HEADLINES: NCAA Stars Turn Pro, UCLA Hires Joanna Hayes as Next Director, New Coaches Join Purdue & Duke

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Written by Garrett Zatlin, additional commentary via Rachel Hickey

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Joanna Hayes Leaves USC, Joins UCLA as Director

On Monday, UCLA announced that Joanna Hayes was being hired as the Bruins' newest Director of Track & Field. Hayes, who previously coached at USC, has now gone to cross-town rival UCLA, her alma mater.

Earlier this year, it was announced that UCLA's former Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, Avery Anderson, was retiring.

After previously working with UCLA as an assistant coach in the sprints, Hayes was hired by USC in 2017 as an assistant coach. Among the multiple All-Americans that she has coached, Hayes has also played an integral role (at one point or another) in coaching and developing Olympic superstars, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Rai Benjamin.

Hayes' hire to UCLA naturally comes with questions about what this program will look like in the future. Given Hayes' sprints-focused background, it is possible that the Bruins may operate in a way similar to that of USC. That, in turn, leaves questions about whether or not the current coaching staff (either some or all) will be returning for the new academic year.

Kevin Jermyn Leaves Elon, Joins Duke as Head Distance Coach

Last week, Duke announced that they have hired Kevin Jermyn to be the team's newest head distance coach. The move comes shortly after both Duke and Coach Angela Reckart announced that she would be stepping away from the program at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic calendar.

Despite working with limited resources, Coach Kevin Jermyn found more-than-respectable success during his time at Elon. Outside of consistently thriving in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), the Phoenix women did see Maria Ahm became the team's first woman to compete at the NCAA XC Championships back in 2021.

This past fall, the Elon women had moments of brilliance, placing 13th overall as a team at the loaded Virginia Invite. With four women in the top-75 of that race, the Phoenix were suddenly viewed as a nationally competitive group. Efforts like that, unfortunately, were not sustainable throughout the rest of the season, although Elon still earned a very respectable 8th place finish at the often-deep Southeast Regional XC Championships.

Individually, Elon has begun to develop some quietly great names. This past spring, Jette Beermann ran personal best times of 4:16 (1500) and 15:42 (5k), both of which were school records. That latter mark gave Beermann the overall 5k win at the Penn Relays over a strong field. She later placed 16th in that event at the East Regional Championships.

Separately, Hannah Miller ran a steeplechase PR of 10:11. That time narrowly missed the school record of 10:10 set by Tereza Novotna set in 2015.

The impact of Kevin Jermyn can already be seen by the transfer announcements of Jette Beermann and Hattie Reynolds, two recent Elon talents. The latter name has also shown scoring promise, placing 52nd at the 2024 Virginia Invite.

The Duke women will now turn to Coach Kevin Jermyn as they aim to find ways to rebound following the departure of Amina Maatoug to Washington. While both Beermann and Reynolds will help, greater recruiting may be needed to further bolster the Blue Devils' lineup.

Of course, with greater resources now at his disposal, Jermyn will now have every opportunity to put together a nationally competitive distance squad.

It remains unclear how Jermyn will oversee the men's distance group, a strong middle distance contingent that needs further help in the longer events. Elon does not have an indoor track or an outdoor track for men, only cross country.

Purdue Director Norbert Elliott Retires, Tony Miller Promoted to Lead Role

On Thursday, Purdue announced that Director Norbert Elliott is retiring.

The Boilermakers' head coach since 2018 (and with the program since 2012), The Stride Report has learned that Elliott will now hand the keys of the program over to sprints coach, Tony Miller, who will be the team's new Director.

Following Miller's hire, the Boilermakers are already seeing changes among their current coaching staff (although not entirely). One of those changes includes the departure of Connor Mahoney-Ashberry, Purdue's now-former head distance coach who was hired last summer.

On Signs Ky Robinson, Olivia Markezich & Maia Ramsden Off of NIL Deals, Carley Thomas Officially Joins On as Pro

Last week, On announced that they have signed Stanford's Ky Robinson, Harvard's Maia Ramsden and Notre Dame's Olivia Markezich to pro contracts. All three now-former collegians previously held NIL (name, image and likeness) deals with the Swiss apparel company.

All three athletes are now making the move to On Athletics Club (OAC), an elite pro training group based in Boulder and coached by Dathan Ritzenhein.

