClintock in the 1,500 meters, and Morgan Beadlescomb in the 5,000 meters.
Simoneau was also an integral part of the coaching staff that helped lead the 2014 Spartan women's cross country team to the first-ever NCAA Championship in women's program history, an undefeated six-meet season featuring four individual All-Americans—including standout Leah O'Connor, who won multiple All-America honors in the mile and steeplechase and was a three-time Great Lakes Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year.
Prior to his current position, Simoneau returned to his alma mater as a volunteer and graduate assistant coach. As a student-athlete at Michigan State, he competed in cross country and track from 2007 to 2012. A native of Manistee, Michigan, Simoneau served as team captain during his junior and senior years and was a two-time national qualifier in the 3,000m steeplechase.
