Addy Royal is in her fifth season as an assistant coach working with the men’s and women’s distance programs in 2024-25. The Card distance program has produced some of the finest performances in the country in that time.
In 2024, Juliette Whittaker won NCAA 800-meter titles indoors and outdoors, becoming the first woman to do so in seven years. In the NCAA outdoor final, Whittaker and Roisin Willis became the first teammates to go 1-2 in that event in 31 years.
Whittaker, coming off her sophomore season, went to not only qualify for the Paris Olympics, but reach the final, placing seventh. She was the first active Stanford athlete to reach an Olympic track final in 92 years. Whittaker's Olympic semifinal time of 1:57.76 makes her the third-fastest collegian of all time, including indoors and outdoors and for all dates.
In 2024, Juliette Whittaker won NCAA 800-meter titles indoors and outdoors, becoming the first woman to do so in seven years. In the NCAA outdoor final, Whittaker and Roisin Willis became the first teammates to go 1-2 in that event in 31 years.
Whittaker, coming off her sophomore season, went to not only qualify for the Paris Olympics, but reach the final, placing seventh. She was the first active Stanford athlete to reach an Olympic track final in 92 years. Whittaker's Olympic semifinal time of 1:57.76 makes her the third-fastest collegian of all time, including indoors and outdoors and for all dates.
Royal helped coach the Cardinal men's and women's cross country teams to West Region titles and to a sweep of the Pac-12 individual titles in 2023.
In the spring of 2023, distance runners Ky Robinson and Charles Hicks combined to score 31 points at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, helping the Stanford men to third place, its highest finish in 23 years. Robinson won the 5,000 and 10,000 and was named USTFCCCA National Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, as well as Men's Outdoor Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
At the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships, freshmen Willis and Whittaker finished 1-2 in the 800 in the second- and fourth-fastest times in collegiate indoor history -- 1:59.93 and 2:00.05. They combined with Melissa Tanaka and Maya Valmon to win the NCAA distance medley relay title and followed in the spring with a victory at the Penn Relays. Willis was named West Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and Whittaker, the conference outdoor 800 champ, was named Pac-12 Women's Freshman of the Year.
In the fall of 2022, Hicks became the first Stanford runner, among men and women, to win an NCAA individual cross-country title. Two weeks later, Robinson ran the third-fastest collegiate indoor 5,000 in history. And the Card men and women swept the NCAA West Region cross country titles for the second consecutive year. Hicks was named as the National Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
In the 2021 cross country season, Julia Heymach won the women's individual regional crown and Hicks the Pac-12 individual men's title for the first of his consecutive conference titles. At the NCAA Championships, Stanford was the only program in the nation to place both teams in the top six. Hicks was named Pac-12 and West Region men's runner of the year, Heymach was named West Region women's runner of the year, and Christina Aragon was named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
In the 2021-22 track season, Hicks repeated as Pac-12 10,000 champion, Robinson earned a second indoors and a fourth outdoors in the 5,000 at the NCAA Championships, and ran for Australia in the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, and Stanford distance runners earned nine first-team individual All-America honors on the track, including indoors and outdoors. Among them were Aragon and Heymach, who placed third and fifth in the NCAA outdoor 1,500 and were part of the distance medley relay team that was second in the NCAA's indoors.
In 2020-21, five Cardinal runners earned first-team All-America honors outdoors and two broke school records -- freshman Ky Robinson in the men's steeplechase (8:32.01) in an Australian and Oceania under-20 record and Heymach in the women's 1,500. Her 4:04.84 in the U.S. Olympic Trials final broke the Stanford mark by more than four seconds and was the fourth-fastest in collegiate history. Ella Donaghu was third in the 1,500 at the NCAA Championships.
At the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, Heymach placed sixth, as did Hicks (men's 5,000) at the British Trials. Hicks, the Pac-12 10,000 champ as a redshirt freshman, broke the European U20 record in that event (27:47.63) and freshman Ellie Deligianni broke the Greek U20 women's mark in the 800 (2:04.11).
Royal was a volunteer assistant coach as Stanford swept the 2020-21 Pac-12 men’s and women’s cross country titles. Stanford also was the only school to place both teams among the top five at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Royal came to Stanford from UC San Diego, where she was an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s distance runners and director of operations from 2018-20.
In 2019, Royal played a part in the Triton men's first trip back to the NCAA Championships since 2007 after a seventh-place finish at regionals. She also coached freshman Samantha Rocke to an at-large berth to the national meet. Three runners were named both All-California Collegiate Athletic Association and All-West Region.
As a men’s and women’s distance assistant at Southern Oregon from 2016-18, Royal helped guide the men's team to an NAIA championship in 2016 and a fourth-place finish in 2017. She also led the women's team to seventh at the 2016 NAIA Championships. Six Raiders were named NAIA All-Americans during her two seasons.
