Junior sprinter Moforehan “Fore” Abinusawa stepped up to the line at the 2023 NCAA regional championships, thoughts racing through her head. Being a freshman on the 4x400-meter relay team meant being less experienced than her three teammates. She was surrounded by the nation’s best sprinters in an event she seldom ran in high school.
As Abinusawa lined up toe-to-toe with her competitors for the relay’s third leg, she didn’t believe in herself. Instead, she found comfort in a familiar face on the sidelines, knowing that even as she lost confidence, she could always find it with then-assistant coach — now associate head coach — Chené Townsend.
And that was all she needed.
Abinusawa ended up running her best time in that competition, helping her team qualify for the NCAA national championships — something no one had expected.
“I remember at the end of that race, I was dead. I couldn't move, but [Townsend] gave me such a big hug, and said ‘That’s the race I was looking for,’” Abinusawa said. “I was feeling so uncertain and unsure of myself, but she had the utmost faith and confidence in me … and that's something that meant the world.”
Abinusawa’s race reminded Townsend of her own athletic career as a hurdler and sprinter. Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, Townsend specialized in 80m and 100m hurdles. Moving to the United States for college meant transitioning to a new track and field system, but she continued hurdling, becoming a standout star for West Virginia and eventually earning second team Academic All-Big 12 honors and Big East Academic All-Star honors.
In college, Townsend had more traditional career plans in mind: medical school, physical therapy, jobs that kept her connected to her athletic past but remained in a steady workforce. When the opportunity presented itself to become a graduate assistant for her school’s track and field program, she didn’t exactly jump at the opportunity. Still, she considered it and how it could benefit her in the future.
“That’s what I really went back for … the [graduate] degree,” Townsend admitted. “And in that I found that I really did enjoy coaching.”
Her experience as an athlete eventually proved to be invaluable, influencing the core practices she currently uses as a coach.
“As a coach, sometimes you don’t always get it right, but being an athlete kind of prepared me for that. … It was never about perfection, it was always about the process,” Townsend said. “And having that mindset as an athlete allowed me, I think, to be a better coach, because the results don’t always come right away, and they’re not supposed to, and that’s okay.”
Drawing from her experiences as both a student — under high school coaches Lorna Vernon and Lennox Graham and college coach Shelly-Ann Gallimore — and as a leader, setting an example for her younger siblings, Townsend seamlessly transitioned from athlete to coach. As she began her collegiate coaching career at West Virginia, the influence of her former mentors shaped her distinct style as a hurdles and sprint specialist.
Soon after, Townsend brought Saint Francis University — a small school in Pennsylvania previously unknown in the track and field world — to the national stage when she coached hurdler Dashaun Jackson to first team All-American honors at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. This was Saint Francis’ first-ever NCAA individual and team national championship, a tremendous achievement for Townsend.
After entering the Quakers’ locker room in 2021, Townsend knew her coaching would only lead to more success for athletes and the program. It didn’t take long before she found it.
When sprinter Bella Whittaker joined the Red and Blue in 2021, Townsend saw great potential in her to realize her Olympic dreams. Whittaker, a freshman at the time, wasn’t afraid of pushing her limits and always embraced the opportunity to work hard. When Whittaker’s performance in the 4x400m relay earned her first team All-Ivy honors in 2022, Townsend knew Whittaker “hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface” of what she could achieve.
2024 was a milestone year for Townsend and the program. Whittaker went on to shatter records in the 400m relay, qualifying for the NCAA tournament in both the indoor and outdoor 400m events. Individually, Abinusawa placed first in the outdoor 100m race at the Ivy League heptagonal championships before achieving honorable mention All-American honors. Townsend’s athletes hold 12 program records and 17 Ivy League heptagonal championship titles. But to Townsend, her athletes mean much more than just their records.
“It honestly means the world to me to see someone come in in year one … knowing that it’s going to be difficult, but [finding] their way over time,” Townsend said. “The numbers are important, the victories are important, and the titles are important. But for me, the biggest moment of pride is watching the growth of the person from year one to year four.”
Townsend’s coaching also brought Whittaker, as well as sprinters Ryan Matulonis and Aliya Garozzo, to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. There, Matulonis and Garozzo advanced to the semifinal round, while Whittaker went on to place sixth in the finals and represent the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 4x400m women’s and mixed relays pools.
Townsend’s accomplishments have not gone unnoticed, earning her the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Region Women’s Assistant Track Coach of the Year award three times in her four years at Penn.
“At the end of the day, I want to see these kids be successful in every space,” Townsend said. “To know that they can show up every day at practice and give me the best version of themselves so that they can be better … means the world to me.”
Townsend’s trainees acknowledged that she offers much more than just technical expertise.
“She’s really taught me the importance of grit and determination … [and] having the mentality to push deeper and find another gear and just to compete to the best of my ability, no matter who I’m competing against,” Abinusawa said.
As the team draws closer to the Penn Relays, Townsend reflected on when she attended the Penn Relays while in high school. Her years of coaching have brought her to high points across the ever-changing landscape of college track, from the Penn Relays to the Olympics. Despite all she has accomplished, Townsend’s coaching principles have not changed.
“I care for people,” she said. “It’s always much bigger and deeper than what is necessarily just in front of me.”
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