Roderick Townsend enters his third season with the Northern Arizona men’s and women’s track & field program and his first year as a full-time assistant coach after spending the previous two years as a graduate assistant with the program. He will be working primarily with the jumpers.
Townsend was a 2017 ESPY Nominee for Best Male Athlete with a Disability after earning two gold medals in the high jump and long jump at Rio. He was also a 2017 London World Championships High Jump Champion.
To go with his athletic prowess, Townsend has coached Deante Kemper and Tynita Butts to the 2016 Olympic Trails in the high jump. He also coached Shanice McPherson to indoor and outdoor Big Sky conference records in the long jump (6.64m/21'9") and as a runner up in the Jamaica National Championships.
Prior to his arrival at NAU, Roderick coached multis and jumpers for one year at San Joaquin Delta Junior College. He also coached at Jim Elliott Christian High School for one season. Roderick also served as a sports performance coach at “The Performance Project” in Stockton, Calif.
Roderick is a member of the United States Paralympic team, and has spent time training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. Most recently, Townsend set the Paralympic long jump record, the Paralympic high jump record and now shoulders the pristine shine of two gold medals after competing at the 2016 Paralympic games in August.
On the national scene, Roderick has represented USA in the World Championships in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Roderick is the United States Paralympics high jump world record holder with a height of 2.17 meters. He’s also the Americas Continent record holder in the long jump (7.21m).
Roderick still competes and is the reigning 2015 ParaPanAm champion in the long jump and high jump.
Roderick competed for Boise State for two years as a decathlete. He is a five-time All-Mountain West honoree with crowns in the high jump and indoor heptathlon. Prior to Boise State, Roderick spent two years at San Joaquin Delta College, earning All-American honors in the high jump and decathlon.
Roderick graduated from Boise State in 2014 with a degree in communications.
Athlete Improvements and Accomplishments under McDaniel
Shanice McPherson - Long Jumps
Cameron Rayford
- 6.61m to 7.47m in Long Jump
- 13.38m to 14.32m in Triple Jump
Deante Kemper - High Jump
Obang Odol - High Jump
Mathew Kisiel - High Jump
