Ron McCown Departs as Track & Field Coach After Five Years at JMU

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison University Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne announced Friday that track & field head coach Ron McCown has resigned after five years at the university for another coaching opportunity.

JMU will begin a national search immediately for the program's next head coach.

"JMU is an outstanding university and has been a great place to work," said McCown. "I am very appreciative of Jeff Bourne, Kevin White, and former Director Ta' Frias, for giving me the opportunity and privilege to coach at James Madison. What a definite blessing it has been to coach all these committed and talented athletes these past five years. I will miss being a part of the JMU community and this team. I wish all the best for the track & field and cross country program, as they continue to excel."

Ron McCown was named the eighth track and field head coach in JMU history on July 20, 2018 after spending the previous 17 seasons at Stephen F. Austin. He helped guide the Dukes to their first ECAC Outdoor Championship title in 2022 and coached five individual regional qualifiers, including three-time participant Shelby Staib.

McCown has coached six female jumpers over 40 feet in the triple jump, two of whom have been over 42 feet (Jantsen Wilson and Skyla Davidson). Wilson [12.97m (42' – 6.75")] and Davidson [12.93m (42' – 5.25")] are the second and third-best outdoor triple jumpers in school history, respectively.

This past outdoor season, McCown saw Staib compete in her third NCAA East Preliminary Championship meet and earn All-Conference Second Team honors in the javelin with a throw of 47.10m (154' – 6") at the Sun Belt Championships. Graduate student Skyla Davidson wrapped up her career at the regional meet where she produced a lifetime-best triple jump of 12.93m (42' – 5.25").

During the indoor season, Coach McCown mentored an ECAC Champion in the triple jump, an indoor school record in the pole vault, and several additions to the top-10 list. Davidson won the ECAC triple jump title with a leap of 12.60m (41' – 4.25"), while Jordan Venning achieved a fourth-place finish with a jump of 12.35m (40' – 6.25"). Davidson and Venning now sit second and third indoor all-time at JMU, respectively. The performances earned JMU a runner-up finish at the conference meet, the highest finish by the program at the ECAC Indoor Championships. Rachel Lloyd set a school record in the pole vault, jumping 3.81m (12' – 6"), and finished third at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships. Jaiden Martellucci moved up in the JMU record book with a weight throw of 15.38m (50' – 5.5") for seventh. Freshman Jenna Callan produced a pentathlon score of 3,229 to round out the program's top-10 list.

The 2022 outdoor season once again brought success for Coach McCown's event groups and the track & field team. The team highlight was winning ECAC Outdoor Championship for the first time in school history. Individually, Staib threw a program-record 48.92m (160' – 6") in the javelin and qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Championships for the second-straight season. Lloyd set a school record when she jumped 3.91m (12' – 10") in the pole vault. This season also witnessed 10 all-time top 10 performances in the hammer, discus, pole vault, javelin, heptathlon, high jump, and triple jump.

In 2021, McCown saw five of his athletes earn All-CAA honors after earning medals at the CAA Championships. Leading the way was transfer Jordan Otto who captured the CAA High Jump crown and Davidson won the triple jump at the CAA Championship. Staib (javelin), Dominique Johnson (discus), and Bethany Biggi (heptathlon) secured bronze medals in their respective events.

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