Portland State University Athletics

Megan Wagenaar, a current member of the Bowerman Track Club Elite roster, will enter her second year as the lead assistant coach for the Portland State cross country and track & field programs during the 2024-25 school year.
 
In her first year as an assistant, Wagenaar helped lead several Vikings to personal bests in their respective events. No Viking had more success in that regard than Laura Beghin, who set a personal best in all seven indoor and outdoor events in which she’s competed as a Viking. Beghin’s breakout year came after an injury-plagued start to her Portland State career, as she turned a page under Wagenaar and the other Viking coaches.
 
Wagenaar’s credentials – both athletically and in coaching – made her an obvious choice for the Vikings. As an athlete, Wagenaar has competed at the 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Canadian Outdoor Championships in various events between the 800 meters, 1,500 meters and 3k steeplechase. Additionally, while competing at Concordia University Texas, Wagenaar became the first athlete in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.
 
Wagenaar went on to serve as head coach at her alma mater where she led the cross country and track & field programs from 2017 to 2022. She led the program to five individual titles at the 2021 American Southwest Conference Championships, as well as seven All-ASC honors that year. In cross country, Wagenaar led her athletes to six All-ASC honors, including the final two of four straight for Emily Villines. Rick Platas earned back-to-back all-conference second-team honors under Wagenaar, making him only the second two-time All-ASC honoree in the history of the men’s program.
  
Wagenaar earned a spot in the Concordia University Texas Hall of Fame in 2019, becoming the school’s first Hall of Fame inductee from the cross country and track & field programs. In addition to her appearance at D3 nationals, Wagenaar received the honor thanks to leading the women’s cross country program to its first-ever ASC championship in 2011. She was a four-time All-ASC selection in cross country, while she won six ASC individual titles on the track.
 
Wagenaar swept the conference titles in the 800 and 1,500 meters for three straight years from 2012-14. She was also part of back-to-back 4x400-meter relay teams that won conference titles in 2013 and 2014. Wagenaar earned ASC Female Track Athlete of the Year honors as a senior in 2014.
  
Wagenaar’s four appearances at the Canadian Outdoor Championships included a 10th-place finish in the steeplechase at the 2022 meet. She also set personal bests in the both the 800 and 1,500 meters during the summer of 2023 while running for Bowerman TC Elite at the Victoria International Track Classic and Harry Jerome Track Classic, respectively.