Sara Almen enters her second year as a volunteer assistant coach with the Auburn track and field program. After a stellar collegiate career in which she competed in the 2016 US Olympic Trials in the High Jump, Almen entered the coaching ranks where she works with the jumpers and multi-event athletes.
A standout two-sport athlete while at Oregon State, Almen competed in both volleyball and track and field for the Beavers, earning All-PAC 12 honors. She began study for her master’s degree while finishing her collegiate eligibility at Auburn.
While at Oregon State, she became OSU’s first female field event participant at an NCAA postseason event since 1988 when she competed in the high jump at the West Regional in Austin, Texas and was the top freshman finisher. She was Oregon State’s second-highest finisher in any event at the conference championships since the reinstatement of the program in 2005. Her performance at the 2013 Pac-12 Championships was the best for any freshman since Brigetta Barrett (2012 Olympic Silver Medalist) placed third in 2010. Almen still stands as sixth on OSU’s all-time outdoor list and fourth on the all-time indoor list.
Since joining the Auburn coaching staff, Coach Almen has been a part of five Top 20 NCAA finishes, three for men’s team and two for the women’s team. On the track Almen has assisted in developing SEC scorers in the high jump, triple jump, heptathlon and decathlon. Administratively, she assists the day to day operations of the program including home meet management, team travel, and on-campus recruiting.
Almen received her undergraduate degree in digital communication arts (minor in business) from Oregon State in 2016, while earning her master’s in adult education from Auburn in 2017.
A native of Albany, Oregon, Almen won four state titles in track & field (3x High Jump, 1x 4x100m) and two in volleyball. She is the daughter of Beverly and Kevin Almen and has three siblings, sisters Hanna and Mary and brother, Ryan.
A standout two-sport athlete while at Oregon State, Almen competed in both volleyball and track and field for the Beavers, earning All-PAC 12 honors. She began study for her master’s degree while finishing her collegiate eligibility at Auburn.
While at Oregon State, she became OSU’s first female field event participant at an NCAA postseason event since 1988 when she competed in the high jump at the West Regional in Austin, Texas and was the top freshman finisher. She was Oregon State’s second-highest finisher in any event at the conference championships since the reinstatement of the program in 2005. Her performance at the 2013 Pac-12 Championships was the best for any freshman since Brigetta Barrett (2012 Olympic Silver Medalist) placed third in 2010. Almen still stands as sixth on OSU’s all-time outdoor list and fourth on the all-time indoor list.
Since joining the Auburn coaching staff, Coach Almen has been a part of five Top 20 NCAA finishes, three for men’s team and two for the women’s team. On the track Almen has assisted in developing SEC scorers in the high jump, triple jump, heptathlon and decathlon. Administratively, she assists the day to day operations of the program including home meet management, team travel, and on-campus recruiting.
Almen received her undergraduate degree in digital communication arts (minor in business) from Oregon State in 2016, while earning her master’s in adult education from Auburn in 2017.
A native of Albany, Oregon, Almen won four state titles in track & field (3x High Jump, 1x 4x100m) and two in volleyball. She is the daughter of Beverly and Kevin Almen and has three siblings, sisters Hanna and Mary and brother, Ryan.