Seth Sheridan
Women's Cross Country
Head Coach

Seth Sheridan is entering his 11th year as the head coach of the Belmont women's cross country and track and field programs.

Sheridan has brought much attention to Belmont's cross country program. With victory at the 2007 Atlantic Sun Championship at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, the Bruins claimed their sixth conference crown in seven years. Belmont had three of the Top 9 finishers individually, including 2007 Atlantic Sun Champion Lauren Weaver. Sophomore Brittany Thune and senior Elizabeth Smothers finished third and ninth respectively to also earn All-Atlantic Sun honors.

Weaver and Thune proceeded on to NCAA South Regionals in Gainesville, Fla; with Weaver placing fifth and punching her first-ever ticket to Nationals. There, the fifth-year senior from Nashville finished 45th out of 253 of the nation's best - marking the best-ever finish by a Belmont runner at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Clearly, the program has made its mark nationally. In 2005, the squad had the sixth highest team grade point average (GPA) in Division I. This marks the fifth time in the past seven years that the program has finished among the top-six, highlighted by a pair of first place showings in 1999 and 2001. In addition, Keely Weaver qualified for the 2000 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the first Belmont female to do so.

His track and field teams have also had success in their first five seasons in the A-Sun. In 2006, Lynette Rives won the A-Sun 400 meter title and earned a berth in the the NCAA Mideast Regional, becoming the third BU female athlete to qualify for Regionals. In addition, Rives and fellow freshman Lizz Pollock qualified and competed in the 2006 U.S. Junior Nationals, the first BU athletes to do so since 2002.

Prior to coming to Belmont, Sheridan served on the track coaching staff at Nashville’s Montgomery Bell Academy in 1996. From 1993-1994 Sheridan was an assistant coach for Elvis Ford at Austin Peay State University. While at Peay, he was instrumental in the development of the distance runners. Before his stint in Clarksville, he served as the boys' track coach at the University School of Nashville in 1993.

A native of Mansfield, Pa., Sheridan was an all-district performer and two-time national qualifier during his collegiate career at Belmont. He is married to the former Beth Tallent, a former All-American runner at Vanderbilt University. The couple has two sons, Brennen and Brooks.

The Sheridans reside near Franklin, Tennessee.

Jon Riley
Assistant Coach

Jon Riley begins his third season as an assistant coach with the Belmont women's track and field program.

Since his arrival at Belmont, Riley has made an immediate impact on Belmont’s track and field program, especially with the sprinters and jumpers. Last season, freshman Lynette Rives was the A-Sun Indoor and Outdoor Champion in the 400 meters and qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regionals. In addition, BU’s sprinters earned eight All-Conference awards and set 10 new school indoor and outdoor records.

Riley came to Belmont after serving for two years as an assistant coach for his alma mater, Southeast Missouri State University. During his tenure at SEMO, he coached the long and triple jumpers, pole vaulters, javelin throwers, and the hurdles. He also helped the women’s track team win three Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championships and coached several athletes to All-Conference honors. Before returning to his alma mater as a coach, Riley spent five years as an assistant coach at state powerhouse St. Augustine High School in New Orleans.

Before his coaching career, Riley, a native of New Orleans, was a two-sport athlete at Southeast Missouri, lettering in track and football. During his track career, he was a three-time NCAA provisional qualifier in the long and triple jumps, won five OVC individual championships, and was named the 1996 OVC Track Athlete of the Year. Jon was also a four-year starter at wide receiver on the Southeast Missouri football team and played briefly with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

Riley earned both his bachelor’s degree in mass communication in 1998 and his master’s degree in athletic administration in 2005 from Southeast Missouri State. He also was recently certified as a USATF Level II in Sprints/Hurdles/Relays and USATF Level III in jumps.

Riley, who lives in Nashville, is married to the former Lane Marks, a former basketball player at Dillard University of New Orleans. The couple has two children: Drea and BJ.