Completed Event: Track & Field at VertKlasse Meeting on April 4, 2025 , , Completed
T-F
Final
James Madison
at VertKlasse Meeting
Completed
James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Track & Field
Walton, Bill
Bill Walton
- Title:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
- Email:
- waltonwd@jmu.edu
- Phone:
- 540-568-3935
- Physical Address:
- Bridgeforth B110 (261 Bluestone Dr.) / MSC 2301
Bill Walton recently retired as Director of Cross Country and Track and Field on July 2, 2014, after 36 years of experience with the program.
Walton recently completed his 36th season as a JMU coach, specializing in coaching the Dukes' athletes who compete in sprints, hurdles and horizontal jumps. He was a key figure in the design and development of the track and field portion of University Park, which opened in 2012.
In 2012 Walton helped guide JMU to a tremendous team accomplishment as the Dukes won their first-ever Colonial Athletic Association women's track and field team championship.
The individual accomplishments of the athletes Walton coaches are equally impressive.
In 2010, long jumper Marissa McDonald set a school freshman record in the outdoor long jump when she turned in a jump of 5.91 meters (19'4 3/4"). Â She went on to qualify for the NCAA East Region Meet in 2011 and 2012 and win the CAA title in 2012. Â Her personal bests of 5.94 meters (19'6") indoors and 6.06 meters (19'10 1/2") outdoors are the top JMU marks since 2000. Â Only JMU record-holder Seun Augustus has a better indoor mark than McDonald and only Augustus and one other jumper in school history have recorded better outdoor jumps.
Sprinter Jordan Simmons won the CAA 100 meters in 2012. Â She earned All-East honors with fourth-place finishes in the 100 at the prestigious Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in 2011 and 2012.
In 2008 and 2009 sprinter Tanique Carter qualified for the NCAA East Region Championships in the 100 and 200 meters, and during her JMU career she set school records in the outdoor 100 meters (11.68), the indoor (23.98) and outdoor (23.87) 200 meters and the indoor 60 meters (7.50).
In 2007 Leslie Anderson won the 400 meters at the ECAC Championships. Â Her winning time of 55.03 seconds was a school record. Â Then in 2008 Anderson lowered her 400 record to 54.96 and also set school indoor marks in the 300 (39.90 and 400 (55.65). Â In her freshman season, Anderson qualified for the 2006 NCAA East Region Championships in the 400.
Hurdler Tiffany Hall was not only a two-time (2003, 2004) NCAA regional qualifier in the 400 hurdles but a four-time CAA hurdles champion (2001-04). Â In JMU history only former All-America and JMU Sports Hall of Fame inductee Suzi Shreckhise has turned in a faster 400m hurdles time than Hall. Â
The Dukes' 800-meter relay team of Adrienne Mayo, Sarah Kirtland, Hall and Melanie Bryant ran a school-record time of 1:39.98 in 2004. Â That record again fell in 2008 when the foursome of Marisa Biggins, Carter, Rashonda Roberson and Anderson was clocked in 1:38.92. Â Then in 2009 the record was lowered to 1:38.72 by the team of Renee Lott, Carter, Aubrey McAlpine and Anderson.
Another relay record was erased in 2008, when the 400-meter team was timed in 46.13 seconds. Â Team members were Candace Nelms, Carter, Roberson and Anderson.
In 2003, Hall, Bryant, Lynsie Battle and Shehara Chitty eclipsed the school indoor 1,600-meter relay record with a clocking of 3:47.69.
From JMU Athlete to Coach
Walton was a freshman long and triple jumper and a sprinter for Madison College, as JMU was called then, when the men's track and field program was initiated in the fall of 1971. Â A four-year letterwinner, he went on to serve as a part-time assistant to head coach Ed Witt for the four years prior to his promotion to head coach in 1984.
