Jones, Berryman Added to Lobo Track & Field Coaching Staff
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –– The University of New Mexico Track & Field program announced Thursday two additions to its coaching staff. Head coach Darren Gauson has added D’nara Jones and Jared Berryman as assistant coaches to the Lobos’ staff. Jones will coach the sprints and jumps, while Berryman will serve as the director of operations.
Jones arrives at UNM from Illinois State, where she was an assistant coach working primarily with the team’s horizontal jumpers. In her lone season with the Redbirds in 2022-23, she coached the program’s jumpers to two school records, six top-10 school performances, 15 top-10 Missouri Valley Conference finishes and 50 personal records.
She spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach at Loyola Chicago, working with the Ramblers’ sprinters and jumpers. In her one-year stint at Loyola, Jones’ student-athletes totaled three school records, eight all-time top-10 school performances and 63 personal bests across the indoor and outdoor campaigns.
From 2019 to 2021, Jones served as an assistant coach at Saint Louis University, where she led the Billikens’ sprinters and hurdlers. In her time as a coach at Saint Louis, Jones’ student-athletes set 16 school records and achieved 37 personal bests.
A Tacoma, Wash. native, Jones spent time as a student-athlete at both Portland State and the University of Alabama. She still ranks ninth in school history in both the indoor and outdoor triple jump at Portland State.
Jones earned her bachelor’s degree in human environmental sciences from Alabama in 2016 before completing her master’s degree in leadership & organizational development while coaching at Saint Louis.
Berryman comes to UNM from Bradley, where he was a part of Gauson’s staff there last season as an assistant coach. During his season in Peoria, the Braves won the Missouri Valley women’s cross country championship and had individuals qualify for the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Berryman spent the 2021-22 season as an intern at his alma mater, Cal State East Bay, assisting with the program’s recruiting, meet management and social media.
A native of Long Beach, Calif., Berryman is a 2022 graduate of CSUEB, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport nutrition and wellness. He ran three seasons for the Pioneers and was a two-year captain of the Cal State East Bay track & field team.