JONESBORO, Ark. (7/26/23) – Arkansas State Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Dr. Jim Patchell announced Wednesday the hiring of Odaine Lewis as assistant coach.

Lewis will coach A-State’s horizontal jumps event group, tutoring the Red Wolves’ long and triple jumpers. The former All-American comes to Jonesboro after spending the 2023 season as an assistant coach at Harding University, helping the men’s team win an outdoor conference team title.

“We are certainly excited to have Coach Lewis join our staff,” Patchell said. “Odaine was a great athlete at Texas tech and has done an outstanding job coaching and developing athletes at Harding. More importantly, Coach Lewis is a man of high character and we look forward to working together.”

Prior to his stint in Searcy, Lewis was a volunteer assistant at his alma mater, Texas Tech, from 2019-22. During Lewis’ stint as a volunteer in Lubbock, the Red Raiders had 16 All-Americans and seven Big 12 Conference champions.

“It is truly an honor and a blessing to be given this opportunity to be a part of the Red Wolves pack,” Lewis said. “A few years ago I competed as a Division-I athlete, so being given the chance to coach alongside some of the best coaches in the country makes me ecstatic. The hard work that went into making this possible will be a testament to all the amazing things we will accomplish together. I am grateful to Coach Patchell for offering me the chance to join the Arkansas State University track and field program. I am excited to see what we can achieve as we develop and impact student-athletes’ lives on and off the track.”

The Montego Bay, Jamaica, native was a first-team All-American outdoors in both the long and triple jumps in 2018 and indoors in both events in 2019. He claimed the 2018 Big 12 title outdoors in the long jump and triple jump. In 2019, he earned NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year honors en route to helping the Red Raiders to their first outdoor team title in school history.

From 2016-17, Lewis was a two-time NJCAA indoor triple jump national champion at Iowa Central Community College. He was a six-time All-American and NJCAA Academic All-American.

Lewis graduated from Texas Tech in May 2020 with a bachelor of science in human sciences.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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