Susan Empey
Cross Country Head Coach
Susan Empey joined MIHS as a boys and girls cross country assistant coach in 2017 and became the head coach in 2018. She has coached the distance track events since 2018.
Over the past several years, MIXC has grown into a very successful program. The boys teams have won KingCo league titles 4 consecutive years, 2021 – 2024 and the girls have won two consecutive team titles in 2023 and 2024. The boys have competed at State finishing in the top-10 2021, ’22 and ‘23, and in 2023 the girls made their first trip to Pasco since 2015, finishing 7th. 2024 turned into an epic year for both teams when they won both the boys and girls team AND individual titles. Susan was awarded the 3A Coach of the Year for both boys and girls and the Washington state NFHS Boys Coach of the Year.
She has been fortunate enough to help develop some outstanding athletes resulting in several individual state champions and top-10 finishers. One athlete, Owen Powell, is the state record holder in the 800m and mile and the national 1k and indoor mile record holder. He is the first prep athlete in Washington history to break the 4:00 mile barrier. Owen has 5 state titles across both XC and Track events and has won the prestigious Gatorade Player of the Year award twice in 2024, once for track and once for XC. In addition to Owen, Sophia Rodriguez also won the Gatorade XC Player of the Year in 2024 after defending her XC state title her sophomore year. She is also the 1600m and 3200m 3A state champion.
While not a runner in high school she competed at the state level in swimming all four years at Kennedy High School but fell in love with running while a student at Santa Clara University. After eventually returning to Washington state she began running more competitively and qualified twice for the Olympic Trials in the marathon and won several national masters titles in XC, track and road racing. She also qualified twice for the Age-Group World Championships in the ½ Ironman distance. Running, albeit slower, still brings her much joy.
Susan’s two children, Megan and Peter, graduated from MIHS. She and her husband, Gordon, happily still live on Mercer Island.
Eric Goldhammer
Cross Country Coach
Eric Goldhammer has been with MIXC since 2021 and has considered himself a “runner” since about 2015 when he finally started taking it seriously. A soccer player all through high school and a climber all through college and a bit beyond, he’s always had a love for endurance and a passion for the outdoors.
Naturally, once running came into his life, trail running merged the two and quickly became his favorite outlet. When he’s not coaching, teaching English at the high school, grading mounds of essays, or spending time with his family (who’s he’s convinced someday might come to share his love for running), he tries to get out to the mountains for long miles, good conversation, big climbs, and the occasional epic adventure.
He’s completed multiple ultra marathons, but stands firmly by his claim that the few 5k XC races he’s taken on are way harder.
He’s got the utmost respect for everyone who puts on a singlet, laces up, and goes for it.
Gavin Cree
Cross Country Coach
Coach Gavin Cree enters his 10th year as an assistant coach for MIXC. Coach Cree is also going into his 15th year as head coach of the boys basketball program at MIHS, and 19th year overall. He has worked with a number of athletes during his time at school. During the school day, Coach Cree is a PE teacher at MIHS, leading classes such as Yoga, Net Sports, Walking for Fitness, Personal Fitness and more.
Coach Cree’s affinity for cross country comes from the toughness shown by all of the athletes when they give it their all. Coach Cree states, “I love the sportsmanship displayed and appreciation that competitors have for each other. It is really special to see runners show their respect for each other after they cross the finish line.”
Coach Cree is a proud alum of MIHS, having graduated in 2000, where he participated in the boys basketball program as a team captain and state champion. After high school, Coach Cree played 4 years of college basketball at Pomona College in Claremont, CA.
Gavin and his wife, Jessica, celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this year and busy raising their 3-year-old son, Julius.
Dyan Simon
Cross Country Coach
Dyan Simon is in her second year of coaching Mercer Island cross country, thanks to a nudge from her good friend and running partner, Susan Empey. She enjoys coaching the seasoned runners as much as the new to the sport runners. The camaraderie and spirit on the team are infectious.
She moved to Mercer Island from Chicago with three young children, who eventually all graduated from MIHS. While all her kids played soccer, as young adults they now enjoy long runs with her and competing in road races across the country.
Dyan started running in high school after stopping competitive club gymnastics. The highlight of her high school running career was being Illinois state champion in the 1600 meters. She went on to run cross country, indoor and outdoor track at Brown University.
Her day (and night) job is as a neonatal intensivist in Seattle area NICU’s and she is Medical Director at Overlake Hospital. While taking care of tiny humans is extremely gratifying, it is nice to talk to teenagers and get to share her joy of the sport of running.