Staff Directory
Miles Smith
- Title:
- Director of Track and Field / Cross Country (Sprints)
- Email:
Miles Smith is in his third season as Abilene Christian's head coach of cross country / track and field.
Smith was hired as the Wildcats' 22nd head coach of the storied program on June 11, 2024. Smith enjoyed a banner year of recruiting with some seasoned new coaches – D’Nara Jones in the jumps and multis and Wayne Angel working with the distance runners. Returning as an assistant is Nathan Ott, who saw his throws group perform well in his first year at ACU and has added several new key athletes to the team.
The fruits of a stellar recruiting class paid immediate dividends in 2025-2026, as the Wildcats saw a surge in points scored at the conference level and the number of newcomers scoring was also impactful. For the women’s team, the indoor conference championship saw the team score 82 points -- 23 more than scored in 2025. The Wildcat women had 12 top-8 performances at the conference level and of those 12 performances, five were also top 3, and one was the conference champion: Mariana Van Dyk in the shot put. Indoors, 32% of the points came from newcomers to the program.
The women’s results outdoors were even greater, as the Wildcat women’s team scored 99 points at the outdoor championship – almost exactly double of the 50 points scored in 2025. The outdoor championship saw 22 top-8 performances, of which 6 were in the top three. There were no women’s champions outdoors, but there two runners-up – Natalie Poe in the heptathlon and Ciara Tilley in the shot put. Looking to the future, 49% of the total score resulted from newcomers to the program.
The men’s team also saw dramatic improvement from 2025. Indoors, the men scored 86 points indoors, up from 56 in 2025. At the indoor conference meet, the Wildcats garnered 15 top-8 performances, of which six were podium (top-3) and two conference champions (Rhet Punt in the weight throw and Canaan Fairley in the heptathlon). Significantly, 42% of the total points scored were from newcomers to the program.
The Wildcat men’s team enjoyed even greater performances at the outdoor conference championship. The men had 16 top-8 performances of which 5 were podium spots. The men had three conference champions outdoors – Ryan McMeen in the 400 hurdles, Rhet Punt in the hammer throw, and Canaan Fairley defending his title in the decathlon from 2025. Like the women’s team, the men saw newcomer scoring rise from the indoor season, as the men benefited from 59% of the team scoring coming from newcomers.
With the late start to the recruiting season, Smith put a premium on development of the returning athletes for the 2024-2025 season, while recruiting heavily for the 2025-2026 season. For the ACU women’s team, the team finished 5th in team scoring with 50 points at the WAC Indoor championship – that included one champion (Ja’Dasia Sims in the high jump), four top-3 finishers, and seven athletes scoring points. At the WAC outdoors, the women finished 6th with 59 points, with five top-3 finishers and nine women scoring. The women had three women move onto the Top-10 ACU performers indoors and seven move onto the list outdoors. On the season, 73% of eligible returning athletes notched personal bests indoors and a matching 73% outdoors with personal bests.
The ACU men’s team finished 5th with 61 points at the WAC Indoor Championship and 5th scoring 56 points at the WAC Outdoor Championship. At the indoor championship, the men had four top 3 finishers and 11 athletes scoring in individual events. Outdoors, the men had one champion (Canaan Fairley in the decathlon), four top-3 performers, and 11 men score points. On the season, seven men moved onto the ACU Top-10 list indoors and four outdoors. In a review of eligible returning athletes, 76% attained personal bests indoors and 87% hit personal best outdoors.
Prior to accepting the head coaching position, Smith served as Purdue's long sprint coach for six seasons as well as the program's lead spiritual coordinator. In his six seasons as an assistant coach in West Lafayette, Indiana, he coached seven NCAA Championship qualifiers and multiple All-Americans. Smith also saw 13 top-10 times in school history set by his runners, including the men's 4x400-meter relay team's record-setting performance at the 2024 Big 10 Championship meet.
Smith came to Purdue from Memphis, where he helped the Tigers sprint program to its finest performance in decades. In his two years as an assistant coach, Smith coached four NCAA championship qualifiers, four NCAA All-America Honorable Mentions, 25 All-AAC performers, and 10 program records.
Smith started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Tennessee State in 2013, before moving to his alma mater, Southeast Missouri, for the 2013-14 school year as the sprint coach.
Smith moved to the coaching ranks after a stellar professional track and field career. In 2005, Smith was a member of the gold-medal winning 4x400-meter relay at the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Additionally, he was a United States Olympic Trials semifinalist in the 400-meters in both 2008 and 2012, and also a 400-meter finalist at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2005 (6th place), 2009 (8th) and 2011 (6th).
As a student-athlete at Southeast Missouri, Smith earned All-America honors five times in the 400-meters (indoor and outdoor combined). A 15-time Ohio Valley Conference champion, Smith was named the OVC Athlete of the Year three times: 2005, 2006 and 2008. Through the 2025 season, he stills owns five school records, in the 400-meters (indoor and outdoor), 200-meters (indoor) and 4x400-meter relay (indoor and outdoor).
Smith graduated from Southeast Missouri in 2008 with a degree in mass communication. He was inducted into the Southeast Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014 and also elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. Smith was a 2003 graduate of St Louis Riverview Gardens H.S., where he was an all-state performer in the 400 and the 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
Smith's family includes his wife, Michelle, and his five sons, Kyle (17), Milo (8), Mikko (7), Miles (3) and Mikyle (1). Kyle is currently a freshman defensive back on the ACU football team.
