Kelsey Riggins - Women's Cross Country Coach - Murray State University Athletics

Kelsey Riggins

Title:
Assistant Track & Field/Cross Country Coach
Email:
kriggins1@murraystate.edu
Phone:
(270) 809-6941

At Murray State

The 2024-25 season marks Kelsey Riggins' ninth season with the Murray State Cross Country and Track & Field teams. She works primarily with the Vertical and Horizontal Jumpers and Combined Event Athletes at Murray State.
Riggins, alongside her athletes, have rewritten the history books for MSU Jumps and Combined Events. Coaching athletes to school records in the Pole Vault (Indoor & Outdoor), High Jump (Indoor & Outdoor), Long Jump (Indoor & Outdoor) and Pentathlon. With multiple top ten performers in Pole Vault, Triple Jump, Long Jump, High Jump, Pentathlon and Heptathlon. As well both 60m H and 100m H.
The 2024 Outdoor Track & Field season was capped off with Meghan Fletcher’s school record performance (1.84m – 6’0) at the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries, advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, finishing with Honorable Mention NCAA All-American honors. For the first time in school history, two Racer High Jumpers advanced to the NCAA East Regional, Freshman, Asia Taylor, alongside Meghan Fletcher. Asia jumping the 3^rd highest bar in school history (1.76m). Jenna Pauly was named an USTFCCCA Academic All-American (Heptathlon).
Racer Jumps & Combined Events scored in all jumping and combined events at the 2024 Outdoor MVC Track & Field Championships. Jenna Pauly was the MVC Heptathlon Champion for the second year in a row, and placed 3^rd in the Long Jump and 7^th in the 100m Hurdles. The trio of Asia Taylor (2^nd), Meghan Fletcher (4^th) and Brooke Probst (5^th) all placed in the top 8 in the High Jump. Freshman, Tayla Tootle finished 6^th in the Pole Vault. Alyssa Williams (3^rd) and Jazmyn Owens (7^th) placed in the Triple Jump as well.
Riggins was named 2024 Indoor Track & Field Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year for her athletes performances at the Indoor MVC Championships. Her athletes won the Long Jump (Jenna Pauly), High Jump (Meghan Fletcher, Brooke Probst finishing Runner-Up), with podium finishes in the Pentathlon (Meghan Fletcher). As well as Kylie Gormann (Triple Jump), Alyssa Williams (Triple Jump), Jenna Pauly (60m H and Pentathlon), Andrea Segovia (Pentathlon and Long Jump) scoring points for the Racers as well.
Jenna Pauly broke the Pentathlon School Record with a score of 3800 points during the Indoor 2024 campaign.
Entering the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2022-23 school year, Riggins’ athletes won Individual MVC titles in the Pole Vault (Brooke Misukonis, Indoor & Outdoor, School Record Holder), High Jump (Meghan Fletcher, Indoor & Outdoor), Long Jump (Rachel Hagans, Indoor), Pentathlon (Meghan Fletcher), Heptathlon (Jenna Pauly).
Meghan Fletcher advanced to the NCAA National Championships (High Jump), earning Honorable Mention All-American Honors, Jenna Pauly was named a USTFCCCA Academic All-American (Heptathlon)
Riggins was named the 2022-23 Indoor and Outdoor Women’s Assistant Track & Field Coach of the Year of the Missouri Valley Conference
In 6 seasons with the Racers during their time in the Ohio Valley Conference, Riggins coached her athletes to 8 OVC individual championships, 33 OVC podium finishes, three school records, and over 40 Top 10 All-Time MSU Performances. A member of the XCTF staff for the 2019 Outdoor, 2022 Indoor and 2022 Outdoor Ohio Valley Conference Team Championships.
Riggins coached Rachel Hagans, who broke a 31-year old school record in the Long Jump, establishing a new school record of 6.59m (21’7) in the 2022 Outdoor Track Season.
Coached Rachel Hagans to long jump wins at both the 2022 OVC Indoor and Outdoor Championships (setting an OVC Meet Record – 6.44m). Hagans was named a NCAA 2^nd Team All-American in the Long Jump, finishing 12^th at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Hagans went on to compete at the USA Championships in June of 2022, finishing 10^th, the highest finish by any Racer in the Long Jump in school history.
Riggins coached Jenna Pauly to individual titles in the High Jump and the Pentathlon at the 2022 OVC Indoor Championships and in the Heptathlon at the 2022 OVC Outdoor Championship. Pauly also finished 4^th in the Pole Vault at Indoor Championships, 3^rd in the Pole Vault and 8^thin the Long Jump at Outdoor Championships
Jenna Pauly was named a 2021-22 USTFCCCA Academic All-American
Riggins’ Pole Vault group has continued to shine with Brooke Misukonis finishing OVC Outdoor Runner-Up. Jenna Pauly finishing 3^rd, and Shannon Riley finishing 4^th.
Anna Vollet (3^rdHeptathlon, 3^rd Long Jump), Meghan Fletcher (3^rd Pentathlon, All-Time Performances in HJ, Both Multi Events), Eleri Gesler (5^th Triple Jump), Jordan Marshall (7^th Triple Jump) all contributed to the 2022 Outdoor OVC Championship for the Racers under Riggins tutelage.
During the shortened 2020-21 season, Riggins coached Rachel Hagans Runner-Up finish in the Long Jump, Meghan Fletcher to a Runner-Up finish in High Jump at the OVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships
In the 2019-20 season, Riggins coached Brooke Misukonis to a second place finish in pole vault at OVC Indoor Championships and a new school record with a height of 3.89m.
Coached Ashlyn Oren, the first OVC Champion in High Jump in 30 years at Murray State
Also coached Rachel Hagans to a third place in long jump and Jenna Pauly to a sixth place in pole vault at the OVC Indoor Championships.
In the 2018-19 season, she coached Aubrey Main to the OVC heptathlon title, the first in school history. Jessikha Ribeiro and Ashlyn Oren to second and third-place finishes in the OVC heptathlon competition, this was a first in OVC history.
Main was named a 2018-19 USTFCCCA Academic All-American.
Coached Brooke Misukonis and Emily Heil as they were named co-OVC champions in the outdoor pole vault, the first OVC Pole Vault Champions in Murray State History..
Under her tutelage, Ashlyn Oren was named the 2018-19 OVC Indoor Freshman of the Year. Oren finished fourth in the high jump, eighth in the long jump, and fifth in the pentathlon at the OVC Indoor Championships.
Main finished second in the pentathlon and third in the high jump while Ribeiro finished fourth in the pentathlon at OVC Indoors. Misukonis finished third in the Pole Vault at OVC Indoors.
In the 2017-18 season, she coached Aubrey Main to a third place finish in the Pentathlon and fourth place showing in the High Jump. In the outdoor season, the Racers' jumps/multi group finished third in the Heptathlon, fifth in the High Jump and third in the Pole Vault at the OVC Championship Meet..
In the 2016-17 season, she coached athletes to a third place finish in the Pentathlon, and fifth and seventh place in the pole vault at the 2017 Indoor OVC Championships, and sixth and eighth place in the pole vault at the 2017 Outdoor OVC Championships.

