TEMPE - Dion Miller, Director of Cross Country and Track & Field, has promoted Ryan Ray to head coach of the cross country and distance programs at Arizona State. Ray led the Sun Devils' cross country teams throughout the 2022 season and oversaw Vincent Mauri's run up to the NCAA Championships.
 
Ray replaces Ryun Godfrey who resigned from the program due to personal reasons in early fall. This is the third position at ASU for Ray in as many years. He joined ASU as a volunteer coach for the 2020-21 season before accepting an assistant coaching role for the Arizona Wildcats for the 2021-22 season. Ray was then brought back as an assistant coach in summer 2022 and took over distance duties following Godfrey's resignation. In his first semester back, he led Mauri to All-Pac-12 and All-Region honors.
 
"I'm excited to elevate Ryan and remove the interim tag," Miller said. "Ryan's been the ultimate professional and continues to exceed expectations, and we're lucky to have him. He's been a positive face around our program ever since he was a volunteer, is an unbelievably hard worker, and I know our student-athletes appreciate everything he does for them. I'm proud of the work he did to help Vinny reach the National Championships a few weeks ago, and we're excited for the future."
 
"I'm humbled and excited for this opportunity," Ray said. "The Arizona State track and field program has a rich history of national titles and world-class coaches, athletes and alumni. This opportunity is a dream come true. I would like to thank head coach Dion Miller and associate director Marcus Williams for their belief and trust in me, and for providing me with this amazing opportunity. Lastly, I would like to thank my team - it was an honor to coach you this fall. I'm excited about what we are building, I believe in you, and I can't wait to see what we do together! O2V!"
 
The 2022 Arizona State cross country season was highlighted by a strong season-long performance by Vincent Mauri. Mauri blew out the competition in both regular-season races and finished on the podium at the Pac-12 Championships. He won the Dave Murray Invite with a 37-second lead (23:20.4) and won the UCR Invitational in 23:25.7 to finish 20 seconds ahead of the pack. His 22:59.0 at the conference finals was a personal record and earned him second-team All-Conference honors, and he went on to take 11th at NCAA Regionals in 28:42.1, earning All-Region honors. Mauri was then the first Sun Devil to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2014 when Ryan Herson and program legend Shelby Houlihan both ran. Mauri ultimately finished 87th.
 
While with the University of Arizona's cross country and track program, Ray coached Grace Driskill to a school record in the 3000m steeplechase and a qualifying bid to the first round of the NCAA championships, leading to a nod on the All-Pac-12 Conference first team. He also successfully recruited one of the best classes in the nation, signing several student-athletes ranked in the national top-10, top-20 and top-50. These signees included Arizona and Washington state champions, along with the California CIF champions in the 800m, 1600m, 3200m and in cross country.
 
In his first stint with ASU XCTF in December 2020, Ray helped Lena Lebrun qualify for the first round of the NCAA Championships in the 3000m steeplechase. He also helped Mauri, then a freshman, to the All-Pac-12 first team after becoming a national qualifier in the 1500m. Also acting as the recruitment coordinator for the program, Ray successfully recruited Dayton Carlson who came to campus for the 2021-22 season and capped off year one by breaking the Sun Devils' outdoor 800m program record en route to All-America honors (sixth place finish).
 
Prior to ASU, Ray coached at Boise State for one year where he was a volunteer assistant for the Broncos. He was a part of a successful coaching staff that coached several athletes to All-Mountain West Conference, All-West Region, and All-America honors. Their men's and women's programs also both claimed national titles. Ray worked with 2020 Mountain West indoor mile and 5K champions Ahmed Muhumed and Yukino Parle, respectively. Ray also acted as the assistant meet manager for BSU's indoor track and field meets and was the lead recruiter, his efforts leading to the Broncos landing several top recruits from the 2021 class.
 
Ray is the son of former USA middle-distance national coach and UC Riverside director of cross country and track & field Irv Ray. His father coached several national championship teams, All-Americans, and Olympians during his 30-year career. Ryan Ray earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois.