— TABOR COLLEGE ATHLETICS RELEASE —
HILLSBORO, Kan. (TaborBlueJays.com) – Tabor College Director of Athletics David Ediger has announced that Jonathon Wood will be the next Head Coach of the Bluejay Men’s and Women’s Cross Country programs. Wood will also serve as an Assistant Track & Field Coach.
Wood makes his way to Hillsboro after serving as the Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at Berryville High School in Berryville, Ark. While at Berryville, Wood coached two top 10 finishers at the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) 4A State Championship Meet on the Cross Country side. On the track side, both men’s and women’s 4X800 relay teams qualified for the AAA 4A State Track Meet in both seasons Wood was at the helm of the program, with both teams finishing in the top 10 at this year’s State Championship as well.
While coaching at Berryville, Wood had a major hand in helping host the Berryville Bobcat Back 40, the school’s home cross country meet. Last year’s meet consisted of over 600 participants, ranging from the elementary school level up through the high school level. The meet also helped the school and the district raise over $1000.
In addition to his coaching duties at Berryville High School, Wood also served in the Berryville School District, instructing and designing plans for all fourth grade students in the district with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
Wood earned his bachelor’s degree in health science with minors in philosophy and environmental science in 2020 from the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark. While at UO, Wood competed on the Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field teams. In his first season as an Eagle, Wood was named Runner of the Week for the American Southwest Conference (ASC) on October 23rd, 2016, and was also named as the 2016-17 University of the Ozarks Male Cross Country MVP and finished 3rd in the men’s steeplechase at the ASC Track & Field Championship Meet in the spring of that year. Wood was also named Male Cross Country Captain for the 2017-18 season. While at the University of the Ozarks, Wood and Aaron Capehart, who was recently named the Tabor College Head Track & Field Coach, were teammates for two seasons.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Wood pursued a master’s degree at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Ark., and graduated with a master’s in special education from SAU in 2022.
“I am so blessed to have the opportunity to help these athletes grow, both spiritually and competitively”, remarked Wood. “The program really took a step forward this past season and I intend to keep us going in the right direction and I hope to match and exceed the expectations for the team this season.”
Wood also expressed his excitement about getting to reunite and work with Coach Capehart, “It’s really exciting to know the person that I am going to be working with. We were actually training partners in college, and we were really good friends in college.”
“Both of us went to a similar college to Tabor, so I think that we are somewhat familiar with the type of program that Tabor is and we both believe in that model of college, I think it is the best for students, getting to combine the two things I love the most (faith and running).”
“We are excited to have Coach Wood join the staff at Tabor College as our next head cross country and assistant track and field coach”, stated Tabor College Director of Athletics David Ediger. “His energy and excitement for cross country is evident and he is eager to get started. We welcome him to the Tabor family!”
