Jackson State names Ross Women’s Track and Field Coach

Camille Ross

The Mississippi Link Newswire

Camille Ross
Camille Ross

JACKSON, Miss. – The Jackson State University has named Camille Ross to lead its women’s track and field and cross country program. Her start date is set for Oct. 19.

Ross comes to Jackson State after serving as assistant coach for the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams at Mississippi College. She started there in the summer of 2011.

In 2013, Ross helped produce three ASC Champions at the Track & Field Championships in Abilene, Texas.  Demarcus Speight (100m) and Morgan Tynes (400m Hurdles) won individual championships, while the 4x100m relay team (Speight, Jared Shannon, Edward Johnson and Ben Dixon) won the title.

Ross spent the three seasons as an assistant coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.  Prior to RPI, Ross spent three years at Dartmouth College after a season at Central Michigan.

In 2011, Ross helped lead Garrett Harms earn an All-American selection as a decathlete.  Harms set personal records in seven events, two of which Ross specifically coached him in (110m Hurdles and 100m Dash).  The men’s track and field team won the New York state championship and the coaching staff was named Staff of the Year.  In her three seasons, the men’s and women’s teams both won the Liberty League outdoor championship all three years.  The men’s high hurdles team set a conference record in the high hurdles.

While at RPI, Ross helped coach athletes who won 28 Liberty League Conference titles, eight  NYSCTC titles, one All-American, and set three Liberty League and three school records.  The Engineers team titles came with the 2009 and 2010 men’s indoor teams, while the 2010 women’s indoor team also won the championship.  The men’s and women’s outdoor teams won titles in 2009, 2010, and 2011.  The 2010 Indoor men’s team and 2011 Outdoor men’s team won state championships.

Ross was part of the Staff of the Year at RPI in the Liberty League  for the 2009, 2010, and 2011 women’s indoor teams, as well as the 2010 men’s indoor team.  Camille also earned Staff of the Year honors in each of her three seasons of outdoor with the men’s and women’s teams.  The 2011 men’s outdoor season helped Ross to earn NYSCTC Staff of the Year honors.

From 2005-08, Ross was the coaching intern/assistant coach at Dartmouth College. In the 2007-08 season, Ross worked with the women’s cross country team and continued assisting with sprints and hurdles, seeing the pay off as the women’s sprint squad’s depth matched the men’s since she first started there. The women’s 4x400m relay racked up 3 All-Time list performances, with the top time shattering the school record. Athletes also added All–Time performances in the men’s and women’s 4x100m relays, 400m hurdles, 60m hurdles the 400m and the 500m.

Under Ross’ tutelage in 2006-07, records continued to fall as some athletes she coached directly moved into the all-time top five lists. During her first season at Dartmouth, Ross helped coach the sprints, jumps and throws. Her event expertise was evident as she assisted with sprint and hurdle crews who broke five school records and won three Heptagonal Championship titles.

During her time at Dartmouth, Ross assisted with meet travel and management, recruiting and other administrative responsibilities.

Ross is USA Track and Field Level 2 certified in sprints, hurdles, relays and jumps and she is a NCAA Women’s Coaches Academy and NACWAA/HERS Leadership Institute alumna. She came to the Big Green after serving a year as the graduate assistant at Central Michigan University, where she worked with the sprints, hurdles, high jump and multi-event athletes. Athletes in her event areas set five school records and won two MAC Conference titles. Six were NCAA regional qualifiers and another advanced to the NCAA Division I Championship in the 100m hurdles.

In 2002 from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Ross earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Art Design with a Coaching minor. During her four years as a Warhawk, she earned All-America honors nine times and was a 12-time WIAC champion.

For the 1999 and 2000 outdoor seasons, she was chosen the WIAC’s most valuable track performer. In 2000, she helped lead her team to a fourth place finish at the NCAA Championship. Ross ended her collegiate career owning all school and conference indoor and outdoor records at 200 meters and under. At the time it was run, her personal best in the 100m was fourth on the All-Time list for Division III.