Jonathan Hill arrived at Central Washington University’s coaching staff in August 2023, bringing a distinguished background in collegiate coaching, athlete development, and national leadership within the sport as Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field.
Since taking over the CWU program, Hill has guided the Wildcats to immediate national and conference success. Under his leadership, CWU has produced four NCAA Division II top-30 team finishes, highlighted by a 7th-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships and a 9th-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships on the women’s side, tying the best team finishes in school history. His athletes have earned three individual NCAA national championships, a national runner-up finish in the outdoor women’s 100 meters, and 19 All-American honors (14 First Team, five Second Team).
Hill’s impact has also been reflected at the conference level. During the 2025 season, CWU athletes earned five major GNAC year-end awards, including:
2025 Indoor GNAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year: Emy Ntekpere — NCAA Indoor national champion in the triple jump
2025 Indoor GNAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Year: Isaiah Webster — All-American honors and GNAC triple jump record holder
2025 Indoor GNAC Men’s Freshman of the Year: Bautista Diamante — standout debut season with GNAC-leading times
2025 Outdoor GNAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Year: E’lexis Hollis — dominant sprint season
2025 Outdoor GNAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year: Emy Ntekpere — two NCAA outdoor national titles and multiple GNAC event wins. Ntekpere became just the second woman in CWU history to earn GNAC Outdoor Athlete of the Year honors and made history by sweeping multiple events at the GNAC Outdoor Championships.
At the championship level, CWU athletes also collected GNAC Athlete of the Meet honors at the 2025 GNAC Indoor Championships:
Men’s Field Athlete of the Meet: Isaiah Webster — dominant long jump and triple jump performances
Women’s Field Athlete of the Meet & High Point Scorer: Emy Ntekpere — multi-event scoring excellence
Women’s Performance of the Meet: Lauryn McGough — pole vault standout
Across the two seasons, CWU Track & Field athletes earned 15 GNAC Athlete of the Week honors, while the program was recognized with three GNAC Team of the Week awards, reflecting consistent, conference-leading performances throughout both indoor and outdoor seasons.
Hill has overseen the development of 99 All-GNAC award winners, including 54 conference champions, while leading the program to 28 new all-time school records and 11 all-time GNAC conference records. In 2025, Emy Ntekpere qualified for the USATF Outdoor National Championships in both the high jump and triple jump, becoming the only woman in the country to qualify in both events.
As of the summer of 2025, Hill serves as the USATF Inland Northwest Association Vice President and Chair of Coaches Education, while also holding national appointments as a USATF National Committee member for Coaches Education (Jumps) and a USATF Level 1 and Level 2 Instructor. In addition, he has served as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Track & Field Coaches Chair since 2024, reflecting his leadership and influence within the conference.
Prior to arriving in Ellensburg, Hill spent five seasons at NCAA Division I Rice University in Houston, Texas, serving as Lead Assistant Coach, Recruiting Coordinator, Compliance Liaison, and Home Meet Director for the women’s track and field program. During his tenure, Rice captured the 2020 Conference USA Indoor Championship and the 2023 Outdoor Championship, while finishing in the top 60 nationally four times, including a program-best 21st-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
At Rice, Hill coached five All-Americans, one Academic All-American, 16 Conference USA champions, 44 All-Conference honorees, and a Conference USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. His athletes included two current national record holders—Josie Taylor (New Zealand, women’s indoor high jump) and Natan Rivera (El Salvador, men’s pole vault)—as well as Olympic finalist Morgann Leleux, who competed for Team USA at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Hill was also a USTFCCCA South Central Regional Division I Assistant Coach of the Year finalist and a participant in the USTFCCCA Assistant Coach Development Program.
Before Rice, Hill spent six seasons at the United States Military Academy at West Point, coaching jumps, pole vault, sprints, hurdles, combined events, and strength and conditioning while holding multiple administrative roles. During his tenure, Army achieved its highest team finish in 22 years, broke 10 school records, and produced 12 NCAA First Round qualifiers, 38 conference champions, and 111 All-Conference selections, along with numerous academic honors, including a CoSIDA National Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Hill began his collegiate coaching career at Eastern Washington University, helping guide the Eagles to nine NCAA First Round qualifiers, eight Big Sky champions, 24 All-Big Sky honorees, and the highest conference finishes in program history.
He entered the profession as the Head Track & Field Coach at La Salle Catholic Prep in Milwaukie, Oregon, where both the boys’ and girls’ programs achieved their highest finishes in school history while increasing team participation by 20 percent.
Hill earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Health with a minor in Business Administration from Portland State University in 2007.
He resides in Ellensburg with his wife, Shene Hill, DPT, and their two children, Henry and Harper.
Championship Results Under Hill
Cross Country
- 2023 GNAC Championships
- Men: 6th (161 points)
- Women: 9th (272 points)
- 2023 NCAA West Regional Championships
- 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships
- Johan Correa: 17th (29:50.3)
- 2024 GNAC Championships
- Men: 5th (95 points)
- Women: 7th (180 points)
- 2024 NCAA West Regional Championships
- Men: 8th (227 points)
- Women: 15th (361 points)
- 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Indoor Track & Field
- 2024 GNAC Indoor Championships
- Men: 3rd (99 points)
- Women: 2nd (138 points)
- 2024 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships
- 2025 GNAC Indoor Championships
- Men: 2nd (117 points)
- Women: 2nd (114 points)
- 2025 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships
- Women: T-9th (19 points)
- Men: T-18th (10 points)
Outdoor Track & Field
- 2024 GNAC Outdoor Championships
- Men: 2nd (175 points)
- Women: 2nd (137 points)
- 2024 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships
- 2025 GNAC Outdoor Championships
- Men: 3rd (105 points)
- Women: 2nd (201 points)
- 2025 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships
