Seth Sheridan

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. This past fall, the Bruins secured their sixth Atlantic Sun Cross Country Championship in the last seven years. In addition, Sheridan was named A-Sun Coach of the Year for the seventh year in a row. The Belmont stranglehold on conference supremacy manifests individually as well. Lauren Williams Weaver became the first Bruinto win the A-Sun Individual title and Runner of the Year honors. Weaver went on to finish fifth at the NCAA South Region meet and 45th at Nationals - the best-ever performance by a Bruin runner, eclipsing Keely Weaver who qualified for the 2000 NCAA Cross Country Championship. Weaver paced three Bruins earning All-Conference honors, joined by Brittany Thune and Elizabeth Smothers. All told, Belmont has had an unprecedented 25 All-Conference honorees since joining the Atlantic Sun in 2001.

The program’s success has also permeated into unparalleled national academic distinction. Lauren Williams-Weaver was named to the 2007 NCAA Division I U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic team. Furthermore, Belmont’s team GPA has ranked in the Top-10 nationally a remarkable nine consecutive years, including leading the nation in 1999 and 2001. The Bruins’ team GPA of 3.77 in 2007 ranked second nationally.

His track and field teams have also taken overwhelming strides. The Bruins have finished a strong second place in each of the last two A-Sun Championships. Moreover, a record five student-athletes participated in the 2007 NCAA Regional meet in Columbia, Mo. - Lynette Rives, Liz Pollock, Jessica Giles, Khalia Turner and Christa Coppin. School and conference records continnue to fall daily.

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 track and field programs.

Since his arrival at Belmont, Riley has made a significant impact on Belmont’s track and field performance, especially with the sprinters and jumpers. Highlighted by the regional and national success of Lynette Rives, Liz Pollock, and Channing Twyner, Riley’s coaching has reaped dividends and produced dozens of champions and all-conference honorees. Further, the overriding success of Belmont’s relay teams has not only yielded countless victories, but also opened doors into more elite national meets.

Moreover, Riley’s personality, coaching style and recruiting contacts have greatly enhanced the production and depth of the Bruin program. Student-athletes like Khalia Turner, Britney Green, Elizabeth Codrington, Quina Fortune, Dee Dee Gintel and Ashley Pickett - aside from the aforementioned Rives and Pollock - have shined from day one and given Belmont a chance to compete for individual and team championships. In short, school and conference records are regularly shattered, in direct correlation to Riley’s arrival.

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 has two children.