WAYNESBURG, Pa. (August 9) – The Waynesburg University athletic department welcomes two new staff members for the 2024-25 academic year. Kayla Green will serve as the university's first-ever Student-Athlete Success Coordinator and Kara Sapp Sontag ('18) returns to campus as an assistant athletic trainer.

Green is a 2023 graduate of Nova Southeastern University where she earned a bachelor's of science in education. She spent the 2023-24 academic year as a conference officer at Conference Carolinas, an NCAA Division II conference with 15 member institutions, based in Greenville, S.C. 

"Kayla's role is brand new to our Department and we are thrilled to have her help assist our student-athletes in their academic success," said Director of Athletics Tim Fusina. "She has great ideas that will allow our student-athletes the opportunity to succeed in the classroom and prepare them for life after Waynesburg. At our university, the complete student-athlete experience is paramount and this new position will provide our student-athletes an additional resource that is very much needed. We are excited to have Kayla take the lead in this area."

During her time with Conference Carolinas, Green oversaw coordination of the league's sport services and conference championships. She served as the primary liaison to the Senior Woman Administrators (SWA) of the Conference Carolinas and headed the league's professional development programs for administrators and faculty representatives. Green played a key role in conference championship logistics and community engagement. 

Sontag was a four-year member of the Waynesburg volleyball team and graduated with a degree in athletic training from WU in 2018. She went on to serve as a graduate assistant at Life University (Ga.) where she earned a Master of Science in Sport Injury Management in 2020.

"Kara's passion for working with student-athletes and her experience at Waynesburg as a student set her apart in our search process," said Fusina. "She has valuable experience at other institutions, which is something we value, and her knowledge of our university as a student working in our athletic training program made her an ideal candidate."

A board-certified athletic trainer, Sontag spent the last four years as the primary athletic trainer for Banneker High School in Atlanta.