In 2024, Whittaker shattered Ivy League records that had stood since 1990 in both the indoor and outdoor 400 and ended her Penn career by finishing fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn first-team All-America honors. A few weeks later, Townsend had three athletes compete at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track Trials in Eugene Ore.—Whittaker finished sixth in the 400 and made the Olympic Team as a member of the women’s 4x400 and mixed 4x400 relay teams, while Ryan Matulonis and Aliya Garozzo both advanced to the semifinal round in the men’s and women’s 400 hurdles, respectively.
 
Townsend’s athletes hold 12 program records, seven of them have totaled 17 Ivy Heps individual titles, and two of them—Whittaker and Matulonis—have raced to top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships.
 
Townsend joined the Quakers after a four-year stint at Division I Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa., where she worked primarily with sprints, hurdles and jumps. Through those four years, she mentored 10 Northeast Conference (NEC) champions, 25 All-NEC selections, a two-time NCAA East preliminary qualifier, and a first-team All-America. She also coached her student-athletes to 14 school records.

Prior to her time in Loretto, Townsend spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at West Virginia University, working primarily with hurdles and jumps. She also worked with the West Virginia Flyers club program, preparing and managing training programs for that program’s athletes, and Morgantown (W.Va.) High School where she assisted with sessions for hurdles and jumps.  

A standout track athlete at West Virginia, Townsend earned Academic All-Big 12 second team honors and Big East Academic All-Star honors. She was also named to the Big 12 Commissioners’ and Garrett Ford Honor Roll.

Townsend graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise physiology and a Master of Science degree in athletic coaching education. She is certified in USOC Safe Sport and Level One USA Track and Field.