Cross Country
Bastron, Ashley
Ashley Bastron
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- bothama@wfu.edu
Bastron has served as an assistant coach at Wake Forest since August 2019 before being promoted to associate head coach in 2024. In her first cross country season with the Demon Deacons, Wake Forest's women placed sixth at the ACC Championships and had two All-ACC performers, Elise Wright (14th) and Samantha Halvorsen (19th). The team then went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship with two All-Region performers, Halvorsen (13th) and Madeline Rehm (22nd).
In 2023, she coached three All-Region honorees (Brooke Wilson, Caroline Garrett, Lydia van Dijk) in addition to Brooke Wilson being named All-ACC as a true freshman.
During the 2024 season, the women's cross country team continued to improve under Bastron's leadership, as she coached three All-Region honorees (Angelina Perez, Brooke Wilson, Elizabeth Whaley). In addition, freshman Angelina Perez earned All-ACC honors in her debut season while Brooke Wilson added her second-consecutive honor.
She has helped the Deacs accomplish multiple top 10 marks in program history in track & field since her arrival, including the program records in the indoor mile, indoor 3K, indoor DMR, indoor long jump, outdoor 800m, outdoor 1500m, and outdoor 10K.
During the 2020 indoor season, the women's team placed 11th as a team at the ACC Indoor Championships, tying their highest finish since 2009. During the 2021 indoor season, Coach Bastron coached Hannah Brookover who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3,000m where she captured Second Team All-American honors.
Bastron joined the Demon Deacons after having served as head track and field and cross country coach at Purdue Fort Wayne. In two years leading the program, the women’s track and field team broke seven indoor and eight outdoor school records, rewriting the top 10 lists in those events as well. In cross country, Bastron was instrumental in guiding student-athlete Emma Rafuse to a 2018 Summit League Championship title and new league championship record. Rafuse went on to advance to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, where she finished 58th. It was the highest finish ever by a Mastodon at the national championship meet. Rafuse achieved additional success on the track, qualifying for the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships (East Preliminary) in both the 5K and 10K.
Bastron joined the Mastodons in 2017 after serving as Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) top assistant for two years. As the primary coach for the middle distance events, school records were broken in the 400, 800, 1500, 4x400 and Distance Medley Relay.
Prior to IUPUI, Bastron was an assistant coach at Florida State University, directing the Seminoles' B team and helping FSU to a 12th place finish at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships. FSU finished second at both the ACC Cross Country Championships and South Region Cross Country Championships the same year while capping the season with a sixth place finish nationally in outdoor track.
A 2012 graduate of Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in exercise science and minor in psychology, Bastron went on to earn a Master of Sport Administration degree in 2014 from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. As a student-athlete, she earned All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors and was a two-time NCAA Division II qualifier for GVSU before moving on to Belmont University. In her lone competitive season at Belmont, she earned second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors in both track and cross country before serving as a graduate assistant during the 2013-2014 season.
Bastron is on The FCMP committee and has served as a mentor for the USTFCCCA Female Coaches Mentorship Program for the last six years. She’s also a graduate from the WeCOACH Coaches Academy and WeCoach Academy 2.0. Bastron has her USATF Level I and Level II certification in the endurance events. She’s also working towards a Master of Arts in Counseling with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health at Wake Forest University. She and her husband Phil Bastron, can be found exploring one of the many trails Winston-Salem has to offer with their Vizsla named Desi and their German Shorthair Pointer named Leuven.
In 2023, she coached three All-Region honorees (Brooke Wilson, Caroline Garrett, Lydia van Dijk) in addition to Brooke Wilson being named All-ACC as a true freshman.
During the 2024 season, the women's cross country team continued to improve under Bastron's leadership, as she coached three All-Region honorees (Angelina Perez, Brooke Wilson, Elizabeth Whaley). In addition, freshman Angelina Perez earned All-ACC honors in her debut season while Brooke Wilson added her second-consecutive honor.
She has helped the Deacs accomplish multiple top 10 marks in program history in track & field since her arrival, including the program records in the indoor mile, indoor 3K, indoor DMR, indoor long jump, outdoor 800m, outdoor 1500m, and outdoor 10K.
During the 2020 indoor season, the women's team placed 11th as a team at the ACC Indoor Championships, tying their highest finish since 2009. During the 2021 indoor season, Coach Bastron coached Hannah Brookover who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3,000m where she captured Second Team All-American honors.
Bastron joined the Demon Deacons after having served as head track and field and cross country coach at Purdue Fort Wayne. In two years leading the program, the women’s track and field team broke seven indoor and eight outdoor school records, rewriting the top 10 lists in those events as well. In cross country, Bastron was instrumental in guiding student-athlete Emma Rafuse to a 2018 Summit League Championship title and new league championship record. Rafuse went on to advance to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, where she finished 58th. It was the highest finish ever by a Mastodon at the national championship meet. Rafuse achieved additional success on the track, qualifying for the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships (East Preliminary) in both the 5K and 10K.
Bastron joined the Mastodons in 2017 after serving as Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) top assistant for two years. As the primary coach for the middle distance events, school records were broken in the 400, 800, 1500, 4x400 and Distance Medley Relay.
Prior to IUPUI, Bastron was an assistant coach at Florida State University, directing the Seminoles' B team and helping FSU to a 12th place finish at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships. FSU finished second at both the ACC Cross Country Championships and South Region Cross Country Championships the same year while capping the season with a sixth place finish nationally in outdoor track.
A 2012 graduate of Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in exercise science and minor in psychology, Bastron went on to earn a Master of Sport Administration degree in 2014 from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. As a student-athlete, she earned All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors and was a two-time NCAA Division II qualifier for GVSU before moving on to Belmont University. In her lone competitive season at Belmont, she earned second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors in both track and cross country before serving as a graduate assistant during the 2013-2014 season.
Bastron is on The FCMP committee and has served as a mentor for the USTFCCCA Female Coaches Mentorship Program for the last six years. She’s also a graduate from the WeCOACH Coaches Academy and WeCoach Academy 2.0. Bastron has her USATF Level I and Level II certification in the endurance events. She’s also working towards a Master of Arts in Counseling with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health at Wake Forest University. She and her husband Phil Bastron, can be found exploring one of the many trails Winston-Salem has to offer with their Vizsla named Desi and their German Shorthair Pointer named Leuven.
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