Cross Country | 9/28/2015 11:00:00 AM
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Jody Stewart, a coach with a proven track record in recruiting and coaching top tier athletes on both international and national levels, has been named Texas State's Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, announced Director of Athletics
Dr. Larry Teis on Monday.
"I saw something special at Texas State University. This track and field program, in the near future, has the potential to be a top-20 team in the country. San Marcos and Texas State has an amazing family atmosphere and an athletic administration that genuinely cares for the sport of track and field and for their student-athletes," said Stewart. "I want to thank
Dr. Larry Teis and
Don Coryell for presenting this opportunity and their commitment to me and the future of this program. I am blessed and honored to be the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country at Texas State University. I am excited to get started."
While Stewart lauds all that is special about Texas State, Teis believes the Bobcats have found the perfect fit to lead Texas State's cross country and track and field programs.
"Jody was exactly what we were looking for. He has experience at five different universities, each of which brings a different perspective to the sport because of their high level of competition in collegiate track and field," said Teis. "The past three years at Stanford, Jody has had great success in both recruiting and coaching. Our student-athletes will definitely respond to him on and off the track."
Stewart's success in recruiting and coaching is undeniable. As the associate head coach for track and field at Stanford the past three years, Stewart helped recruit the top men's recruiting class in the NCAA in 2015 while the women's class ranked fifth. In 2014, Stanford's women's class ranked third in the NCAA while the men were fifth, including the top sprint prospect in the nation and one of the top sprint classes in the country.
At Stanford, Stewart was in charge of sprints and hurdles. He coached a World Championship finalist, an NCAA Champion, an NCAA collegiate record-holder, an Australian National Champion, a Pan-American Games medalist, a 2013 Bowerman finalist, the 2013 USTFCCCA Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year and the 2013 PAC-12 Conference Athlete of the Year.
Before Stanford, Stewart spent three seasons at Georgetown where he was responsible for a resurgence in Hoya sprinting. He was also in charge of the sprints, hurdles and jumps at Bowling Green from 2008-2010.
As he prepares for his first head coaching position, Stewart's goals for Texas State Track and Field are clear.
"I plan to maintain a championship track and field tradition at Texas State. In addition, I want to continue to build a team atmosphere and work toward becoming a consistent national power," said Stewart.
The Columbus, Ohio native knows about national powers. In 2015, Stanford's women's track and field program was third among all NCAA Division I programs for the Terry Crawford Program of the Year Award. Both the men and women were top-20 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships while the women's team placed eighth during the NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2014, the women's program ranked second and the men's program stood seventh among all NCAA Division I programs in the running for the prestigious Terry Crawford and John McDonnell Program of the Year awards.
At Georgetown in 2012, Stewart played a significant role in the women's program winning the Big East Indoor Conference Championship and being recognized as the eighth best NCAA Division I program. In 2011, both the men's and women's track and field teams at Georgetown were ranked top 10 in the country in the prestigious program of the year awards.
Just last season, Stewart was able to propel the freshman duo of Olivia Baker and Daniel Brady to represent their respective countries during the 2015 Junior Pan-American Games. Baker won gold, representing team USA in the 1,600-meter relay and finished third at the US Junior National Championships in the 400-meter dash while demolishing the all-time Stanford freshman 400m record.
Brady represented team Canada in the 400m hurdles and 1,600m relay, earning silver and bronze respectively. Baker would go on to receive All-America honors in the 800m and 1,600m relay at the NCAA Championships. For Stewart, there were twelve all-time top 10 performances during the 2015 outdoor season. During the indoor season, Baker and Kristyn Williams both broke school records. Williams broke Stanford's indoor 400m record while Baker broke the school's record in the 600m.
Stewart was able to build on a strong 2014 season in which he coached Kori Carter to an NCAA Championship and collegiate record in the 400-meter hurdles. Her title and NCAA runner-up finish in the 100-meter hurdles helped lift her among the three finalists for The Bowerman, collegiate track and field's highest honor, showcasing Stewart's coaching abilities. In 2013, Carter ran the world's fastest time three times in the 400m hurdles, culminating in her collegiate record of 53.21 at the NCAA Championships. Carter dropped her time by 3.49 seconds in the 400m hurdles and 0.23 in the 100m hurdles in just one year under Stewart's tutelage.
