University of Maryland Women's Cross Country

Valmon enters his 14th season at the helm of the Maryland track and field program in 2016-17. His experience as an Olympic Gold Medalist, combined with 21 years of collegiate coaching and an expanding experience on the international level, have helped bring Maryland's cross country and track programs to prominence. On the track, Valmon has spent his time producing multiple All-Americans. During his tenure, 41 student-athletes have earned All-America honors for their performances on the national stage. In addition, over 40 school records have been established. In the classroom, Maryland track and field athletes consistently rank among the top of their peers with the cross country program earning the schools award for the highest team GPA four years in a row (2013-16). In the summer of 2012, Valmon reached the highest level of his coaching career when he was chosen as the head coach of the U.S. track & field team at the London Olympics. As a result of Valmon's leadership, Team USA achieved the second highest medal count in history. Twenty-nine medals were earned in the sport of track & field, including nine gold, 13 silver, and seven bronze medals. Prior to the 2012 Olympics, Valmon served as an assistant coach at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany, and as the head coach for the 2010 World Indoor Championships team in Doha, Qatar. Prior to coaching at the World Championship level, Valmon served USA Track & Field as the relay coach for the national team that competed at the 2008 NACAC Championship in El Salvador. Due to the continued success of Team USA, Valmon was added to the staff for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow to lead the relay squads. While in Moscow, Valmon ensured the success of the 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams. Valmon is no stranger to relay success at the highest level. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Valmon forged an outstanding career as a professional and Olympic level 400-meter runner. He earned gold medals as a member of the United States 4x400 relay teams in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. Valmon earned spots on 13 U.S. National Teams, also earning golds at the 1990 Goodwill Games, the 1993 World Championships and the 1994 Goodwill Games. He owns a personal-best of 44.28 in his specialty and was ranked as high as fourth in the world at various times in his career. Valmon still holds the world record as a member of the 1993 World Championship 4x400m relay team that clocked a time of 2:54.29. Throughout Valmons tenure at Maryland, he has imparted his same drive for success on student-athletes in the program, leading them to numerous nation-leading performances. Most recently, the trio of Chioma Onyekwere, Micha Powell and Alexandra Lucki, made appearances at the 2016 NCAA outdoor championships, while Onyekwere and Powell were also qualifiers for the indoor championships. In addition, Micha Powell (17) and Thea Lafond (15) both qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro representing the nations of Canada and Dominica (respectively). Maryland has continuously made appearances at the NCAA level in recent years. One of the most notable performers for the Terrapins was Kiani Profit (Class of 12) who led the way in the pentathlon and heptathlon where she was a two-time NCAA runner-up. Profit is currently competing professionally. Other recent Maryland All-America athletes include Dwight Barbiasz (high jump), Michelle Federick (400m), Dominic Berger (hurdles), Adam Durham (hurdles), Kierra Foster (long jump) and Lynn Hernandez (long jump). Berger and Durham have continued their career on the professional track. Valmon has overseen the Maryland track & field programs transition into the Big Ten Conference since the 2014-15 season, where the Terps have seen immediate success. Thea Lafond (15) was honored as the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of Marylands first-ever B1G Outdoor Championship appearance in 2015. Valmons Terps have also continued to achieve in the classroom, with over 50 Academic All-Big Ten selections in Marylands first two seasons in the conference. As focused as he has been on improving place finishes in competition, Valmon has also established high expectations for his student-athletes in other areas. During his tenure, the team has received the ACC Sportsmanship Award and has consistently maintained a graduation rate above the national average. Valmon has also made community service a mandatory responsibility of each team member. In ACC action, Maryland made a strong presence with multiple athletes earning spots on the podium to celebrate All-ACC performances. In 2013, the womens squad posted a 5th-place finish at the conference championships, and in 2014 the Terps placed 6th in a field of 15 teams. Postseason competition found eight Terps qualified for the NCAA first-round competition in 2013 and seven athletes in the 2014 season. While serving as the Terrapin head coach, Valmon's profile has also continued to rise in the USATF and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) communities. Valmon is the current USATF vice chair for mens track and field. He has also served as a mentor through the US Olympic Ambassador Program and Olympic Summit organizations. In the summer of 2004, Valmon was selected to a distinguished, NCAA/USOC panel to address Olympic sport concerns. The panel met throughout 2004 and 2005, before presenting its recommendations on creative ways to increase the visibility of various Olympic sports. Valmon, who won two Olympic Gold Medals during his career as an athlete, came to Maryland in 2003 after serving on the track and field staff at Georgetown University beginning in 1995. After joining the Hoyas as an assistant coach, Valmon became an associate head coach before serving as head coach of the Hoyas men's team for his final four seasons there. While there, he worked primarily with the sprinters, half-milers and jumpers. He helped lead the Hoya men to numerous indoor and outdoor championships at the Big East and IC4A Conference levels including the first IC4A Outdoor title in school history. As a result of the numerous titles, Valmon was honored by the U.S. Track Coaches Association with regional awards. In 2002, he was awarded the President's Award by USA Track and Field for his contributions to both USATF and to the sport of track and field. He has been a member of USATF's Athletes Advisory Committee. His record of achievement as an athlete and coach made Valmon an excellent choice to become the new Terrapin head coach in 2003 as summarized at the time by former Maryland Director of Athletics Deborah Yow, "Andrew brings a unique combination of talent, commitment, teaching and community involvement that will take our track and field program to the next level of excellence. He has the kind of experience and passion for track that will attract very talented student-athletes to our program. He will develop and inspire them athletically and academically to achieve their best potential." Renaldo Nehemiah, a Maryland alumnus who was a three-time NCAA national champion, also noted Valmon's stature as an accomplished member of the track and field community. "I think it's a great hire," said Nehemiah. "To have a young, enthusiastic coach there will be very good for the university. He has a lot of respect in the track and field community. He's a hungry, aggressive person who will revitalize a program that has a storied background." Valmon is the founder of the Avenue Program (www.avenueprogram.org), an organization designed to positively impact the lives of underprivileged youths by introducing them to successful athletes and professionals, as well as organizing track and field clinics. He earned a bachelor's degree in communications in 1987 from Seton Hall University, where he is a member of the Hall of Fame after becoming a three-time All-American. He still holds the Big East Conference championships record in the 400 and was named the Outstanding Performer of the meet after winning the 400 and participating on two winning relay teams for the Pirates in the 1987 meet. Valmon is married to Meredith Rainey Valmon, a seven-time U.S. national champion and two-time Olympian in the women's 800. The couple and their three children (Travis, Maya, and Mallory) reside in Rockville, Md.

Siebert competed for the Terps cross country and track and field teams. While competing for Maryland, she won the honor of cross country MVP and established top-10 times in the 800m and 1,500m events. She held the school record in the Sprint Medley relay up until the 2015-16 season along with teammates Kierra Foster, Lynn Hernandez, and Renee Clark. That record was surpassed in 2016 at the Florida relays by Lisa Meneau, Micha Powell, Catherine Voelpel, and Alex Lucki. After graduation, Siebert maintained her involvement with the program as an intern for two years (2006-2008). During that time, she provided indispensable administrative support and served as point person for alumni relations and events. She helped to organize a successful alumni gathering when Maryland hosted the 2007 ACC Championships. The reunion featured an appearance by esteemed Coach Kehoe. Her primary coaching focus has been on middle-distance and long sprints. As a mentor to the female student-athletes, Siebert has looked to be a positive influence on the track and field program as a whole and each student-athlete as an individual. She helped guide Alex Lucki (18) to her first NCAA Championship event during the 2016 outdoor season, as she qualified for the 1500 meter run with the second-fastest time by a Terp (4:20.16). Siebert spent the summer of 2015 as a staff member for Team USA at the World Championships in Beijing, China. Her responsibilities included athlete preparation at training camp in Narita, Japan prior to transferring to Beijing for the 2015 IAAF World Championship competition. In 2014, Siebert earned a position as a Team USA manager for the World Junior Championships hosted in Eugene, Oregon. At this competition, the top 16-19 year old athletes from across the USA competed against 212 countries and tied the record for 21 medals. In 2012, she served as a manager on the NACAC U23 team where she assisted athletes from Team USA throughout the competition in Irapuato, Mexico. In addition to her coaching duties, Siebert is responsible for assisting in the maintenance of the annual budget, recruiting, planning student-athlete team travel, scheduling, organizing team community-service events and aiding in the day-to-day operations of the track and field program. Head Coach Andrew Valmon spoke of Siebert saying, "She brings deep knowledge and understanding of our program and our direction for the future. As an alumna she is completely dedicated to the success of our student-athletes and our teams. She is a great extension of the staff who contributes value in a variety of areas."

Desonier graduated from C.W. Post-Long Island University in 1976 with a degree in psychology. As an athlete, Desonier was a five-time All-American, placing second in the nation in the hammer throw and third in the discus in 1974. In 1988, he was inducted into the C.W. Post Hall of Fame. After 30 years, he still holds all the school records in the discus and the weight throw. At Maryland, Desonier has coached 38 All-Conference performers and a pair of All-Americans in the throwing events, including Ruth Kura, who was ranked fourth nationally and 10th in the world. He has coached thirty-three throwers to appearances in NCAA regional meets since 2004. Of the 60 female athletes on the top-ten lists for throws, Desonier has coached 56 while at Maryland, including all ten on the javelin, hammer, discus, and weight throw. He has coached 28 of the male athletes on the all time top-ten lists, including all 10 javelin throwers and 8 of 10 weight throwers.  In 2015-16 Desonier coached Chioma Onyekwere to appearances at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships. Onyekwere broke two school records under Desonier's guidance, and was a two-time All-Big Ten performer.   He has been a member of the coaching staff that worked with Kiani Profit, who won the NACAC U-23 Championship in the heptathlon. Another heptathlete under his tutelage, Traci Ojenyi, has been among the top-10 in the world in the heptathlon shot put. He also assisted with two-time pentathlon All-American Thea LaFond in the pentathlon shot put. Desonier has coached several walk-ons to become conference scorers during his tenure. He also has coached a Penn Relays discus champ while with the Terps. As a further testament to Desonier, two of his former throwers have gone on to coach NCAA champions in the shot and hammer. He resides in Gaithersburg with his wife, Sandra, and has a son, Joseph, and grandchildren, Riley, Ryan and Reece.