Royal is a 2016 graduate of Sacramento State in 2016, where she majored in communication studies with a concentration in digital media. She went on to earn a master's in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership/Coaching at the University of Washington in 2018.
As a collegiate athlete, Royal was part of four Big Sky Conference outdoor championship teams. She was No. 7 on the Hornets’ all-time performers’ list in the steeplechase and was named to the Big Sky All-Academic team.
Royal starred on the Oak Harbor (Wash.) High School cross country and track teams and played basketball. She was a two-time Junior Olympics national steeplechase runner-up and a state 3A finalist in the 800. She was a member of the National Honor Society and a Coca-Cola Scholar.
In the spring of 2023, distance runners Ky Robinson and Charles Hicks combined to score 31 points at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, helping the Stanford men to third place, its highest finish in 23 years. Robinson won the 5,000 and 10,000 and was named USTFCCCA National Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, as well as Men's Outdoor Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
At the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships, freshmen Willis and Whittaker finished 1-2 in the 800 in the second- and fourth-fastest times in collegiate indoor history -- 1:59.93 and 2:00.05. They combined with Melissa Tanaka and Maya Valmon to win the NCAA distance medley relay title and followed in the spring with a victory at the Penn Relays. Willis was named West Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and Whittaker, the conference outdoor 800 champ, was named Pac-12 Women's Freshman of the Year.
In the fall of 2022, Hicks became the first Stanford runner, among men and women, to win an NCAA individual cross-country title. Two weeks later, Robinson ran the third-fastest collegiate indoor 5,000 in history. And the Card men and women swept the NCAA West Region cross country titles for the second consecutive year. Hicks was named as the National Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
In the 2021 cross country season, Julia Heymach won the women's individual regional crown and Hicks the Pac-12 individual men's title for the first of his consecutive conference titles. At the NCAA Championships, Stanford was the only program in the nation to place both teams in the top six. Hicks was named Pac-12 and West Region men's runner of the year, Heymach was named West Region women's runner of the year, and Christina Aragon was named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
In the 2021-22 track season, Hicks repeated as Pac-12 10,000 champion, Robinson earned a second indoors and a fourth outdoors in the 5,000 at the NCAA Championships, and ran for Australia in the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, and Stanford distance runners earned nine first-team individual All-America honors on the track, including indoors and outdoors. Among them were Aragon and Heymach, who placed third and fifth in the NCAA outdoor 1,500 and were part of the distance medley relay team that was second in the NCAA's indoors.
In 2020-21, five Cardinal runners earned first-team All-America honors outdoors and two broke school records -- freshman Ky Robinson in the men's steeplechase (8:32.01) in an Australian and Oceania under-20 record and Heymach in the women's 1,500. Her 4:04.84 in the U.S. Olympic Trials final broke the Stanford mark by more than four seconds and was the fourth-fastest in collegiate history. Ella Donaghu was third in the 1,500 at the NCAA Championships.
At the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, Heymach placed sixth, as did Hicks (men's 5,000) at the British Trials. Hicks, the Pac-12 10,000 champ as a redshirt freshman, broke the European U20 record in that event (27:47.63) and freshman Ellie Deligianni broke the Greek U20 women's mark in the 800 (2:04.11).
Royal was a volunteer assistant coach as Stanford swept the 2020-21 Pac-12 men’s and women’s cross country titles. Stanford also was the only school to place both teams among the top five at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Royal came to Stanford from UC San Diego, where she was an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s distance runners and director of operations from 2018-20.
In 2019, Royal played a part in the Triton men's first trip back to the NCAA Championships since 2007 after a seventh-place finish at regionals. She also coached freshman Samantha Rocke to an at-large berth to the national meet. Three runners were named both All-California Collegiate Athletic Association and All-West Region.
As a men’s and women’s distance assistant at Southern Oregon from 2016-18, Royal helped guide the men's team to an NAIA championship in 2016 and a fourth-place finish in 2017. She also led the women's team to seventh at the 2016 NAIA Championships. Six Raiders were named NAIA All-Americans during her two seasons.
Royal is a 2016 graduate of Sacramento State in 2016, where she majored in communication studies with a concentration in digital media. She went on to earn a master's in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership/Coaching at the University of Washington in 2018.
As a collegiate athlete, Royal was part of four Big Sky Conference outdoor championship teams. She was No. 7 on the Hornets’ all-time performers’ list in the steeplechase and was named to the Big Sky All-Academic team.
Royal starred on the Oak Harbor (Wash.) High School cross country and track teams and played basketball. She was a two-time Junior Olympics national steeplechase runner-up and a state 3A finalist in the 800. She was a member of the National Honor Society and a Coca-Cola Scholar.