 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.
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