Friends University

Tracy Jex is in his first season as head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach. Jex comes to Friends after serving as an assistant cross country/track and field coach at McPherson College for three years. While at McPherson Coach Jex had 10 National Qualifiers, and one All-American. Prior to McPherson College, Jex after served as the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field Coach at Columbia College in Columbia Mo. from 2016-2022. While in Columbia Jex took the Cougars to new heights. During his tenure the cougar men and women’s teams won twenty AMC (American Midwest Conference) titles. He was named coach or coaching staff of the year twenty times. While at Columbia Jex oversaw a program that had 114 conference champions, 80 NAIA National Qualifiers, two NAIA National Champions, 30 NAIA All-Americans, 39 scholar athletes and 11 scholar teams. In 2017 the Men’s Cross Country Team finished runner up at the NAIA National championship. The men’s team was also named USTFCCCA 2017 Scholar Team of the year. Before being promoted to head coach Jex joined the coaching staff at Columbia in 2015 as an assistant coach, helping the cougars start the track program.

Jex began his career at Hannibal-LaGrange in 2011 after serving as the head coach at Colorado Christian University.
 
During his four seasons at Hannibal-LaGrange, Jex saw 51 school records broken and coached 32 NAIA national qualifiers, 43 individual conference champions, 12 NAIA All-Americans, one NAIA national champion, and 13 NAIA-Daktronics scholar athletes. He also coached several athletes to conference honors including three for newcomer of the year, two for runner of the year, two for field athlete of the year, and one for freshman of the year.
 
In 2012, Jex helped HLGU gain its first ever women's track NAIA All-American as well as the school's first women's cross country NAIA All-American. He also coached the first ever HLGU NAIA national champion during the 2013 indoor track and field season.
 
Jex ran two years of cross country and track at Western State Colorado University before transferring to Colorado Christian University in 1999. He also ran for the cross country team at Colorado Christian and graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in history.
 
In 2009, Jex earned his Master of Arts in human performance and physical education with an emphasis in coaching from Adams State University.

Coach Jex lives in McPherson with his wife Leah and two Daughters Lindley and Eliza.