Briar Cliff University

The 2017 season is Sheena James’ first season with the Briar Cliff track and field teams as the throws coach after serving the past eight seasons as an assistant coach at Ashford University. In addition to being the throws specialist for the Saints track and field teams, James was also Ashford’s strength and conditioning coach. As a coach, James has guided multiple national qualifiers in the shot put, weight throw and hammer throw and also coached a NAIA All-American in the pole vault.

James competed collegiately in track and field at Purdue from 2004-07 where she was a three-year letterwinner for the Boilmakers. Her career at Purdue was highlighted by a Big Ten Outdoor Championship in 2007 in the shot put with a toss of 15.98 meters. James broke both the indoor and outdoor women’s shot put school records in 2007 as well with an indoor mark of 15.70 meters and an outdoor throw of 16.16 meters. As a junior, James took home the bronze medal at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the shot put with a throw of 14.92 meters and was 14th in the hammer throw with a toss of 45.58 meters.

James was a high school track star at Clinton High School in Clinton, Iowa after she won the shot put at the state meet in 2003 and also won the shot put in the Drake Relays in 2003 as well. In 2002, James finished second at the Drake Relays in the shot put and was a participant on the 2002 Iowa State championship and state record-setting Pentathlon team. She was named to the all-state girls track and field team as a junior. James held the Clinton school record in the shot put for 14 years from 2002-2016. She still ranks in the top 10 all-time female shot put leaders in Iowa High School athletics. In the spring of 2016 James was inducted into the Clinton High School River King and Queen’s Hall of Fame.

James graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor of science-movement and sport science degree.