(UJ) University of Jamestown Athletic Director Austin Hieb has announced Jarvis Jelen as the Jimmies’ new Director of Track & Field and Cross Country.

“Jarvis comes in with quality experience at different levels of college athletics,” said Hieb. “He is a South Dakota native who is happy to be back in the region. His excitement and eagerness to recruit this area and develop our track & field and cross country programs made him a great choice for the hiring committee.  We’re excited to welcome Jarvis and his family to the University of Jamestown.”

Jelen takes over at Jamestown after spending the last six seasons at Abilene Christian University as head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach. While at ACU, Jelen coached 11 conference champions, and his athletes accumulated 51All-Conference performances, 10 conference Top 5 all-time performances, and 21 current ACU Top 10 all-time performances. Additionally, eight of Jelen’s teams won USTFCCCA All-Academic team awards and 14 USTFCCCA All-Academic individual awards. 

“I’d like to thank Austin, the rest of the search committee, and President Peterson for the hospitality shown throughout the hiring process,” Jelen said. “It is clear that the UJ athletic programs are well supported and that the cross country and track & field programs are set up for growth and success. There is a lot of passion and excitement for the University from those at UJ as well as the Jamestown community, and it’s a privilege to be a partner in continued growth of the University. We look forward to honoring the excellent tradition of the cross country and track & field programs and building future successful teams by building a great culture and developing every student-athlete that comes through this program!”

Prior to coaching at Abilene Christian, Jelen was the assistant cross country/track and field coach at King University in Bristol, Tenn.

While at King, Jelen coached three all-region award winners 10 all-conference student-athletes. Two track school records were broken during his tenure and his student-athletes earned a combined eight academic honors at the conference and national level.
 
Jelen was the women’s head cross country coach at NCAA DIII Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa., for the 2014-15 season, and served as a graduate assistant coach in 2013-14 for South Dakota State. Five of his student-athletes at Cedar Crest achieved personal records in the 6K as the team earned All-Academic recognition from the USTFCCCA.
 
At South Dakota State, Jelen coached three all-conference student-athletes in the steeplechase while the men’s cross country team won the Summit League championship. The women’s team finished as the conference runner-up, and overall the distance program collected 21 all-conference awards between cross country and track and field.
 
Jelen’s additional coaching stops include two assistant coaching stints with Sioux Falls Lincoln High School in South Dakota and one season at Liberty Christian Academy.

A native of Sioux Falls, S.D., Jelen graduated from Liberty University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology; fitness specialist.