Elite Triple Jumper with Eye on Olympics Named New Track Coach at Moses Brown

An elite athlete training for the U.S. Olympics in the triple jump has another job: caching the Moses Brown School Quakers’ track program.

The school announced that Ronald Woodley has been named the new head coach and said he will be a “tremendous addition” to the school’s track program.

Woodley, who is training for Olympic trials next summer, was a standout athlete at the University of Rhode Island, becoming a NCAA national qualifier, three-time Atlantic 10 Conference Champion and two-time New England champion specializing in the triple jump.

In his senior year during which he served as team captain, URI awarded him the Albert LeBoefu Award, given to the the most-outstanding student-athlete for being a role model through his career.

A kinesiology major at URI, he got his degree in 2013 and came to Moses Brown soon after, most recently serving as assistant coach. In a short amount of time, he has coached four high school record holders in both individual and relay events. He has also coached at Hope High School and interned with the Providence Cobras Track Club.

Woodley takes over for previous head coach Peter Vigue, who is retiring. Coach Vigue led the program to five consecutive SENE and Doc Odell championships during his tenure, assisted by Woodley. Moses Brown School has a long history of track success in Rhode Island with longtime faculty member and track coach King “Doc” Odell inducted into the R.I. Track & Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame just this year.

The Quakers open their 2015-2016 track season on November 30 at the Providence Career and Technical Academy, competing against La Salle Academy and Central High School.