Smith was hired as the Wildcats' 22nd head coach of the storied program on June 11, 2024. Smith enjoyed a banner year of recruiting with some seasoned new coaches – D’Nara Jones in the jumps and multis and Wayne Angel working with the distance runners. Returning as an assistant is Nathan Ott, who saw his throws group perform well in his first year at ACU and has added several new key athletes to the team.
The fruits of a stellar recruiting class paid immediate dividends in 2025-2026, as the Wildcats saw a surge in points scored at the conference level and the number of newcomers scoring was also impactful. For the women’s team, the indoor conference championship saw the team score 82 points -- 23 more than scored in 2025. The Wildcat women had 12 top-8 performances at the conference level and of those 12 performances, five were also top 3, and one was the conference champion: Mariana Van Dyk in the shot put. Indoors, 32% of the points came from newcomers to the program.
The women’s results outdoors were even greater, as the Wildcat women’s team scored 99 points at the outdoor championship – almost exactly double of the 50 points scored in 2025. The outdoor championship saw 22 top-8 performances, of which 6 were in the top three. There were no women’s champions outdoors, but there two runners-up – Natalie Poe in the heptathlon and Ciara Tilley in the shot put. Looking to the future, 49% of the total score resulted from newcomers to the program.
The men’s team also saw dramatic improvement from 2025. Indoors, the men scored 86 points indoors, up from 56 in 2025. At the indoor conference meet, the Wildcats garnered 15 top-8 performances, of which six were podium (top-3) and two conference champions (Rhet Punt in the weight throw and Canaan Fairley in the heptathlon). Significantly, 42% of the total points scored were from newcomers to the program.
The Wildcat men’s team enjoyed even greater performances at the outdoor conference championship. The men had 16 top-8 performances of which 5 were podium spots. The men had three conference champions outdoors – Ryan McMeen in the 400 hurdles, Rhet Punt in the hammer throw, and Canaan Fairley defending his title in the decathlon from 2025. Like the women’s team, the men saw newcomer scoring rise from the indoor season, as the men benefited from 59% of the team scoring coming from newcomers.
With the late start to the recruiting season, Smith put a premium on development of the returning athletes for the 2024-2025 season, while recruiting heavily for the 2025-2026 season. For the ACU women’s team, the team finished 5th in team scoring with 50 points at the WAC Indoor championship – that included one champion (Ja’Dasia Sims in the high jump), four top-3 finishers, and seven athletes scoring points. At the WAC outdoors, the women finished 6th with 59 points, with five top-3 finishers and nine women scoring. The women had three women move onto the Top-10 ACU performers indoors and seven move onto the list outdoors. On the season, 73% of eligible returning athletes notched personal bests indoors and a matching 73% outdoors with personal bests.
The ACU men’s team finished 5th with 61 points at the WAC Indoor Championship and 5th scoring 56 points at the WAC Outdoor Championship. At the indoor championship, the men had four top 3 finishers and 11 athletes scoring in individual events. Outdoors, the men had one champion (Canaan Fairley in the decathlon), four top-3 performers, and 11 men score points. On the season, seven men moved onto the ACU Top-10 list indoors and four outdoors. In a review of eligible returning athletes, 76% attained personal bests indoors and 87% hit personal best outdoors.
Prior to accepting the head coaching position, Smith served as Purdue's long sprint coach for six seasons as well as the program's lead spiritual coordinator. In his six seasons as an assistant coach in West Lafayette, Indiana, he coached seven NCAA Championship qualifiers and multiple All-Americans. Smith also saw 13 top-10 times in school history set by his runners, including the men's 4x400-meter relay team's record-setting performance at the 2024 Big 10 Championship meet.
Smith came to Purdue from Memphis, where he helped the Tigers sprint program to its finest performance in decades. In his two years as an assistant coach, Smith coached four NCAA championship qualifiers, four NCAA All-America Honorable Mentions, 25 All-AAC performers, and 10 program records.
Smith started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Tennessee State in 2013, before moving to his alma mater, Southeast Missouri, for the 2013-14 school year as the sprint coach.
Smith moved to the coaching ranks after a stellar professional track and field career. In 2005, Smith was a member of the gold-medal winning 4x400-meter relay at the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Additionally, he was a United States Olympic Trials semifinalist in the 400-meters in both 2008 and 2012, and also a 400-meter finalist at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2005 (6th place), 2009 (8th) and 2011 (6th).
As a student-athlete at Southeast Missouri, Smith earned All-America honors five times in the 400-meters (indoor and outdoor combined). A 15-time Ohio Valley Conference champion, Smith was named the OVC Athlete of the Year three times: 2005, 2006 and 2008. Through the 2025 season, he stills owns five school records, in the 400-meters (indoor and outdoor), 200-meters (indoor) and 4x400-meter relay (indoor and outdoor).
Smith graduated from Southeast Missouri in 2008 with a degree in mass communication. He was inducted into the Southeast Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014 and also elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. Smith was a 2003 graduate of St Louis Riverview Gardens H.S., where he was an all-state performer in the 400 and the 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
Smith's family includes his wife, Michelle, and his five sons, Kyle (17), Milo (8), Mikko (7), Miles (3) and Mikyle (1). Kyle is currently a freshman defensive back on the ACU football team.
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