During his time at Stanford, Ky Robinson was one of the most formidable long distance runners in the NCAA. Not only did he produce times of 3:55 (mile), 7:36 (3k), 13:06 (5k), 27:44 (10k) and 8:32 (steeple), but he also earned a collective total of 12 All-American honors, two of which were national titles from the 2023 outdoor national meet (5k and 10k).

Robinson also qualified for the 2023 World XC Championships, representing Australia en route to a 23rd-place finish.

We then come to Maia Ramsden, one of the greatest NCAA milers in recent memory. While her marks of 2:43 (1k), 8:46 (3k) and 15:29 (5k) are brilliant, it's her 4:24 (mile) PR and 4:02 (1500) PR that put her at NCAA #2 all-time in both events.

It also doesn't hurt that she was a top-10 finisher at the NCAA XC Championships last fall.

With three national titles between the mile and 1500-meter distances, as well as a collegiate record in the DMR (outdoor) after splitting 4:22 for Harvard at the 2024 Penn Relays, Ramsden will join OAC as one of the best young prospects in the world to join the pro ranks this year.

Olivia Markezich, this year’s steeplechase runner-up finisher at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, will also be closing her collegiate career with a pro contract from On. The Notre Dame standout posted a new personal best mark of 9:17.36 en route to her All-American honor earlier this month. Her time also surpassed the Olympic standard of 9:23.00 ahead of the USA Olympic Trials this upcoming week.

Markezich was the 2023 NCAA champion in the women’s 3k steeplechase, upsetting pre-race favorite Greta Karinsuskaite of CBU in the process. Markezich is an 11-time All-American across cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.

While her prowess in the steeplechase is well-known, having posted a top-three finish at the outdoor national meet over the last three years, the South Bend ace has been quietly dominant on the grass as well. A reliable low-stick for the Fighting Irish, Markezich improved her NCAA XC Championship finishes from 143rd place in 2019 to 3rd place in 2023, leading the women of Notre Dame to a 4th place podium team finish this past fall.

Carley Thomas has also turned pro with On, further extending her relationship with the brand. However, she is not currently expected to join OAC. Instead, Thomas will join a separate On pro group, OAC Oceania.

Few 800-meter runners have been as competitive as Thomas has been since they first reached the collegiate realm, at least among women. As a freshman, Thomas looked like a legitimate threat for the NCAA indoor title over 800 meters before COVID cancelled the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Shortly thereafter, Thomas broke her femur in a tubing accident that summer. Thankfully, the Aussie middle distance ace bounced back, running personal best times of 1:59 (800) and 2:37 (1k) overseas last summer. Thomas would continue to find success this past winter by running a mile PR of 4:30. However, her ongoing challenges on the national stage continued as well, this time at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Luke Houser & Teagan Schein-Becker Signs Pro Contract With Brooks, Will Join Brooks Beasts Pro Group

Earlier this week, Washington's Luke Houser announced that he was turning pro, signing a contract with Brooks. He will join the professional training group, Brooks Beasts.

As Houser now walks away from the NCAA, he leaves behind him scorched tracks and many men dissatisfied with their silver and bronze medals on the national stage. The Husky star won the mile title at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships and then defended his title this past March with another gold medal effort.

In addition to those two titles, Houser has also garnered two separate All-American honors.

With personal bests of 3:51 (mile) and 7:40 (3k), Houser will now join a shoe brand and a pro group that makes perfect sense for someone of his skillset. The Brooks Beasts are home to superstar miler Josh Kerr and Houser won't have to leave Seattle in order to kick-start his professional racing career.

We then come to Teagan Schein-Becker, a middle distance ace from Rider University who announced her pro contract signing with Brooks earlier today. The Pennsylvania native will also be joining the Brooks Beasts.

While her NCAA Championship accolades are admittedly limited, there is no denying that Schein-Becker is exceptionally talented. After having a breakout year between the spring seasons of 2023 and 2024, the now-former Bronco earned an eye-catching 1500-meter personal best of 4:08. She also placed 11th in the 1500-meter finals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships earlier this month.

However, the performance that may have truly caught the attention of Brooks was her recent 800-meter effort at the Portland Track Festival right after the outdoor national meet. On tired legs, Schein-Becker posted an outstanding time of 2:00.54, cutting over a second-and-a-half from prior 2:02 mark.

Other Headlines of Note:

• Villanova's Sean Dolan has turned pro and has joined Atlanta Track Club.

• BYU's Aubrey Frentheway has gone pro and has signed with Saucony, news that became public back in April.

• Purdue has hired Rebecca Richtman as their assistant distance coach.