Virginia Commonwealth University Women's Cross Country

Bean was named head coach by VCU Director of Athletics and Vice President Ed McLaughlin in January 2017 and is entering her 10th season at the helm in 2025. Bean has led VCU to an overall record of 89-51 record through nine seasons and holds the highest winning percentage by any coach in program history. The Rams have also posted a 41-17 record in the Atlantic 10 during her tenure. She ranks second all-time in wins at VCU behind Pat Stauffer, VCU's first-ever head coach and longtime administrator who had a career mark of 137-112-14. In 2024, VCU had six Rams earn All-Atlantic 10 honors and Morena Macera was named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team and NFHCA All-South Region Second Team.  In 2023, the Rams posted a 13-6 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Atlantic 10 play, finishing in a tie for second in the league. Bean coached NFHCA Third Team All-American, Atlantic 10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection Mora Marrero. Fellow freshman Morena Macera was named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team. Sheridan Messier and Camila Rosenbrock were named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team. The Rams had four earn All-Atlantic 10 honors in 2022 as Litiana Field was named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team, Janne Wetzel and Lonica McKinney were named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team and Ana Iglesias was named to the All-Rookie Team. In 2021, Bean led the Rams to their third Atlantic 10 Conference Championship appearance in four seasons and an overall record of 12-6. Maite Sturm became the program's first two-time All-American as she was named a NFHCA Third Team All-American. Sturm scored four goals and assisted 12 totaling 20 points on the campaign. In total, eight Rams earned conference honors and 21 players earning NFHCA Academic recognition. Bean led VCU to an undefeated regular season in the spring of 2021 with a record of 7-0 and to the program's first Atlantic 10 Conference Championship and appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Bean was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and her staff as named the NFHCA South Region Staff of the Year. VCU also earned its first ranking in the NFHCA Coaches Poll poll since it inception in 1998, climbing as high as No. 17. In 2018, Bean led VCU to its first Atlantic 10 Championship game after earning the No. 2 overall seed in the A-10 Championship. VCU went 12-7 overall with 7-1 mark in A-10 play, setting a record for the most conference wins in program history. The Rams had four selected to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team, one to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team and four named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. VCU also had three players selected to an NFHCA All-Region squad, one first team selection and two second team selections. Emily McNamara led the country in scoring with 27 goals and was named NFHCA Second Team All-American, the highest individual honor in program history. She broke program records for career goals, total points, goals in a season and points in a career. McNamara became just the third VCU Field Hockey student-athlete to earn an NFHCA All-American distinction.  The Black and Gold also garnered NFHCA All-Academic Squad recognition. In her first season as head coach at VCU in 2017, she led VCU to a 14-6 overall record, the second most wins in a single season in program history. Bean also guided the Rams to a 6-2 record in the Atlantic 10 and a tie for second place, the highest conference finish and most conference wins for VCU since joining the A-10 in 2012-13. Under her guidance, Emily McNamara broke the program record for goals in a season with 21 and VCU had six players honored with postseason awards by the A-10. VCU was also named an NFHCA All-Academic Squad. Bean joined VCU after a successful nine-year stint as the head coach at Saint Francis (Pa.) from 2008-16. Prior to guiding the Red Flash, Bean also served as the head coach at Rhode Island from 2002-07 and at New Brunswick from 1995-00. Bean has been a four-time finalist for national Coach of the Year awards and has won seven conference Coach of the Year honors. She has also coached in the USA Field Hockey system, coaching various teams at the National Future Championship in addition to serving as a head coach in the Junior Regional High Performance Program. Under her tutelage, the Red Flash won at least 10 games each of the last three seasons, advancing to the Atlantic 10 Tournament twice in those years. With the Red Flash, Bean was also named the A-10 Coach of the Year in 2014 and the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year in 2012. Saint Francis finished 11-9 in 2016 and the team boasted two First Team All-Atlantic 10 selections, one second team choice and two All-Atlantic 10 Rookie selections. Bean successfully guided the Red Flash from the Northeast Conference into the competitive Atlantic 