Mississippi State University Women's Track & Field

Chris Woods was named head coach of the track and field program on June 14, 2019. In his six years as head coach, Woods has directly overseen 27 NCAA finalis...

Aniecia Brewster joined the track and field staff as the director of track and field operations.in August 2025. Prior to her time at Mississippi State, Brews...

2019 USTFCCCA South Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year The 2025 season saw plenty of success for the throws squad. Thomas’s group saw three program records fall, and five entries to the MSU All-Time top five list across the throws events both indoor and outdoor. The season was highlighted by Remi Rougetet taking the javelin title at the SEC Outdoor Championships, Thomas’ third athlete to do so. Freshman Marie Rougetet was the SEC runner-up in the hammer and holds both the program record and freshman record in the event. Tuomas Närhi and Kaylee Clark both made their SEC debuts, both advancing to the finals in the javelin. Both Närhi and the Rougetet siblings advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with Remi earning second-team All-American honors to close his collegiate career. Thomas also oversaw combined events athlete Peyton Bair to two national titles in the throws, sweeping the heptathlon and decathlon NCAA championships this season. With the addition of alumni Trent Zelden as an assistant coach, Thomas’ 2024 squad had record-breaking success in both the ring and runway. At the indoor SEC Championship, Jhordyn Stallworth and Roury McCloyen finished fifth and sixth in the shot put, and Tafada Wright made her first conference final in the weight throw. Thomas sent five athletes to the NCAA East First Round, the most since 2021, where all five qualified for the national championship. McCloyen and Stallworth were Thomas’ first shot put athletes to qualify for the NC

Carjay Lyles was promoted to associate head coach in Aug. 2024, after being hired as an assistant coach on Aug. 9, 2019, to work with State’s horizontal jumps along with the sprints and hurdles. Lyles is a collegiate track and field coach with over 20 years of NCAA Division-1 coaching experience. He has won two NCAA Runner-Up Team Trophies and has twice been recognized by his national governing body, USTFCCCA, as regional coach of the year. Known for his coaching dexterity, Coach Carjay has built champions in all the sprinting, hurdling, jumps and combined events. His pupils have gone on to become Olympic Medalists, World Championship finalists, and developed into some of the best athletes in the history of their events. During the 2025 season, Lyles coached Peyton Bair to the national title in both the indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon. During his performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Bair also set the NCAA record in the decathlon 100m and 400m, as well as running the fifth fastest 400m in a decathlon in world history. He also oversaw Nicholas Fakorede in the 60m and the men’s 4x400m to indoor first team All-American finishes at the 2025 championships. Jessicka Woods also finished fourth in the 400mh at the SEC Championships and earned second-team All-American honors at the outdoor championships in the same event. In the postseason, he oversaw Fakorede to the Nigerian bronze medal in the 100m. In 2024, Lyles coached Bair to a silver medal in the NCAA decathlon

Cha’Mia Rothwell joined the Mississippi State track and field staff on Nov. 11, 2024. Prior to her time at State, Rothwell served as an assistant coach at No...

Daniel McArthur joined the track and field staff in August 2025 as an assistant track & field coach, working with the throws events . Prior to his time at St...

Erinn Stenman-Fahey was named as an assistant coach for cross country and track at Mississippi State in the summer of 2022. Stenman-Fahey oversaw the cross c...

Jay Turner enters his first season as assistant coach, serving as State’s sprints/hurdles, jumps and combined events coach as well as Recruiting Coordinator. Turner spent the 2024 track season at Division II Tiffin University. Prior to that, Turner was part of the coaching staff at Montana State University where he served as sprints, hurdles and relays coach for the Bobcats Track & Field team from the 2019 through 2023 seasons. Under Turner's leadership, the Montana State sprints and hurdles teams saw eight individual conference champions, five Big Sky Conference relay champions, 54 All-Conference individual and relay performers, seven NCAA Preliminary Round qualifiers as well as 30 Montana State program records. Hurdler Elena Carter was named the Big Sky Women’s Co-Most Valuable Athlete at the 2022 outdoor championships and the Most Valuable Athlete at the 2023 indoor championships. Drake Schneider is the all-time Big Sky Conference record holder in the 400 meter hurdles as well as a 2021 Olympic Trials semifinalist. Turner also had his first Montana State All-American in 2022 as Schneider earned first-team honors by finishing sixth overall at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 400 meter hurdles. Prior to Montana State, Turner started as a volunteer assistant at University of Akron. His primary responsibilities included helping the sprint, hurdle and relay events and serve as the men's and women's recruiting coordinator for sprint, hurdle and jumping event

Tony Greer joined the MSU Track and Field Staff in the spring of 2024. During the 2025 season, Greer oversaw three entries to the MSU All-Time Top Five list ...