Nick Jones enters his 12th season as the head coach of the track and field programs at Plattsburgh State in 2021-22.
During his tenure at the helm of the program, the Cardinals have had four different student-athletes combine for six All-America honors, which includes Stephanie Boucher, a three-time All-American in the 800-meter run (twice outdoor, once indoor). The Cardinals have rewritten the program record book during the course of the past decade, as 34 different records are either held or shared by a student-athlete he has coached.
Plattsburgh State has steadily improved in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) hierarchy since his arrival, as the Cardinals' women's team is now perennially a top-four team in the conference in both indoor and outdoor, while the men boasted their best conference finish since 2005-06 when they took fifth at the SUNYAC indoor championships in 2019-20.
Jones helped guide freshman Victoria Whimple to an All-America honor in the triple jump at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, as Whimple became the first Cardinal to earn All-America recognition in a field event since 1993. Sophomore Janyll Barber and senior Marissa Jones qualified individually for outdoor nationals that year in the 400-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash, respectively, while juniors Elisabeth Plympton and Taylor Canet joined Barber and Jones on Plattsburgh State's national-qualifying 4x400-meter relay.
He added two more All-Americans in the 2017-18 campaign when sophomore Elisabeth Plympton finished eighth in the 60-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships and Boucher picked up her third All-America accolade finishing eighth in the 800-meter run at outdoor nationals. Boucher was named the SUNYAC Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year for second consecutive year.
In the 2016-17 season Jones guided Boucher to two All-American honors in the 800-meter run. Boucher finished fourth at the indoor national championship and third at outdoor nationals, setting the school and SUNYAC 800-meter outdoor records in the process. She was named the SUNYAC Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Jones added another All-American to the Cardinals' ranks in 2014-15 when he guided junior Jess Huber to a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. Thanks to the teachings of Jones, Huber hauled in other impressive accolades such as All-SUNYAC First Team, SUNYAC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and no fewer than five SUNYAC Women's Track Athlete of the Week Citations. All told, Jones helped Huber become the school record holder in some five events before her collegiate career was said and done.
Through the course of 2013-14, Jones oversaw the development of Jess Huber who emerged as one of the Cardinals' best student-athletes in any sport during that particular academic year. With Jones' guidance, Huber reset no fewer than four Plattsburgh State records (indoor 60-meter dash, indoor 200-meter dash, outdoor 100-meter dash and outdoor 200-meter dash) en route to becoming one of the fastest women in all of Division III.
Huber claimed the 200-meter dash title at the SUNYAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, producing a time of 24.43 seconds to earn All-SUNYAC First Team recognition. Thanks to her 200 time - and a runner-up finish in the 100-meter dash - Huber competed in both events at the 2013-14 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Jones was instrumental in the development of standout decathlete Ben Depo as well as middle distance specialist Amanda Schermerhorn - both of whom made appearances at the 2013 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in La Crosse, Wis. Under the tutelage of Jones, Depo became the new school record holder in the indoor heptathlon at the ECAC Championships on March 2, 2013.
Schermerhorn reset no less than three Plattsburgh State records (indoor 1,000-meter run, outdoor 800-meter run and outdoor 1,500-meter run) through the course of the 2012-13 regular season before making the field in the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
During the 2011 cross country season, Jones led both the women's and men's programs to the NCAA Championships. Ryan Millar set a personal record in his first ever appearance at the national championship meet. On the women's side, Jones led the team to a seventh-place finish. Stefanie Braun led the team, earning All-America honors with a 15th-place finish. Jones coached seven runners to All-Region honors in 2011. Millar and Justin Harrington received nods on the men's side, while Braun, Julia Warren, Brittany Trahan, Kelley Driscoll and Amanda Schermerhorn received honors on the women's side. Braun was also named Regional Athlete of the Year
Jones joined the Cardinals' track and field coaching staff as an assistant in August 2010 and took over as the interim director of the cross country and track and field programs in September 2011 following the departure of former head coach John Lynch. He became the head track and field coach prior to the start of the 2011-12 campaign.
Prior to Plattsburgh State, Jones was a volunteer assistant coach at the University at Albany where he had a successful four-year athletic career with the NCAA Division I Great Danes. He helped the men’s program to the 2009 America East Conference indoor and outdoor track and field crowns, while the women’s side claimed the outdoor title. He mentored pole vault and multi-event athletes who earned three All-America citations, a pair of conference championships and two school records.
Jones graduated from UAlbany in August 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, plus a minor in psychology. He competed as a pole vaulter from 2004-08, posting a personal best of 14 feet and 9 inches that ranks seventh on the Great Danes’ all-time indoor performance list and 14-6 that lists 10th outdoors – both marks coming in 2005.
He owns a USA Track & Field (USATF) Level I Coaching Certification.
