ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University Director of Athletics Dr. Dennis Francois is pleased to introduce Pacific Northwest native Jonathan Hill as the Wildcats new Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach.
 
"We are extremely excited to have Jonathan take over the reins of our cross country and track and field programs," said Francois. "He brings a wealth of experience from prestigious academic institutions and athletic programs to Central, as well as strong roots in the Pacific Northwest. His enthusiasm and passion for track and field are infectious, and we are excited to have him join the Wildcat family."
 
"I'm honored to be named the new cross country and track and field head coach at Central Washington University," Hill said. "This institution has a strong legacy of academic and athletic excellence that I'm committed to continuing. The current athletic senior staff is clearly pushing this department into the future. While on campus, I saw some of the best research and training facilities for our sport anywhere in the country. I believe in the mission of CWU Athletics and am happy to join a team of head coaches that are working together to achieve department and university goals. Most importantly, I can't wait to start working with young people to assist them in fulfilling their dreams. I'm honored to be their coach and take this responsibility seriously. It's a great group and as I'm meeting them, it continues to reinforce why we do the job."
 
Hill comes to Ellensburg after just wrapping up his fifth season with NCAA Division I member Rice University in Houston, Texas as the Lead Assistant, Recruiting Coordinator, Compliance Liaison, and Home Meet Director with their women's track and field team. He helped guide the team to the 2020 Indoor and 2023 Outdoor Conference USA team championship. Under his guidance the Owls finished in the top 60 at the NCAA Division I National Championships four different times with the best finish coming in the 2021 Outdoor Championships where Rice finished 21^st.
 
Hill was a USTFCCCA South Central Regional Division I Assistant Coach of the Year finalist and a member of the Assistant Coach Development Program. He also oversaw five All-Americans and one Academic All-American as well as 16 C-USA Champions, 44 All-C-USA award winners, and one C-USA Scholar-Athlete of the year. Two of Hills former athletes currently hold national records in their respective home countries: Josie Taylor (New Zealand, Women's Indoor High Jump, T-1.86m) and Natan Rivera (El Salvador, Men's Pole Vault, 5.32m), as well as an Olympic Finalist in Morgann Leleux for Team USA at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
 
Prior to his time at Rice, Hill was the Assistant Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York for six years. While in West Point Hill worked with the Jumps, pole vault, sprints, hurdles, combined events, as well as strength and conditioning. He served as the teams' Travel Coordinator, Budget Manager, Home Meet Director, Camp Coordinator, and the On-Campus Recruiting Coordinator.
 
During his time with the U.S. Military Academy, the team saw some of its most success as the team saw its highest finish in 22 years as well as seeing 10 different event school records broken. The Black Knights saw 12 NCAA first round qualifiers, 38 Conference Champions, 111 All-Conference Award Winners, and three Conference Championship records. The team also saw a CoSIDA National Scholar-Athlete of the Year, two CoSIDA first team All-Americans, four Patriot League Scholar-Athlete's of the Year, six Patriot League Academic All-Conference selections, two Brigade Academic Officers, and one Brigade Commander.
 
Hill broke into the collegiate ranks at Eastern Washington University in 2008 as an Assistant Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach. At EWU he coached the jumps, combined events, strength and conditioning, and was the team equipment manager. He helped oversee nine NCAA first round qualifiers, eight Big Sky Champions, and 24 All-Big Sky award winners. During his time the Eagles also saw their highest conference finishes in program history.
 
Hill started out his coaching career at La Salle Catholic Prep in Milwaukie, Oregon when he became the head track and field coach, assistant football coach, and the physical education instructor in 2007. He helped direct all aspects of the track program while managing nine assistant coaches and the budget. Both the boy's and girl's track and field teams had their highest finish in history while also seeing both teams finish top-15 academically with three state champions, 17 All-State awards, and 50 All-Conference awards. In his one year at La Salle Catholic Prep, the track and field team saw a team size growth of 20 percent.
 
"A position like this is something your whole family has to jump into, so I'd like to start by thanking my wife Shene, and my whole family for allowing this to be possible. Secondly, I wouldn't be prepared for this opportunity without great mentors, I want to thank Kebba Tolbert for getting me started in this sport and introducing me to the world of high performance, Stan Kerr and Marcia Mecklenburg for giving me my start in coaching, Troy Engle for taking me out of my comfort zone and trusting me to do new things, Brian Bancroft for his organizational brilliance and perspective, Mike Smith for showing me how to build a program and the power of consistent efforts over time, and most recently, Jim Bevan of Rice University for reminding us to always take care of the whole person and make it fun. I cherish my time under each of these individuals' leadership and thank them for forming me into the leader I am today."
 
Hill is a 2007 graduate from Portland State University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Public Health with a minor in Business Administration.
 
"Finally, I'd like to thank Dr. Dennis Francois, Laura Dahlby Nicolai, Andrew Petko, and the entire selection committee. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and warmth in welcoming us in was first class and it's clear they've built an outstanding environment for student-athlete success at CWU."
 
Hill will officially begin his duties on August 1.