10 in 2013 and never posted a losing season during her team's four years in the A-10. The Red Flash finished 10-7 in 2015, 14-3 in 2014 and 8-8 in 2013. Off the field, Bean was selected as the inaugural USA Field Hockey Humanitarian Award recipient in 2016. She was given the award for the compassion and dedication she showed to her senior student-athlete, Kelly Quealy, through her battle with cancer. The award is given to someone whose actions and kindness have positively impacted and inspired those in his or her community. Prior to her time at Saint Francis and Rhode Island, Bean was an assistant coach at Boston College. At BC, she coached five NFHCA Regional All-Americans, one NFHCA National All-American, 10 Big East Conference All-Stars, one Big East Defensive Player of the Year, one Big East Goalkeeper of the Year and one USA senior national team member in two seasons. She joined the Eagles after five seasons as head coach at New Brunswick. At New Brunswick, she compiled a 65-15-7 record and earned four Atlantic University Athletic Association Coach of the Year awards (1995, '96, '97 and '99). Bean was also a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors in each of those four seasons. During her tenure at UNB, she recruited and developed the first CIAU Top-10 National Academic All-Canadian honoree in the history of UNB athletics. At New Brunswick, Bean coached 18 CIAU Field Hockey all-Canadians, three national Player of the Year honorees, 26 Conference All-Stars and 24 Academic All-Canadians. Her teams won the conference title five consecutive years under her tutelage. In two of those seasons, her teams reached the national semifinals. Bean earned her bachelor's degree in physical and health education at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, graduating with honors in 1993. She played field hockey at Laurentian for four years (1989-92), and earned all-conference honors in 1992 from the Ontario Women's Inter-University Athletic Association. In 1993, Bean moved on to graduate school at the University of New Brunswick, playing her last season in a Varsity Reds uniform. She earned AUA All-Conference Honors, CIAU All-Canadian Honors and CIAU Academic All-Canadian Honors in her senior season. Bean has been a Level 3 certified field hockey coach since 1994, graduated from the NCAA women's coaching academy in 2005 and completed the NCAA Women's Coaching Academy Dimension 2 Program in 2010.

The Jon Riley File Coaching Experience:        2001-03                      Assistant Coach St. Augustine High - New Orleans, La.   2003-05                     Assistant Coach Southeast Missouri State    2005-08                     Assistant Coach Belmont 2008- present                   Head Coach VCU Coaching Highlights:                        40 individual conference champions 60 individual school records broken 10 team conference championships 4 NCAA All-Americans Education:                   1998             Southeast Missouri State B.S. Mass Communication 2005             Southeast Missouri State M.A. Athletic Administration Jon Riley enters his 18th season as head coach of the VCU Women's Track & Field and 16th in charge of the men's team in 2025-26. Riley took over the reigns of the women's program in 2008 and the men's team in 2010, and has overseen a remarkable makeover of both by employing three key ingredients: dedication, commitment and passion. While these three words are often associated with Coach Riley, they are also descriptors of his teams and coaching philosophy. Riley's influence has produced 11 women's track & field Atlantic 10 Conference team championships (Indoors 2015, Outdoors 2016, Indoors 2017, Indoors 2018, Outdoors 2018, Indoors 2019, Outdoors 2021, Indoors 2022, Indoors 2023, Indoors 2024, Outdoors 2024), as well as three All-Americans (Kiara Porter [5-time], Jaleesa Williams [2-time], and Gudrun Hallgrímsdóttir [5-time]) and numerous individual conference champions. He has also kept the men's program in consistent competition for conference championships. In 2016, he guided the men's team to a third-place showing at the 2016 A-10 Outdoor Championships, the program's best since it joined the league prior to the 2012-13 season. He has collected Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors eight times.  Riley's student-athletes have set school records in 37 women's and 13 men's events (indoor and outdoor) during his tenures.  In 2015, Riley's resurrection of the women's team took an important step when it captured the A-10 Indoor title, the program's first conference crown more than 20 years. The following year, Riley directed the women's squad to an A-10 outdoor title, the school's first outdoor championship since it won the 1994 Metro Conference crown.  