Hall of Fame
Megan Elliott Dodson is one of the most versatile and accomplished women’s runners in Shippensburg University history, with her performances helping to pave the way for the many evidences of modern success in SU Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country.
In track and field, Dodson specialized in the 400 meters, winning the event as a junior and as a senior at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships in addition to being a two-time runner-up. She is a three-time PSAC Champion, including one 4x400-meter relay victory, and an 11-time PSAC track and field place-winner. Dodson is a seven-time All-PSAC performer, an accomplishment that signifies a Top 3 finish in an event.
In a stupendous senior season, Dodson won the 400 meters, anchored the second-place 4x400-meter relay, placed sixth in the 200 meters and also ran on the fourth-place 4x100-meter relay at the PSAC Championships. At the ECAC Indoor Championships, Dodson placed in the 400 and 800 meters and also placed fourth with the mile relay and sixth with the 4x800-meter relay.
As a junior, Dodson placed third in the 200 meters at the PSAC Championships and won the 500 meters at the ECAC Indoor Championships. Dodson finished as a three-time PSAC place-winner in the 200 meters, placing sixth as a sophomore, and contributed to a third-place 4x100-meter relay as a freshman.
At the time of her graduation, Elliott held outdoor school records in the 400 meters (56.53) and the distance medley relay (12:08.12) and indoor school records in the 400 meters (59.20), 800 meters (2:19.64) and the 4x400-meter relay (4:01.30).
Despite specializing in sprints, Elliott showcased incredible versatility by also exceling as a distance runner. She competed four years in cross country and was an All-PSAC (Top 20) finisher each season at the PSAC Championships. Her effort and leadership were significant factors in Shippensburg’s back-to-back PSAC and Atlantic Region Cross Country Championships in 1996 and 1997. In her senior year, 1998, Shippensburg finished third as a team at the NCAA Championships, which to this day remains its best-ever national finish.
Despite the races primarily being 4,000 or 6,000 meters, a stark contrast from her 200- and 400-meter runs on the track, Dodson earned All-Region honors as a junior with an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Regional Championships. For her career, she posted three Top-20 All-Region finishes.
Following her graduation, Dodson has worked in the pharmaceutical industry, specifically with vaccines. She worked for seven years with Merck, and the last 10 with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Dodson currently works as a quality assurance systems manager at a GSK facility in Marietta.
Megan is married to a former SU student, Christopher Dodson, and this year marks the 15th anniversary for the couple. They are the proud parents of three children: Annabel (13), Ethan (12), and Alexander (8). The family resides in York.
Dodson has also been able to contribute as a coach, spending two years with the track and field program at Hatboro-Horsham High School, her alma-mater, and also assisting with her son’s soccer team. More recently, Dodson has returned to running at the behest of former teammates Stephanie Yingling Arnold and Sherri Guthrie DePasqua. Dodson competes with York’s Flying Feet Racing team. As a distance runner, Dodson has completed three half-marathons and many other races while mentoring her daughter and another young athlete with the “Girls on the Run” program.
