Lemi Laki joined Central State University Athletics in August 2025 as an Assistant Coach for Track & Field and Cross Country, supporting the Marauders’ middle-distance and distance groups. Working within the program led by Head Coach Elliott Lightfoot—CSU’s head coach since January 2021 and a coach with 25+ years of experience.
At the 2025 SIAC Cross Country Championships, Central State’s men’s and women’s teams each finished fourth in the conference. The Marauders’ top men’s finisher, Andrew Drumwright, placed ninth (28:32.3) and earned the SIAC Men’s Cross Country Elite 16 Award, recognizing excellence in both competition and academics.
A former Central State student-athlete, Laki was a three-sport competitor, running cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field for the Marauders. He brings a competitive, standards-driven, and academically grounded approach to athlete development as a two-time team captain, a two-time CSU Athletics Awards Banquet CSU Men’s Cross Country MVP award recipient, and a two-time CSU Athletics Awards Banquet CSU Men’s Cross Country & Track & Field Academic Award recipient. His featured personal best is 1:53.77 in the 800m. Laki graduated Cum Laude from Central State University with a B.S. in Manufacturing Engineering and dual minors in Nuclear Engineering and Mathematics.
Before returning to CSU, Laki gained Division I experience at Ohio University as a Graduate Assistant through Spring 2020, supporting cross country, track & field, and football under longtime head coach Clay Calkins (track & field/cross country). In cross country, Ohio produced championship-level results, including Josh Park’s 2018 MAC individual title (24:08.0).
During Laki’s Ohio tenure, Ohio University Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field recorded several MAC highlights in the 800m–10,000m range. In 2016, Alyssa Atkinson led Ohio at the MAC Cross Country Championships (6K) with a 26th-place finish (22:09.1). In 2017, Atkinson again paced the Bobcats at the MAC Championships, finishing 37th (22:13.1). In 2018, Atkinson placed 12th (21:32.2) to earn Second Team All-MAC honors. In 2019, Madison Sury finished 12th (22:19.7), with Hailey Bowes placing 24th (22:43.2) for Ohio. On the track, Atkinson placed 6th in the 3000m (9:43.18) at the 2017 MAC Indoor Championships, while Amelia Milton earned 8th in the 800m (2:13.62). At the 2018 MAC Indoor Championships, Emily Deering finished 4th in the 800m (2:12.24), and in 2019 Deering placed 5th in the 800m (2:10.98). At the 2020 MAC Indoor Championships, Ashleigh Kitrell was 4th in the 800m (2:10.91) and Sury placed 8th in the 3000m (10:00.85).
In football, Laki contributed to Ohio Football under Head Coach Frank Solich during a four-season stretch in which the Bobcats went 33–20 overall (2016–2019) and earned bowl victories in the 2017 Bahamas Bowl, 2018 Frisco Bowl, and the 2019 season’s Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (played January 2020). As of December 24, 2025, Ohio’s all-time bowl record stands at 9–8, highlighted by a seven-game bowl winning streak dating to 2017.
During Laki’s Ohio Football years, the Bobcats featured multiple MAC award-winning and All-MAC performers, including Tarell Basham (2016 MAC Defensive Player of the Year; 10 sacks, 14.5 TFL) and Javon Hagan (2016 MAC Freshman of the Year; 47 tackles, five forced fumbles, three interceptions). Ohio’s 2018 offensive leaders included A.J. Ouellette (1,306 rushing yards, 12 rushing TD) and Nathan Rourke (2,434 passing yards, 23 passing TD), and Rourke later led Ohio’s passing in 2019 (2,820 passing yards, 20 passing TD).
In 2025, Laki also served on the staff for Springfield High School (Springfield, Ohio) Boys Track & Field under Head Coach Michael Davis, helping support hurdler Braylon Keyes, who placed sixth in the Division I 60m hurdles (8.25) at the 2025 OATCCC Indoor State Meet; Springfield finished 43rd in the boys’ team standings.
Laki is proud to be part of a strong family legacy at Central State University, serving alongside his father, Dr. Sam Laki (Professor of Environmental Engineering and Water Resources Management), his older sister, Dr. Kujang Laki, and his cousin, Dr. Colin Lasu (Associate Professor of Communications).