In his first two seasons in Palo Alto, Stewart coached athletes to seven school records: Carter in three hurdle events with an 8.17 in the 60m hurdles, 12.73 in the 100m hurdles and 53.21 in the 400m hurdles; Steven Solomon in the men's outdoor 400-meter dash (45.36) and indoor 500m (1:01.44); and Kristyn Williams in the indoor 400m (53.36) and 500m (1:10.82). Solomon went on to capture the 2014 Australian national championship and a berth on his country's Commonwealth Games team. Williams, meanwhile, ran a 52.70 in the 400m, the third-fastest time in Stanford's school history.
In 2012, Stewart coached four Georgetown athletes to Olympic trials qualifying marks. Both Amanda Kimbers and London Finley participated in the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials. Kimbers ran the 100 meters after achieving the automatic standard with a school-record 11.25. Finley competed in the Olympic trials after hitting the provisional mark of 56.67 in the 400m hurdles, also a school record. Finley achieved All-America honors in the 400-meter hurdles and won the Big East Championship with a conference-record time in the 400m hurdles.
Finley, Kimbers, Tenile Stoudenmire and Chelsea Cox ran the fastest outdoor 4x400m relay in 10 years at Georgetown. The quartet won the Big East title and went on to achieve second-team All-America honors. Kimbers set the school record in the 200m with a time of 23.28, and the sprints group had five athletes compete in the NCAA West Preliminary and eight who received All-Big East outdoor honors.
During the 2012 indoor season, the Georgetown women's program won the Big East title and the coaching staff earned indoor staff of the year honors. The women's 4x400m relay team captured their second consecutive conference indoor title. Kimbers broke a school record in the 60m dash and was one of eight athletes to receive All-Big East indoor honors.
Prior to his arrival at Georgetown, Stewart spent two seasons as the sprints, hurdles and jumps coach at Bowling Green State. Stewart recruited one of the top sprint classes in the Mid-American Conference, coached four top-10 all-time school performances and developed multiple MAC scorers. Stewart began his coaching career at his alma mater of Ashland (Ohio) University where he worked with the sprints, hurdles and jump groups. During that time, he coached an NCAA Division II hurdles All-American, three conference champions and multiple all-conference athletes and relay teams.
Stewart was a four-time NCAA Division II All-American at Ashland. He was a four-time Academic All-American and the 2003 conference Most Valuable Performer in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Graduating with a bachelor's in health education in 2006, Stewart went on to earn his master's in sports management from Cleveland State in 2008. He also holds Level II Certifications in the sprints, hurdles, relays, jumps and combined events from USA Track & Field.
Stewart and his wife Amber have a son, Sebastian.
What They're Saying about Jody Stewart...
Chris Miltenberg, Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Stanford"Jody has been an incredible asset to our program and the driver in our sprints group making the incredible progress it has in the past three years. While we are very sad to see Jody leave, I am excited for him to have this opportunity to run his own program entirely. I know he will be extremely successful."
Alan Turner, Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Notre Dame"With Coach Jody Stewart, you are getting one of America's best, young, bright coaching stars! I have battled with Coach Stewart when he was with Georgetown University during our days in the Big East Conference, and his student-athletes were always tough to compete against and he won quite a lot in the Big East. At Stanford University he continued his winning ways and coached the collegiate record holder in the women's 400-meter hurdles. We have also battled on the recruiting trail, as we quite often recruit the same caliber of high academic student-athletes. Coach Stewart is a great recruiter, great coach and a great person. Texas State is fortunate to have him. I wish Coach Stewart, his wife Amber and their young son Sebastian nothing but the best in the new chapter in their lives at Texas State."
Rolando "Lonnie" Greene, Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Purdue"Jody is one of the young, upcoming dynamic minds in our great sport of track and field. The body of his work speaks for itself. The talent that he has produced over the years at all of his career stops as an assistant has been outstanding. I am excited to see what he does going forward at the helm at Texas State University. Texas State University over the years has had a strong tradition in track and field and he is a great acquisition by the administration to keep that strong tradition going. His hard work and his ability to develop and motivate young people and talent will show in very short order. The track and field program at Texas State University is in very good hands. He will continue on the same path that Coach Dana Boone and staff started and developed. Hats off to Texas State University, they got a good one."
Brandon Hon, Director of Sprints, Hurdles & Relays, Florida State"It is a great day for Texas State Track and Field. Jody is a rare combination of hard work, high integrity and world-class coaching ability. His passion for the sport and academic excellence is something the Bobcats will draw from daily."
