When the Lee University cross-country teams enter competition next fall, they will be under the leadership of the University’s first full-time cross-country coach. Don Jayroe has been hired to assume those duties, according to athletic director Larry Carpenter.
After serving in the North Carolina Public School System for 24 years, Jayroe retired. He has been active in the running arena since his high school days when he ran to a second-place finish in the mile in the state track and field championships. He has gone on to coach nine individual high school state champions in track and cross-country.
Jayroe also coached 12 athletes that earned scholarships to compete at NCAA Division I colleges. The newest Lee athletic staff member was the head coach of the 4-A Broughton track and cross-country teams that were one of the top programs in the state.
A member of the Cary Church of God, Jayroe said when he walked onto the Lee campus two years ago, he marveled at the growth of the university and beautiful campus. “I realized that God was doing special things at Lee, and I wanted to become a part of it. My home is on the market now, and as soon as it sells, we will be moving to Cleveland, Tenn.”
The former captain of the East Carolina University cross-country and track teams was the North Carolina State Collegiate Cross-country Champion, and was a sixth-place finisher in the NCAA Division I Regional Cross-country Championships in Williamsburg, Va. He says that he has had a desire to coach in college since graduating from East Carolina. “I feel that God’s timing has prepared me to lead Lee University teams to a respected level that will attract talented distance runners to want to come to Lee to grow spiritually, develop as a runner, and to be a good student.”
Jayroe was the president of the North Carolina Track Club, and also the North Carolina Chairmain of Long Distance Running. During the 70's Jayroe and his post-college teammates won four national championships on the road.
“We are extremely excited to have Don join our coaching staff and feel he has the expertise, time, and energy to continue our climb in cross-country,” said the Lee athletic director. “He has an extensive background in running and coaching and has a passion for seeing young people succeed. Although the position is part-time, being retired, Don will be able to devote full time to the teams. He will be helping them academically as well as athletically. If the athletes match this enthusiasm, they will certainly reach new heights.”
Jayroe attended Emmanuel College for one year before transferring to East Carolina University where he received a B.S. degree in health and physical education. He earned his M.A. degree in physical education from Appalachian State University where he also served as an assistant coach in track and cross-country. “I will be coaching in a full-time capacity year-round, being available to team members 12-months out of the year,” he stressed.
“That also means that team members will be year-round runners,” he added. “My philosophy in training requires a solid base of 12-16 weeks of high mileage, aerobic strength running, and tempo runs, repeats of 800-2000 meters, and intervals. Most of the up-tempo running will be on soft surfaces,” he added.
Said Carpenter, “I would like to thank Bruce Bayliss for his coaching leadership the past two years and understand his need to devote more attention to his full-time job. He will be assisting coach Jayroe with the teams and their combined efforts will greatly benefit Lee athletics. I view this as a major event in the history of our cross-country programs.”