Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Track and Field hires Ashley Caldwell as assistant coach
09/14/2018 | 1:32:00 | Track and Field
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Rosalind Joseph announced the addition of assistant coach Ashley Caldwell. Caldwell joins assistant coaches Richard Jones, J.C. Lambert and Kevin Cataldo as part of Joseph's inaugural coaching staff.
"I'm so excited to have Coach Caldwell join our staff," Joseph said. "She's been responsible for the development of student-athletes from the youth level through the collegiate level and brings a unique skill set from her time working at USA Track & Field. She is a knowledgeable recruiter, a detailed-oriented administrator and a compassionate person. I'm excited for her future with the Salukis and our program is lucky to have her on board."
A four-time All-Big Ten sprinter and an All-American as part of OSU's 4x400 relay team, Caldwell comes to Carbondale after she spent the last four years with USA Track and Field. The Indianapolis, Ind. native served as USA Track and Field's Youth Programs Coordinator for three years before she was promoted to Youth Programs Manager in January of 2018. In her role with USA Track and Field, Caldwell gained valuable experience in event coordination and served as staff liaison for all USATF Youth Championships.
Caldwell will assist Jones with coaching Southern's sprinters and hurdlers and will also have director of operations responsibilities. Joseph has just about completed her inaugural coaching staff with an additional assistant to be hired at a later date.
With under two months to prepare for the 2018 cross country season when she was hired, Joseph wanted to act quickly in regards to her staff but also knew she needed to become more familiar with her new program. She began to evaluate the in's and out's of the Saluki track and field and cross country programs, meeting with student-athletes to see what type of coaches they best respond to as well as meeting with the incumbent Saluki coaching staff.
She brought Olympian Richard Jones, who will coach the Saluki sprinters/hurdles, along with her from Ohio State and retained throws coach J.C. Lambert. Another of the pillars for her inaugural staff was to retain distance/cross country coach Kevin Cataldo.
"Kevin and JC are both very passionate about Southern Illinois University," Joseph said. "In speaking with them and with student-athletes in the program, they really embodied the vision I had for the program and both were enthusiastic about working with the student-athletes here. On top of that, they are knowledgeable coaches with exceptional mentors in this business who will continue to add to the rich history of Saluki track and field."
Lambert, a five-time All-American thrower at Southern, enters his fourth season as the Salukis' throws coach while Cataldo begins his third season as the distance/cross country coach. The Saluki cross country program successfully hosted a home meet for the first time since 2014. Not only was the meet a success from the standpoint of performance, which included Josh Maier winning by more than 15 seconds in his first, and likely, last race on his home course, but it was a tremendous accomplishment for a coaching staff that has only been in place in its current form since July.
"The Saluki Invite was great," Joseph said. "Coach Cataldo did a great job of putting the meet together and I'm appreciative to the teams that came to this meet after it's hiatus. It was an awesome welcome to my tenure here. To have the athletic department come out and support our student-athletes was encouraging. And many thanks to our facilities staff who did an outstanding job in getting the course ready for the meet."
The Saluki cross country program races next at the Commodore Classic, hosted by Vanderbilt, on Saturday, Sept. 15.
"I'm so excited to have Coach Caldwell join our staff," Joseph said. "She's been responsible for the development of student-athletes from the youth level through the collegiate level and brings a unique skill set from her time working at USA Track & Field. She is a knowledgeable recruiter, a detailed-oriented administrator and a compassionate person. I'm excited for her future with the Salukis and our program is lucky to have her on board."
A four-time All-Big Ten sprinter and an All-American as part of OSU's 4x400 relay team, Caldwell comes to Carbondale after she spent the last four years with USA Track and Field. The Indianapolis, Ind. native served as USA Track and Field's Youth Programs Coordinator for three years before she was promoted to Youth Programs Manager in January of 2018. In her role with USA Track and Field, Caldwell gained valuable experience in event coordination and served as staff liaison for all USATF Youth Championships.
Caldwell will assist Jones with coaching Southern's sprinters and hurdlers and will also have director of operations responsibilities. Joseph has just about completed her inaugural coaching staff with an additional assistant to be hired at a later date.
With under two months to prepare for the 2018 cross country season when she was hired, Joseph wanted to act quickly in regards to her staff but also knew she needed to become more familiar with her new program. She began to evaluate the in's and out's of the Saluki track and field and cross country programs, meeting with student-athletes to see what type of coaches they best respond to as well as meeting with the incumbent Saluki coaching staff.
She brought Olympian Richard Jones, who will coach the Saluki sprinters/hurdles, along with her from Ohio State and retained throws coach J.C. Lambert. Another of the pillars for her inaugural staff was to retain distance/cross country coach Kevin Cataldo.
"Kevin and JC are both very passionate about Southern Illinois University," Joseph said. "In speaking with them and with student-athletes in the program, they really embodied the vision I had for the program and both were enthusiastic about working with the student-athletes here. On top of that, they are knowledgeable coaches with exceptional mentors in this business who will continue to add to the rich history of Saluki track and field."
Lambert, a five-time All-American thrower at Southern, enters his fourth season as the Salukis' throws coach while Cataldo begins his third season as the distance/cross country coach. The Saluki cross country program successfully hosted a home meet for the first time since 2014. Not only was the meet a success from the standpoint of performance, which included Josh Maier winning by more than 15 seconds in his first, and likely, last race on his home course, but it was a tremendous accomplishment for a coaching staff that has only been in place in its current form since July.
"The Saluki Invite was great," Joseph said. "Coach Cataldo did a great job of putting the meet together and I'm appreciative to the teams that came to this meet after it's hiatus. It was an awesome welcome to my tenure here. To have the athletic department come out and support our student-athletes was encouraging. And many thanks to our facilities staff who did an outstanding job in getting the course ready for the meet."
The Saluki cross country program races next at the Commodore Classic, hosted by Vanderbilt, on Saturday, Sept. 15.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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