Bio

Jay Walls enters his sixth season as head coach of the men and women’s cross country programs in 2023-24. He also serves as an assistant coach to the Eagle track and field programs, working primarily with Midway distance runners. Walls was previously the head track and field coach for five seasons.

During his tenure with the cross country programs, Walls has led the Eagles to numerous meet victories including the 2021 River States Conference Men’s Cross Country Championship. After leading the men’s cross country team to their first conference championship in program history, Walls was named the RSC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for his efforts.

In 2020, Walls led the women’s cross country team to a runner-up finish in the RSC Championship as they advanced to the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championship.

He had his first distance All-Americans during the 2023-24 season, as Jacob Kocis and Trinity Smith earned that designation during the NAIA Marathon. Kocis placed second while Smith finished sixth.

On the track & field side, Walls has sent numerous athletes to the NAIA Track & Field National Championships and had two All-Americans. Nevaeh Brown has earned five All-American finishes in pole vault, including being the runner-up at both the Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 2024. Alexia Schofield took third in triple jump in the 2021 indoor national championships.

Walls has seen numerous student-athletes earn All-Conference honors over his tenure including the River States Conference Track Athlete of the Year and the River States Conference Newcomer of the Year. He’s also had well over 100 named as RSC Scholar-Athletes.

Originally from Louisville, Ky., Walls comes to Midway after serving as the assistant track and cross-country coach at fellow River States Conference member, Point Park University. He has served as an assistant with the Pioneers since August 2016.

Walls’ tenure with the Pioneers was a successful one as they produced one of the top track and field programs in the RSC. They earned a berth in the 2017 NAIA National Championship, while producing a National Champion in the 1500 meters.

Under the assistance of Walls, the Pioneers produced 16 All-Conference runners, five conference champions and a 4x800 relay team that won the conference title in the 2017 River States Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Prior to joining the staff at Point Park, Walls was a volunteer assistant distance coach for the University of Louisville for a year. While with the Cards, Walls assisted the program with an emphasis on the men’s cross country team as well as distance runners on the track side.

In 2015, the coaching staff was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men’s Cross-Country Staff of the Year. Louisville also produced an All-American, three NCAA Regional track qualifiers, while also having four student-athletes named to the ACC Honor Roll.

Before serving as a volunteer assistant at Louisville, Walls returned to his roots at Butler Traditional High School. The Butler Traditional graduate returned to serve as the girls head cross country coach/boys assistant cross country coach as well as an assistant track coach.

Walls was with the Bears for over two years and produced New Balance Indoor, Outdoor, and IAAF World Youth Championship qualifiers. They also had state champions in 800m and 1600m, while seven student-athletes earned numerous All-State awards.

Walls got his start in coaching at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He was the assistant cross country and track coach from 2003-05 and also served as a student-assistant with the Governors from 2000-01.

Walls holds a USATF Level 1 certification as well as a USTFCCCA Track and Field Technical certification.

He earned his Master of Arts in Coaching and Athletic Administration in 2017 from Concordia University Irvine, while earning his Bachelor of Science in Health and Human performance from Austin Peay State in 2003.