CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia’s director of track & field and cross country, Vin Lananna, announced Thursday (July 2) that he has appointed Jerod Wims as the newest assistant coach of the track and field coaching staff.
“His accomplishments as a student-athlete and later as a coach, especially in the ACC, Coach [Jerod] Wims emerged as a natural, leading candidate. We are very excited to have the USTFCCCA Northeast Assistant Coach of the Year join our staff. Coach Wims has successfully prepared sprinters, 100/110m hurdlers, AND 400m hurdlers at the national level at every stop in his professional career. His technical expertise and passion for our sport will be energizing for Virginia’s student athletes, " Lananna said.
Jerod Wims arrives in Charlottesville following a notable season as an assistant coach at Boston College. In his first season with the Golden Eagles, Wims garnered USTFCCCA Northeast Assistant Coach of the Year honors and led Sydney Segalla to Northeast Women's Track Athlete of the Year honors. Segalla finished fifth at the NCAA Championships to become the first Boston College athlete to achieve First Team All-American honors in the event in nearly 40 years and joins Janice Reed as the only Golden Eagle to run at the NCAA Championships in the 400-meters. At the ACC Championships, Segalla ran a personal best to win the 400-meters and set the ACC record.
“I am truly honored to accept this opportunity at UVA," Wims said. "I look forward to serving our student athletes and recruiting high level talent that can compete on the highest levels of track and field. I also look forward to supporting my colleagues, and helping build a culture of excellence, integrity, and championship success. The work starts now."
Prior to Boston College, Wims had a successful stint at the University of Central Arkansas where he played an integral role for the sprints group that resulted in three broken school records and two ASUN Champions. From 2016-2019, Wims was the Head Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Coach at Mercer University. While at Mercer, Wims established an impressive tradition of winning with 11 top-three Southern Conference finishers for the track & field and cross country programs in the first three seasons of his tenure at Mercer, developing the program into one of the top sprint groups in the conference.
The 2019 spring outdoor season included seven top-three finishers at the SoCon Championships, eight new school records, wins in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays and a sixth-place finish with a total of 70 points (most in program history) at the SoCon Championships. Mercer's 4x100m relay team also recorded the second-fastest time in the state of Georgia for the 2019 season. Additionally, the 4x100m relay team ranked 32nd in the NCAA East Region, falling just six spots shy of securing a spot at the NCAA East region preliminaries.
In 2018, Wims guided a young and largely inexperienced women's track & field team to a sixth-place finish at the SoCon Outdoor Championships. Wims led the group to a 49-point finish, a then-program best, three top-three finishers and the first-ever Southern Conference Champion in the triple jump.
A native of Miami, Fla., Wims graduated from Auburn University in 2009 with a degree in Criminology. On the tail end of achieving NCAA All-American status in 2009, he immediately pursued a post-collegiate professional track and field career, having success in overseas competition. In addition, he twice achieved USA Junior All-American status by finishing top five at USA trials in 2005 in the 100m and seventh in the 200m races, qualifying for the Pan Am games in Ontario, Canada.
The 2019 spring outdoor season included seven top-three finishers at the SoCon Championships, eight new school records, wins in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays and a sixth-place finish with a total of 70 points (most in program history) at the SoCon Championships. Mercer's 4x100m relay team also recorded the second-fastest time in the state of Georgia for the 2019 season. Additionally, the 4x100m relay team ranked 32nd in the NCAA East Region, falling just six spots shy of securing a spot at the NCAA East region preliminaries.
In 2018, Wims guided a young and largely inexperienced women's track & field team to a sixth-place finish at the SoCon Outdoor Championships. Wims led the group to a 49-point finish, a then-program best, three top-three finishers and the first-ever Southern Conference Champion in the triple jump.
A native of Miami, Fla., Wims graduated from Auburn University in 2009 with a degree in Criminology. On the tail end of achieving NCAA All-American status in 2009, he immediately pursued a post-collegiate professional track and field career, having success in overseas competition. In addition, he twice achieved USA Junior All-American status by finishing top five at USA trials in 2005 in the 100m and seventh in the 200m races, qualifying for the Pan Am games in Ontario, Canada.