John Smith

Hometown: Portage, Ind. Last College: Ohio State Event: Throws

Experience: 8th Season Alma Mater: Southern Illinois

Email Coach John Smith

Last updated on Dec. 15, 2011

John Smith is heading into his eighth season as the Salukis' throws coach.

Smith garnered the honor of being named the 2011 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year. The 2010-2011 season also had continued success for Saluki throwers. J.C. Lambert was named an NCAA All-American placing fourth in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships as well as a NCAA National Qualifier in the weight throw and hammer throw. Lambert also set a school record in the weight throw under Smith's instruction.

Jake Dieters earned second team All-American honors as well as being an NCAA National Qualifier placing 11th in the discus throw.On the women's side Jeneva McCall earned four First-Team All-America honors, two during outdoor season and two during indoor season. She was the national runner up in the hammer and weight throw at the NCAA Championships as well as being named the MVC's Most Outstanding Field Athlete.

Gwen Berry also had a successful senior season. She earned Second-Team All-America honors in the shot put by finishing 12th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as well as qualifying for the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw, finishing in sixth place. Berry was also only one of five American 70m throwers.

Smith group of throwers turned in an impressive 2009-10 campaign, combining for a total of 13 NCAA All-American honors between six athletes. Meanwhile, Jeneva McCall captured the NCAA national title in the discus and four Saluki women - McCall, Gwen Berry, Olga Ciura, and Sasha Leeth each took top eight spots in the hammer throw.

During the indoor season, seven Salukis garnered all-MVC honors, including weight throw and shot put conference champions J.C. Lambert and McCall. In the 2010 outdoor season, McCall, Lambert, Jake Deiters, and Joe Paradiso combined to sweep the discus, shot put, and hammer throw at the MVC Outdoor Championships. In addition, a combined 12 throwers advanced to the 2010 NCAA Regionals.

In his first three years at SIU, Smith coached the throwers to 16 Missouri Valley Conference titles and six Mideast Regional crowns between indoor and outdoor competition.

Under Smith's guidance, Saluki standout Brittany Riley was a two-time NCAA National Champion and 2007 USA National Champion in the weight throw. Riley also earned NCAA Indoor National Athlete of the Year honors in 2007.

Throwers Amarachi Ukabam, and Mark Milleville were also under Smith's tutelage. Along with Riley, Ukabam and Milleville were Mideast Regional titlists in 2006, with Ukabam and Riley holding the meet records in the shot put, discus and hammer. Ukabam was also named the Mideast Regional Athlete of the Year.

In his coaching debut at SIU, three of Smith's throwers qualified for the NCAAs, and he was named USTCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year. Smith also had 12 NCAA Mideast Regional qualifiers and one USTAF Junior National Champion under his tutelage during that time.

On the national stage, Smith has coached 12 NCAA All-Americans since arriving at SIU six years ago. Smith and his throwers finished 17th at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships, the Salukis' highest finish in school history.

Internationally under Smith's direction, Riley became the USA National Junior Champion in the hammer in 2005 and was the silver medalist at the Junior Pan American Games in Canada that summer. Riley, along with Ukabam, made the North American Under-23 United States Team and won gold medals in the shot put, discus and hammer at the championships in the Dominican Republic.

A native of Portage, Ind., Smith joined the Saluki staff after coaching 19 Big Ten Champions, 19 All-Americans, 12 national qualifiers (24 total events), four regional champions and two NCAA Champions in five years as throws coach at Ohio State University.

Smith's 2004 OSU squad achieved perhaps the finest campaign in his five-year stint. He guided the Buckeyes to five Big Ten crowns and a pair of NCAA Championships. He also had nine All-Americans and three Olympic Trials finalists on that team.

Although Smith has coached a slew of magnificent throwers, three that stood out in his tenure at OSU were Dan Taylor, Keturah Lofton and Amarachi Ukabam.

Taylor, a nine-time All-American, two-time Big Ten Indoor/Outdoor Male Athlete of the Year, Ohio State Athlete of the Year and Region V Athlete of the Year, established OSU and Big Ten records in the indoor weight throw. He also set OSU standards in the hammer and discus during the outdoor segment. Most notably, Taylor became the first thrower in NCAA history to win both the indoor shot put and weight titles at an NCAA Championship.

Smith also helped establish one of the finest freshman campaigns by an OSU student-athlete, as he mentored Ukabam to Big Ten and NCAA Mideast Regional titles in the discus. A native of Missouri, Ukabam followed Smith to SIU, where she was a four-time NCAA All-American and broke four all-time MVC records in her first season as a Saluki in 2005.

Prior to joining the Ohio State staff, Smith coached his wife, Connie Price-Smith, a four-time Olympian, to 25 U.S. national titles in the shot put and discus combined. Price-Smith captured the world indoor silver medal in the shot put in 1995 and placed fifth in the shot put at the 1996 Olympic Games, the highest finish for a U.S. female shot putter since 1960. She went on to claim the gold medal at the Pan-American Games in 1999.

Before hitting the collegiate coaching scene, Smith was involved with personal high school coaching in the shot put and discus since 1980. He trained 20 Indiana state champions and five Track & Field News High School All-Americans. Two of his student-athletes were national champions and five were named to the U.S. Junior National Team.

Smith was a track and field coach and the strength/conditioning coach at SIU from 1984-86. During those years, he coached four NCAA All-Americans and nine Missouri Valley Conference champions.

After graduating from Southern in 1984, Smith was a member of two Olympic Festival teams and a part of the USA vs. Great Britain national team. He participated in five national championships, with his highest finish being seventh in the shot put.

Smith was an All-American in the shot put and a winner of eight MVC titles in the shot put, discus and hammer at SIU. He still holds both the school's indoor and outdoor, and MVC shot put records today. Smith was named to the MVC's All-Centennial Team.