Keene State College

Paige Mills '12 began her tenure as the head coach of Keene State's men's and women's cross country and track and field teams in January 2020.

Mills, a three-time All-American during her career at KSC, returned to campus after serving as an assistant coach for the cross country and track and field programs at Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California. During her tenure with the Lions, she served as the lead track and field coach, training all sprinters, jumpers, and relay teams. She also was Soka's lead recruiting coordinator.

Before joining Soka, Mills was an assistant coach at Cal State University San Marcos, where she coached the distance and middle distance athletes under the direction of head coach and three time Olympian Steve Scott.  Mills also worked as the Cougars' recruiting coordinator and assisted with home meet management. Mills also worked at the University of Redlands, working with distance, middle distance, and horizontal jumps, and recruited the biggest cross country class in program history.

A decorated athlete at Keene State, Mills earned All-America honors in cross country in 2010 and 2011, finishing fifth in the nation at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as a junior in 2010.  Mills was also part of the distance medley relay that finished third at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2011.   

Regionally, she was a three time All-New England honoree in cross country, while at the conference level, Mills was LEC Runner of the Year three times (2009, 2010, 2011) and a three-time All-Conference honoree (2009, 2010, 2011).   She was the LEC individual champion in cross country twice in 2010 and 2011, and the LEC champion in the outdoor 5,000 meters in 2010 and 2012. Keene State won the LEC cross country championship in each of her four seasons.

Mills received a bachelor's degree in health science from Keene State in 2012, and a master's degree in counseling from the University of Redlands in 2014.