Rhonda Riley - Assistant Coach - Track & Field Coaches

Rhonda Riley

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
rhonda.riley@duke.edu
Phone:
(919) 681-6890

Rhonda Riley completed her fifth year as the head coach of the women’s cross country team and was promoted to oversee both the women's and men's cross country teams as interim head coach in July of 2020. She has also served as the assistant track & field coach since June of 2016, where her primarily responsibilities include coaching Duke’s middle and long distance runners.

2020-21 marked a strong season for Duke cross country, with both the men's and women's teams reaching the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2012. Men's cross country delivered a particularly strong result, finishing 16th, for the best finish by the Duke men since 2001. It culminated a big season for the program as a whole, with three runners; seniors Michaela Reinhart and CJ Ambrosio as well as sophomore Samantha Schadler took home All-ACC honors at the ACC Championships

Senior Alex Miley led all Duke individuals in the NCAA Championships with a 68th place finish, but his biggest success under Riley came in the 3000m steeplechase later in the track & field season. Miley broke a 49-year old school record in the event, en route to an ACC Silver Medal. It wasn't the only silver medal for a Riley coached runner as senior Sara Platek took home the same honor in the 5000m during the indoor season. Riley's runners contributed to the Blue Devil women capturing the first ACC Outdoor Championship in program history.

Riley helped a number of middle distance runners to successful results during the 2020 indoor track & field season. Notably, junior Michaela Reinhart garnered First Team All-ACC honors, recording a personal-best time of 9:13.13 in the women’s 3,000m to earn a silver medal at the ACC Indoor Championships. Reinhart also had impressive showings in the mile throughout the indoor season, placing first at the Carolina Challenge and Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge while clocking a PR mark of 4:43.77 at the Camel City Invitational. Riley additionally worked with the women’s distance medley relay team that posted a converted time of 11:06.57 at the JDL DMR Invitational in Winton-Salem, N.C., which stood as the 16th-fastest mark in the nation at the end of the season and ranks third all-time at Duke.

In the 2019 cross-country season, a pair of Blue Devil women earned All-Southeast Region honors for the second consecutive season under Riley, as Reinhart and Sara Platek finished 11th and 18th, respectively, at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. The Duke women placed ninth overall at the ACC Championships with 202 total points before finishing fifth at the Regional Championships with 154 points. The Blue Devils also placed second out of eight schools at the Virginia Tech Invitational on September 20. Riley and the women’s cross country team concluded the 2019 season with three top-five finishes in six total races.

The 2019 outdoor track & field season yielded many accomplishments for middle distance runners, highlighted by Liz Lansing and Kim Hallowes, who both qualified for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round in the women’s 1,500m. Hallowes earned Second Team All-ACC honors at the league championships, as her personal-best time of 4:20.79 in the preliminary heat paved way for a fifth-place finish in the final, where she recorded a time of 4:21.22. Reinhart and Platek also boasted strong results that spring, placing third and fourth, respectively, in the 5,000m at the Duke Invitational en route to East Regional appearances. During the 2019 indoor season, Reinhart finished eighth in the 3,000m at the ACC Championships with a seasonal-best time of 9:29.29, after taking first at the Hokie Invitational and second at the Camel City Invitational.

In the fall of 2018, Riley oversaw a women’s cross-country squad that culminated its season with Reinhart and Gabrielle Richichi becoming the first Blue Devils since 2013 to earn All-Southeast Region honors. Duke placed sixth overall at the ACC Championships with 179 total points and followed up with a third-place showing at the Southeast Regional Championships, marking the team’s best finish at Regionals since 2012.

During 2018 the track & field season, Riley helped Amanda Beach qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary in the 10,000m. She turned in the top three times by a Blue Devil in the 10,000m as well as the fastest Duke time in the 5,000m. At the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championship, Beach picked up second team All-ACC honors by placing sixth in the 10,000m with a time of 35:13.90.

Riley managed a Blue Devils women’s cross-country team that was led by a pair of freshmen in 2017, as both Beach and Reinhart finished in the top two for Duke in every race of the season. Beach capped her first fall in Durham by placing 27th at the Southeast Regional Championships, while Reinhart came in at 28th. As a team, the Blue Devils sent five runner to the competition and took 10th among 37 programs. The group kicked off the season with a first-place showing at the Bull City Classic, and later finished seventh out of 42 schools at the Paul Short Invitational.

At the ACC Championships, Reinhart took 16th with Beach in 17th to both earn all-league accolades. Duke ended the meet with 180 points to place seventh for its highest finish since the 2013 season. The 2017 campaign also marked the first time two Blue Devils earned All-ACC accolades since 2013. Reinhart was named the ACC Freshman of the Year as she was the first true freshman to finish the race.

During her first season as the Duke women’s cross country coach in 2016, Riley helped guide the Blue Devils to two first-place team finishes, including finishing first among 22 teams at the VertCross Invitational. Riley also coached twelve separate runners to top-10 finished throughout the season, including one first place performance. Under Riley’s guidance, Sophia Parvizi-Wayne finished in 15th at the ACC Cross Country Championships to earn All-ACC Honors. Five Duke runners took the starting line at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships under Riley’s assistance as well.

Riley brought a wealth of coaching experience to the Duke women’s cross country team. Prior to coming to Durham, Riley spent nine years as an assistant coach helping with the Vanderbilt program, helping guide it to new heights as the women’s cross country team made five consecutive appearances at the NCAA Championships and claimed back-to-back South Region titles during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

During Vanderbilt’s 2011 campaign, Riley assisted in leading the Commodores to their first Southeast Conference title with five runners placing in the top nine at the championship meet. The campaign also began a streak of five straight berths to the national meet for Vanderbilt.

In addition, Riley coached Alexa Rogers to a 39th-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships, resulting in the program’s first All-America honoree. In her final year at Vanderbilt, Riley helped freshman Caroline Pietrzyk claim All-America status by placing 32nd at the 2015 national cross country championship after earning SEC Freshman of the Year recognition earlier in the season.

Riley assisted with Vanderbilt’s track and field program as well, guiding Katherine Delaney to a 2016 NCAA Championship berth in the 1,500. Delaney achieved a personal-best time of 4:17.96 over 1,500 meters while competing at the NCAA East Preliminary Round to qualify for the national meet. In addition to Delaney, Carmen Carlos also saw significant success under Riley as she earned a 3,000m personal-best time of 9:21.34 and a second-place finish at the 2016 SEC Indoor Championships. Carlos finished less than a second behind the eventual conference champion.

During the 2014-15 track & field season numerous Commodores thrived with the tutelage of Riley, as Sara Barron (1,500) and Rebecca Chandler (Steeplechase) each qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in their respective events. A variety of Vanderbilt distance runners added to the Commodores’ point total at the conference meet by placing among the top eight in the 1,500, the 5,000 and the 10,000, including Carlos, Delaney, Vanessa Valentine, Chandler and Barron.

In 2013, seven of Riley’s student-athletes qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round, joining four other Commodore competitors that comprised a Vanderbilt-record 11 participants at the competition.

Prior to joining the Vanderbilt program, Riley spent two years at Arizona State as a graduate assistant and one year at Oregon State as a volunteer.

Riley completed her undergraduate work at Oregon State in 2004, majoring in early childhood development and received her master’s degree in higher education while at Arizona State in 2007.