Before MSU

Prior to joining MSU, she was the Men's & Women's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Waldorf University (IA).
She worked with the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs, primarily coaching sprints, jumps, hurdles and multi events.
During the 2016 outdoor season, Riggins coached the NSAA Conference Champion and Conference Record holder in the women's Triple Jump, Runner Up in the Women's Long Jump and Runner Up in the men's Triple Jump.
Her athletes broke a combined 24 indoor/outdoor school records during the 2015-16 seasons.
She coached three NAIA National Meet qualifiers in the Men’s Decathlon at Waldorf and a women's triple jump champion.
Sixteen of her track student-athletes were NSAA Scholar-Athletes, while five were named NAIA All American Scholar-Athletes. The men’s cross country, men’s track and field and women’s track and field teams named NAIA All American Scholar Teams.
During the 2014-15 season, Waldorf was part of the MCAC. Riggins coached the conference champion in the men's 110m hurdles, men's 400m hurdles and women's 400m hurdles as well as the conference runner up in the women's 100m dash, women's 400m hurdles, women's long jump and men's 5K.
She was the men’s and women’s track and field vice-chair/secretary for the NSAA.
Starting her coaching career in 2008 at Park Center Senior High School in Brooklyn Park, Minn., Riggins coached student-athletes in the pole vault, sprints and other jumping events. Coaching all
state performers in the Girl’s sprints, and Boy’s sprints & jumps. She also served as gymnastics
coach from 2009-14.
During the Summer Months, Riggins developed a Summer Training group for area Gymnasts,
based out of Park Center High School.
Each summer since 2013, Riggins has been the event leader for the Pole Vault at the University
of Minnesota Track Camp.

Competition Career

Riggins was a member of the Women’s Track Team at the University of Minnesota.
Riggins was a member of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Big Ten Conference Championship Teams and competed in the Pole Vault.

Personal

Founded the WEE (Women’s Empowerment and Education) Program for Murray State Athletics in 2019. A program dedicated to the empowerment of all female student-athletes at Murray State University.
Member of USTFCCCA Female Coaching Mentorship Program Committee since 2020. Working to promote women in XCTF coaching nationally at all levels (club through professional)
USA Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Jumps Specialist and Combined Events and Multi Event Specialist.
Earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in strategic communication and a minor in history from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2009.
Earned a Masters in Organizational Communication from Murray State University in 2020
Riggins and her husband, Adam Kiesler, reside in Murray, KY with their two daughters, Albany and Stevie Kiesler.