Lewis-Clark State College Women's Track

Collins teams have produced six NAIA National Champions, 57 All-Americans, 12 conference Runner-of-the-Year winners, one Region I Runner-of-the-Year and champion, and numerous all-conference and all-region selections. Additionally, the Education Divisions Student of the Year has been a cross country runner four times (2001, 2003, 2008 and 2010) and in 2009 the Presidents award that goes to the outstanding graduate was awarded to a cross country runner (Rosa Bautista). Additionally, his teams are always amongst the best in team GPA and academic accomplishments. Coach Collins earned Frontier Conference Mens and Womens Coach of the Year honors for the third consecutive year in 2009 and added the Men's Coach of the Year honor again in 2010 and 2011. He also swept both awards in 2013 and 2014 before adding another Mens Coach of the Year award in 2015. For the past 14 years the womens cross country team has placed in the top-25 at nationals each year, finishing (chronologically) 15th, ninth, 19th, 17th, 19th, 21st, 19th, 14th, 15th 18th, 11th, eighth, fourth, second in 2014 -their best finish ever and 16th in 2015. A full mens team qualified for nationals for the first time in 2003 and finished 23rd. The mens squad has also competed at nationals in each of the past 10 years, finishing 21st, 18th, 22nd, 22nd, 19th, fourth and 15th before returning to the top 10 with a ninth-place finish in 2013 behind Sam Atkin's national runner-up performance. The men made it three straight top-10 finishes taking 10th in 2014 and sixth last season. Collins works hard to stay on top of the current research, science and methods in regards to coaching his runners. He has a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in Sport Science from the University of Idaho. All of his research at both schools dealt with improving the performances of endurance athletes. He is also a USATF Certified Level II coach with a specialization in endurance and is working towards his Level III. Although Collins works hard to stay on top of the latest in the sport, he is a big believer in the heart and work ethic of his athletes. No matter what they may or may not have been gifted with, if they are willing to work hard, they will get faster. He is also the director of the Clearwater River Running Camp, the largest distance running camp in the state of Idaho. He is also a part of the leadership within the sport of running, serving as President for the NAIA Cross Country Coaches Association and has been a national rater for the past 10 years as well as a member of many coaching committees. This leadership also extends into his other campus work where he is a member of the Lewis-Clark State College Faculty Senate, a committee member on the athletic advisory board and other campus groups. In 2014, Collins was elected to the Lewiston City Council, where he will serve until 2018. In his spare time Collins enjoys fly fishing, running, doing triathlons and spending time with his family. His wife Tracy is the head athletic trainer at Lewis-Clark State and assists with the team. His two daughters (Kassie 15 and Emily 12) provide a great deal of fun and have already indicated that they want to run for daddy some day and be a country kid. From an athletic standpoint, Collins has qualified for the USA Triathlon National Championships eight times and completed his first Ironman Triathlon (2.4m swim, 112m bike, 26.2m run) in 2005, finishing in 11:06.24 after cramping up 13 miles into the run. He also completed Ironman competitions in 2009 and 2012. Collins also believes that he should be willing to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. In addition to the triathlons, he runs on a daily basis and pushes himself to stay fit. Although he doesnt run at the same level of his athletes, he works to be a good example of what it means to be committed to your sport, to work and train hard to be better.    

Hall works primarily with the sprinters, horizontal jumpers, hurdlers and multi-event athletes at LCSC, and is in charge of recruiting athletes for those disciplines as well. He also assists head coach Mike Collins with day-to-day operations of the program. Hall came to the Warriors after two seasons as an assistant coach at Emporia State University, an NCAA Division II program in Emporia, Kansas. He served as a graduated assistant in charge of horizontal jumps, but assisted with multi's and sprints, as well as with the cross country program. While at ESU, Hall mentored 11 national qualifiers and eight All-Americans. Among those were Payson Maydew, who finished third in the nation in the men's decathlon in 2014, and Carmen King, who placed third in the women's long jump in 2014. Emporia State's school record in the women's long jump was broken twice under Hall's watch, most recently by Peyton Weiss, who became the first female in school history to jump 20 feet. Prior to his tenure at ESU, Hall was the head men's and women's cross country and track and field coach at Pratt Community College in Pratt, Kansas from 2007-2012. During his time at Pratt, five school records were broken and 12 of Hall's student-athletes qualified for nationals. The 2009 Pratt women's track and field team was named the NJCAA Coaches Association All-Academic Team of the Year, and in 2011, both men's and women's cross country squads received the honor. He began his coaching career at Sterling College in 2006, where he was primarily responsible for the distance runners. Hall graduated from Sterling in 2006 with a B.S. in Exercise Science after completing an Associate's degree from Neosho County Community College in 2002. Hall also holds a Master's degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from Emporia State, which he earned in 2014. Hall competed in track and field at Neosho County, qualifying for NJCAA Nationals in cross country in 2000 and 2001 and the distance medley relay during the 2001 track season. During his competitive career, he ran every event between the 400 meters to the 5,000 meters, including the steeplechase. Hall is a native of Eudora, Kansas and his hobbies include golfing, fishing, biking and watching college sports. He is a huge Kansas Jayhawk basketball fan.

Matthew Kelley has been training student-athletes for the LC State Track and Field for several years, resulting in over 25 school records being set and a National Runner-Up finish in the pole vault. In 2015, Coach Kelley made the transition into a more involved position with a focus on helping elevate the program into a nationally competitive track and field team. Coach Kelley’s event specialty is the pole vault and jumping events in which he has held up to six different certifications.  Since 2000, Coach Kelley has been involved with the LC Valley track and field programs as a coach, a senior project mentor and a volunteer with the summer and winter programs.  His involvement has resulted in several high school student-athletes receiving full or partial collegiate scholarships. His high school coaching resume includes helping a team that developed 131 top-five State finishers at the 5A and 2B High School State Championships, not including the 13 other successful athletes from the smaller surrounding schools that Coach Kelley volunteered at. He also helped coach the 2018 Asotin High School team to a State team title.  Over the years, Coach Kelley has been involved in the training and developing of 44 athletes who achieved the top-two runner-up podium finishes at the State meet, and 21 track and field State Champions along with 26 high school records.