ALL- REGION: Bruins’ Smith Named Top Women’s Coach in West Region

2009 USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Regional Athletes & Coaches of the Year

NEWBERG, Ore. – Third-year head coach John Smith of George Fox University has been named the 2009 NCAA Division III West Region Women’s Coach of the Year as announced Tuesday by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) from their offices in New Orleans, La.

The USTFCCCA selects the top track athlete, field athlete, head coach, and assistant coach for both men’s and women’s divisions for each of the eight assessment regions in the NCAA Division III.  Each athlete and coach was recognized at an awards banquet on Tuesday evening as a kickoff to the NCAA Division III National Championships, which are set for Thursday-Saturday, May 21-23, at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.

Following a rich history of success forged by longtime coaches Rich Allen (1969-1987) and Wes Cook (1987-2006), Smith, a 1996 graduate of George Fox, assumed head coaching duties of the track and field and cross country programs at his alma mater in the summer of 2006 after eight years as an assistant coach.  During his time as an assistant, Smith helped coach 31 NCAA Division III national meet qualifiers, three national runner-ups, and 12 All-Americans.

In his first year as the head coach, Smith’s programs produced one All-Northwest Conference and four NCAA Division III All-West Region runners in cross country, and six NWC champions in track and field.  Six Bruins competed in the National Championships in track and field in 2007, with a pair of All-Americans that included national men’s javelin champion Joel Krebs, and a tie for 18th place in the men’s nationals.

In 2007-08, two Bruins earned All-West Region honors in cross country.  In track, eight Bruins participated in the NCAA Nationals, with senior decathlete Ben Dillow being named West Region Athlete of the Year and an NCAA Division III All-American by the USTFCCCA.  Twenty Bruins earned All-NWC honors, with the men winning three events and the women five.  The George Fox women placed second in the NWC.

This season, the Bruins’ track and field program finished third in the women’s division of the NWC and fourth in the men’s.  Five Bruin men earned six All-NWC honors, while nine George Fox women garnered 17 All-NWC awards.  The Bruins had conference champions in one men’s event (Dakarai Kongela in the 100) and three women’s events (Irene Johnson in the 100 hurdles, Emily Hodgin in the triple jump, and Beth Stam in the javelin).  Six Bruins are participating in the NCAA Nationals this weekend: Kongela in the 100, Krebs in the javelin, and Ryan Forbes in the decathlon for the men, and Johnson in the 100 hurdles, Stam in the javelin, and Melissa Leighty in the heptathlon for the women.

A native of Lakeside, Ore., Smith was a football and track athlete at North Bend (Ore.) High School, earning all-state and district honors in both sports and setting a school record in the triple jump. At George Fox, he changed his focus from the jumps to the challenges of the decathlon. He was a national qualifier in the decathlon three times and twice in the pole vault, claiming NAIA All-American status in the decathlon in both 1994 and 1995. At the time of graduation, he held top-10 marks in eight events at George Fox, including a school record which still stands in the decathlon his junior year (7,138 points) and second in the pole vault (15 feet, 7 inches).

After completing his bachelor’s degree in health and human performance (fitness management emphasis) in 1996, Smith continued to compete and earned a U.S. national ranking in the decathlon. While competing for Oregon International, he won the University of Oregon Invitational and took second at the Rocky Mountain Invitational in the decathlon before a career-ending injury sidelined him from the sport. Realizing that his true dedication to the sport would best be served by coaching and mentoring athletes, he spent the 1997-98 season as an assistant at Cascade College before returning to George Fox.  He completed his master’s degree in sport science in 2003.   

Smith resides in Newberg, Ore., and is married to former Bruin track and cross country All-American Dawn Hartwig, also a 1996 George Fox graduate. John and Dawn have three children, Davis (9), Jaci (7), and Blake (5). In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and pursuing his hobbies of surfing, BMX, and fishing.