Riley's guidance was critical in the recruitment and development of All-Americans Kiara Porter and Jaleesa Williams. Porter quickly became one of the all-time greats at VCU. In four seasons she racked up five All-America honors in the 400-meter run (three outdoors, two indoors), 16 individual and relay conference titles and three A-10 Most Outstanding Performer honors. In 2014 and 2015, she placed eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400. Porter set 11 school records as a Ram and was also a three-time Academic All-American. Williams, meanwhile, became the first thrower in VCU history to earn All-America status when she placed ninth in the discus at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She placed 12th the following year in that event. She captured six individual conference titles and set five school records during her tenure.  In 2012, Riley coached Porter to a gold medal as a part of Team USA’s 4x400 at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain. Earlier in the year Porter finished fourth at the USA Junior Championships in the 400. In 2010, just two years into his tenure, Riley led the Black & Gold to its best CAA Championship performance in six years.  “My staff and I are dedicated to this program and we love what we do,” Riley said. “We are committed to doing whatever it takes to put our athletes in the best position to be successful, both on and off the track. We will do whatever it takes to give our athletes the best experience possible here at VCU.” Richmond isn’t the only stop in Riley’s coaching career that’s been successful. From 2005-08, Riley was an assistant at Belmont in Nashville, Tenn. He worked primarily with sprinters and jumpers. There he helped four different Bruins become NCAA Regional qualifiers, and he coached a total of nine Atlantic Sun Conference champions. In particular, Lynette Rives showcased a high level of excellence under Riley’s tutelage. She was an All-American in 2008 and also All-Region and a NCAA National qualifier in the 200. Prior to his stint at Belmont, Riley held the same position at his alma mater, Southeast Missouri State. While working with the jumpers, pole vaulters, javelin throwers and hurdlers, Coach Jon Riley helped the women’s program capture three Ohio Valley Conference championships and numerous All-Conference awards. Riley’s coaching career began right out of college as he spent five years as an assistant at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, known around the state of Louisiana as a powerhouse on the track. Prior to his coaching experience, Jon Riley was two-sport star at Southeast Missouri State. Riley was a four-year starter at wide receiver for the Southeastern Missouri State, Redhawks. In addition to his days on the gridiron, Riley was a track and field standout. He would go on to earn five Ohio Valley Conference individual titles, qualify three times provisionally for the NCAA’s, break the school record in the long jump and score the most combined points in school history at conference meets. A native of New Orleans, La., Riley graduated from Southeast Missouri State in 1998 with a degree in Mass Communications. He later earned his Master’s in Athletic Administration there in 2005. Riley resides in Richmond.

Cook was named Assistant Track & Field Coach and Director of Cross Country in August of 2010. Prior to her arrival in Richmond, Cook had spent time on the professional track circuit and in high school coaching. "Nicole is going to be an incredible asset for this program," Track & Field Head Coach Jon Riley said. "She's very familiar with the area and well-known throughout the state. With her addition, we hope to attract high quality distance athletes. We're not looking for a quick fix, but I feel over a period of time, we can demonstrate our commitment to getting better in that area." Her addition to the Virginia Commonwealth University Track & Field staff was a bit of a homecoming. Cook was a decorated high school track star a half hour down I-95 at Petersburg High School before her decorated career as a Tennessee Volunteer. Cook was a headliner for the Petersburg High Crimson Wave, racking up state and national accolades. She was the state champion in the 500 meters and indoor national champion in the 800 meters. To this day, several of her high school state records still stand. Her collegiate career was just as decorated as her high school career. During her time at Tennessee, Cook became the premiere 800 meter runner in the SEC. She made an immediate impact in Knoxville and was named Track & Field Lady Vol Athlete of the Year as a freshman. She later became a fixture on the Vols Distance Medley Relay squad, which won an NCAA Indoor Championship in 2004. Cook would also earn individual glory becoming an 800 meter national champion. That same year, Cook made it to the final 800 meter qualifying round of the Olympic trials. Her excellence on the track was matched in the classroom, as she also made the Lady Vol Academic Honor Roll in 2004. She graduated from Tennessee with a degree in Social Work. Cooks personal inspirations as an athlete included three-time gold medalist of the 1960 Rome Olympic games, Wilma Rudolph and four-time Olympian, and fellow Tennessee alum, Joetta Clark. She hopes to build on her rock star status in the local track & field community and help create a new generation of stars at VCU.