Under Walton's guidance, the JMU men's program became one of the most respected in the East. Â During his tenure the Dukes produced 52 NCAA qualifying slots, 31 All-America laurels, and 41 IC4A champions. Â The program celebrated its first men's relay squad to reach the NCAA Championships in 1998 and that indoor distance medley relay team finished eighth to become the first All-America relay squad from JMU. Â The Dukes' DMR was again an All-America unit in 1999 with a seventh-place finish in the NCAA Indoor Championships. The program notched its third All-America team in 2001 with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Among the individual achievers from the JMU men's program are five-time All-America hurdler Jerry Roney, All-America long jumpers D.D. Manns and Anthony Wallace, and Matt Holthaus, a two-time All-America performer in the 1,500-meter run and an indoor mile All-America. Â Holthaus won the mile at the 1999 USA Indoor Championships and was runner-up in the 1998 USA Indoor Championships. Â He finished third in the 1,500 meters at the 1999 USA Outdoor Championships and ran in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials where he missed making the final by one spot.
The program reached another milestone in 1988, when Desi Wynter ran the 400-meter race in the Seoul Olympic Games while representing the U.S. Virgin Islands and becoming JMU's first track Olympian. Â Roney, Manns and Jason Long all qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials while competing with the Dukes.
The 1998-99 season produced a program-best seven All-Americas, and the Dukes produced six more All-Americas in 2000-01.
Professional Activity & Recognitions
Walton has been a member of the NCAA Track and Field Committee since 2010 and recently completed his term with the 2014 NCAA Championships. He will remain with the committee after his retirement, serving in various volunteer roles with the group. Â He served as the president for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) in 1998-99, and he also served four years as a Virginia delegate to USA Track and Field.
Walton was honored by his peers as the Colonial Athletic Association men's cross country Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1992. Â He received the Coach of the Year award on a larger scale in 1990 when he was named for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region following the outdoor season. Â He was the 1998 recipient of the Walter Cormack Award, recognizing his contribution to track and field in the state of Virginia. Â In 2012 Walton was the recipient of the JMU Kinesiology Department's alumnus of the Year Award.
A native of Lancaster, Pa., Walton holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics ('75) and a master's in physical education ('77), both from JMU. Â He and his wife, Sara, have two sons, Brett, a 2005 graduate of the University of Richmond, and Matt, a 2008 graduate of North Carolina State.
Years at JMU: 30 as head coach, 37 overall
Coaching Specialty: Â Sprints, hurdles, horizontal jumps
Highlights of Walton's coaching career:
* Mid-Atlantic Region Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year (1990)
* CAA Cross Country Coach of the Year (1987, 92)
* 31 NCAA All-Americans
* 42 IC4A/ECAC ChampionsÂ
Walton recently completed his 36th season as a JMU coach, specializing in coaching the Dukes' athletes who compete in sprints, hurdles and horizontal jumps. He was a key figure in the design and development of the track and field portion of University Park, which opened in 2012.
In 2012 Walton helped guide JMU to a tremendous team accomplishment as the Dukes won their first-ever Colonial Athletic Association women's track and field team championship.
The individual accomplishments of the athletes Walton coaches are equally impressive.
In 2010, long jumper Marissa McDonald set a school freshman record in the outdoor long jump when she turned in a jump of 5.91 meters (19'4 3/4"). Â She went on to qualify for the NCAA East Region Meet in 2011 and 2012 and win the CAA title in 2012. Â Her personal bests of 5.94 meters (19'6") indoors and 6.06 meters (19'10 1/2") outdoors are the top JMU marks since 2000. Â Only JMU record-holder Seun Augustus has a better indoor mark than McDonald and only Augustus and one other jumper in school history have recorded better outdoor jumps.
Sprinter Jordan Simmons won the CAA 100 meters in 2012. Â She earned All-East honors with fourth-place finishes in the 100 at the prestigious Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in 2011 and 2012.
In 2008 and 2009 sprinter Tanique Carter qualified for the NCAA East Region Championships in the 100 and 200 meters, and during her JMU career she set school records in the outdoor 100 meters (11.68), the indoor (23.98) and outdoor (23.87) 200 meters and the indoor 60 meters (7.50).
In 2007 Leslie Anderson won the 400 meters at the ECAC Championships. Â Her winning time of 55.03 seconds was a school record. Â Then in 2008 Anderson lowered her 400 record to 54.96 and also set school indoor marks in the 300 (39.90 and 400 (55.65). Â In her freshman season, Anderson qualified for the 2006 NCAA East Region Championships in the 400.