Laine was an All-American in the triple jump and set indoor and outdoor school records, as well as the Ivy League record in the event. Upon graduating from Harvard in 2006 with a degree in government, Laine used a redshirt season to become a member of Texas men's team while pursuing a master's degree in sport management. He spent the entire 2007 outdoor track and field season with the farthest triple jump in the nation. Since graduating from Texas, Laine obtained his law degree from Georgetown University in 2010 and passed the New York State bar exam. Laine has also become one of the world's best triple jumpers. He has represented Haiti, where his parents were born, in six World Championships, two Pan American Games and one Olympic Games thus far; advancing to the finals of the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. Laine has won one gold and one bronze medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games and a silver medal at the inaugural Pan American Sports Festival in 2014. He has been ranked in the top ten in the world the last two seasons (2013 and 2014) and now holds a personal best of 17.39 meters. At Maryland, Laine's primary focus will be on the horizontal jumps. He spent four years as a volunteer assistant coach at George Mason University where he worked with horizontal jumpers and sprinters. Laine's combination of competition and coaching experience will make him a valuable asset to the Maryland track and field program.

Jelley came to College Park after spending five years coaching at Temple University, where he revamped the Owls' distance program and was directly responsible for mentoring and coaching some of the best distance athletes in Temple's school history. Since joining the program, Jelley has been a part of Marylands transition from the ACC to the Big Ten.   "I'm excited to welcome Matthew into the Terrapin family," said Valmon. "He is one of the top distance coaches in the country and his track record certainly speaks for itself. With our talented student-athletes and Matt's ability to help them improve and motivate them, the future is bright for our cross country and distance programs." "I am honored by the opportunity to join the University of Maryland program," said Jelley. I am humbled to be part of this programs future and I'm excited to work with the talented Terrapin student-athletes, helping them reach their full potential. Maryland has so much to offer; with such an amazing campus and outstanding facilities, all the tools are in place to attract the best student-athletes to help us reach our goals. I can't wait to get started." Jelley's goals are consistent with those of the Maryland coaching staff - to become a dominant force within the conference, as well as at the regional and national levels - and his track record at Temple shows he helps student-athletes maximize their potential. The Owls' cross-country program showed steady improvement as it climbed up the regional rankings. Under Jelley's mentorship, Temple harriers earned several All-Atlantic 10 honors, including two-time honoree Mike May. Jelley also helped guide the Owls' men's team to back-to-back IC4A championships in 2009 and 2010. Travis Mahoney, a Temple senior in 2012, ranks among Jelley's finest protégés. Since choosing Temple and working with Jelley, Mahoney blossomed into one of the nation's top harriers and an Olympic hopeful. A two-time All-American in the 3000m steeplechase, Mahoney finished fifth in the steeplechase at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and qualified and competed at the 2012 Olympic Trials at Historic Hayward Field at Eugene, Ore. In the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Mahoney won A-10 titles in the indoor mile and 3000m and the outdoor 5000m, 3000m steeplechase and 1500m. For his efforts he was named Male A-10 MVP three times, one for one indoor (2011-12) and two outdoor track and field seasons (2011 and 2012). By earning the second team All-America honor in 2011, Mahoney became only the second two-time All-American in Temple history. With his fifth-place finish in the 3000m steeplechase in 2012 he became the first Owl to earn first team All-America honors. During his tenure at Temple, Jelley's athletes broke 21 of 26 distance school records from the 800m and up. Jelley's efforts have helped the men's and women's track teams accomplish their best finishes in school history at the Atlantic 10 Conference meet. Notably, Jelley helped the women capture the 2010 outdoor conference championship and the runner-up trophy in 2012. His distance squad went from not scoring a single point before Jelley's arrival to scoring 51 points at the 2012 event. Prior to coaching at Temple, Jelley was the head cross country and track and field coach at Toms River North High School in Toms River, N.J. Former Maryland distance stand out Pete Hess came to Maryland after being coached by Jelley and made an immediate impact. Hess was the 2003 ACC Freshman of the Year, a two-time All-ACC honoree and a two-time All-Mid-Atlantic Region honoree as a Terrapin harrier. While at Toms River, Jelley was named the 2001 New Jersey Cross Country Coach of the Year by the Newark Star-Ledger and named Coach of the Year a total of 24 times by various sources, including at least once every year he was a head coach. He also coached four cross country teams (2001-2004) to national rankings by Harrier Magazine, placing as high as 17th in the United States. Jelley led his team to one New Jersey Group IV State title, three South Jersey Group IV championships, six Ocean County championships and one Shore Conference championship title in cross country. He also mentored 10 high school All-Americans and owned a 41-5 dual meet record during his time at Toms River North (1999-07). A 1996 graduate of Clemson, Jelley was a member of the Tigers' cross country and track and field distance squads where he was a member from 1993-96. He also attended Monmouth University (1991-92), where he set five school records, and Ocean County College (1992-93), where he was an academic and athletic All-American in cross country.