Hurdler Tiffany Hall was not only a two-time (2003, 2004) NCAA regional qualifier in the 400 hurdles but a four-time CAA hurdles champion (2001-04). Â In JMU history only former All-America and JMU Sports Hall of Fame inductee Suzi Shreckhise has turned in a faster 400m hurdles time than Hall. Â
The Dukes' 800-meter relay team of Adrienne Mayo, Sarah Kirtland, Hall and Melanie Bryant ran a school-record time of 1:39.98 in 2004. Â That record again fell in 2008 when the foursome of Marisa Biggins, Carter, Rashonda Roberson and Anderson was clocked in 1:38.92. Â Then in 2009 the record was lowered to 1:38.72 by the team of Renee Lott, Carter, Aubrey McAlpine and Anderson.
Another relay record was erased in 2008, when the 400-meter team was timed in 46.13 seconds. Â Team members were Candace Nelms, Carter, Roberson and Anderson.
In 2003, Hall, Bryant, Lynsie Battle and Shehara Chitty eclipsed the school indoor 1,600-meter relay record with a clocking of 3:47.69.
From JMU Athlete to Coach
Walton was a freshman long and triple jumper and a sprinter for Madison College, as JMU was called then, when the men's track and field program was initiated in the fall of 1971. Â A four-year letterwinner, he went on to serve as a part-time assistant to head coach Ed Witt for the four years prior to his promotion to head coach in 1984.
Under Walton's guidance, the JMU men's program became one of the most respected in the East. Â During his tenure the Dukes produced 52 NCAA qualifying slots, 31 All-America laurels, and 41 IC4A champions. Â The program celebrated its first men's relay squad to reach the NCAA Championships in 1998 and that indoor distance medley relay team finished eighth to become the first All-America relay squad from JMU. Â The Dukes' DMR was again an All-America unit in 1999 with a seventh-place finish in the NCAA Indoor Championships. The program notched its third All-America team in 2001 with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Among the individual achievers from the JMU men's program are five-time All-America hurdler Jerry Roney, All-America long jumpers D.D. Manns and Anthony Wallace, and Matt Holthaus, a two-time All-America performer in the 1,500-meter run and an indoor mile All-America. Â Holthaus won the mile at the 1999 USA Indoor Championships and was runner-up in the 1998 USA Indoor Championships. Â He finished third in the 1,500 meters at the 1999 USA Outdoor Championships and ran in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials where he missed making the final by one spot.
The program reached another milestone in 1988, when Desi Wynter ran the 400-meter race in the Seoul Olympic Games while representing the U.S. Virgin Islands and becoming JMU's first track Olympian. Â Roney, Manns and Jason Long all qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials while competing with the Dukes.
The 1998-99 season produced a program-best seven All-Americas, and the Dukes produced six more All-Americas in 2000-01.
Professional Activity & Recognitions
Walton has been a member of the NCAA Track and Field Committee since 2010 and recently completed his term with the 2014 NCAA Championships. He will remain with the committee after his retirement, serving in various volunteer roles with the group. Â He served as the president for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) in 1998-99, and he also served four years as a Virginia delegate to USA Track and Field.
Walton was honored by his peers as the Colonial Athletic Association men's cross country Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1992. Â He received the Coach of the Year award on a larger scale in 1990 when he was named for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region following the outdoor season. Â He was the 1998 recipient of the Walter Cormack Award, recognizing his contribution to track and field in the state of Virginia. Â In 2012 Walton was the recipient of the JMU Kinesiology Department's alumnus of the Year Award.
A native of Lancaster, Pa., Walton holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics ('75) and a master's in physical education ('77), both from JMU. Â He and his wife, Sara, have two sons, Brett, a 2005 graduate of the University of Richmond, and Matt, a 2008 graduate of North Carolina State.
Years at JMU: 30 as head coach, 37 overall
Coaching Specialty: Â Sprints, hurdles, horizontal jumps
Highlights of Walton's coaching career:
* Mid-Atlantic Region Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year (1990)
* CAA Cross Country Coach of the Year (1987, 92)
* 31 NCAA All-Americans
* 42 IC4A/ECAC ChampionsÂ
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