Cross Country/Track Coach Bios
Dr. Robert Lyon
Rob Lyon is in his first season as the head cross country and track coach at The University of Charleston, where he also teaches in the Education department teaching physical education methods and exercise science classes.
Coach Lyon began his coaching career over 20 years ago in Lexington, KY, while teaching at the Fayette County Public Schools. Since then he has coached runners in distances from 800 meters to the marathon.
Prior to coming The University of Charleston, he served as an assistant at NAIA powerhouse Malone College for a year and as head coach of the programs at Transylvania University (Kentucky), McPherson College (Kansas), Defiance College (Ohio), Illinois College for a total of eight years. As head coach, he has developed three academic All-Americans, four national qualifiers, and ten all-conference runners at the college level as well as three all-state runners and eight county champions at the high school level. In 2003 he led Defiance to its highest finish ever at both the conference and regional meets. In the process, the women’s team was named an academic all American team. His 2004 Illinois College cross country team also earned that honor and was ranked number one in Division III. In track his distance/mid distance runners have broken the Defiance school records a total of twenty one times and one of those runners won the 800 meters at the conference championships in both 2003 and 2004. Coach Lyon has had the privilege of learning from three nationally prominent coaches in Joe Vigil, Jack Hazen and Patrick Shane.
Lyon received his BA from Asbury College with a double major in Physical Education and Psychology. His Master's degree was earned in sports science at the United States Sports Academy with an emphasis in Human Performance. Recently Lyon earned his PhD from Kansas State University where his dissertation studied the common elements of effective cross country coaches.
Lyon is certified by USA Track and Field as a level II coach and lead instructor. An accomplished runner, Coach Lyon has run nearly 18,000 miles, including six marathons and 22 half marathons.
Lyon and his wife of fourteen years, Kristine, have a son John, and a daughter Allison, both of whom compete in cross country.
Augustino Adams
Augustino Adams joins the UC track as assistant coach in charge of the sprints/jumps. Adams is from Los Angeles, California and moved to West Virginia in 2003 to attend UC as an undergrad student. While at UC he majored in Business Administration and ran track, and played football and graduated in 2006. He earned honorable mention honors in football, and I also won the Community Service Award.
Before arriving at UC, Adams ran track under the tutelage of legendary sprinter Tommy Smith, the gold medalist in the 200 at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Much of what he teaches the UC sprinters was learned under Coach Smith.
He recently completed his Masters in Business in December of 2007 and is currently working on a degree in Sports Administration. In his spare time he enjoys going to movies, go kart ridding, coaching and surfing when back in California. Hobbies include snow boarding, video games, and swimming. When he is not working with the sprinters he works as a grad assistant for the University of Charleston as the football team.
Candace Swann
Candace Swann enters her second year as a graduate assistant coach at her alma mater after a successful college career. Candace, a native of Waldorf, MD was a 3-time state champion while competing for Westlake High School. In 2001 she was the Indoor 3A shot put champion, setting the meet record which still stands today. That spring she followed her indoor title with outdoor titles in the 3A shot put and discus.
In her freshman campaign at the University of Charleston, Candace claimed her first All-Conference award winning the discus setting the first in a series of meet record setting throw throughout her career. During her sophomore year Candace again broke her own meet record in the discus, adding the hammer title and record to her resume. 2003 marked the first year she qualified for a national championship, earning her way to the 2003 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the discus, where she would finish 12th. Following a redshirt year in 2004, Candace returned to the throwing scene with a force, earning her first indoor national qualifier in the 20lb weight throw. In the 2005 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships she would finish 8th in the event earning her first All-American award. In Candace’s final competitive season, she again qualified for nationals in the 20lb weight throw, earning an automatic mark that would translate into a 3rd place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships, the second of her All-American awards. For her tremendous winter season she was recognized as the 2006 East Regional Field Athlete of the Year. That spring Candace would again qualify for a national championship, earning her way into the field in the discus, where she would finish 11th. At the WVIAC Track Championships her final year she would win the shot put, discus, and hammer, setting two meet records, earning herself WVIAC Field Athlete of the Year Awards. By the end of her career Candace had achieved 7 WVIAC All-Conference titles, 4 national championships qualifiers, and two All-American awards, making herself UC’s first and only All-American and automatic national qualifier in track and field.
Candace resides in Charleston, where she is pursuing a Masters degree at the University of Charleston.
Rob Lyon is in his first season as the head cross country and track coach at The University of Charleston, where he also teaches in the Education department teaching physical education methods and exercise science classes.
Coach Lyon began his coaching career over 20 years ago in Lexington, KY, while teaching at the Fayette County Public Schools. Since then he has coached runners in distances from 800 meters to the marathon.
Prior to coming The University of Charleston, he served as an assistant at NAIA powerhouse Malone College for a year and as head coach of the programs at Transylvania University (Kentucky), McPherson College (Kansas), Defiance College (Ohio), Illinois College for a total of eight years. As head coach, he has developed three academic All-Americans, four national qualifiers, and ten all-conference runners at the college level as well as three all-state runners and eight county champions at the high school level. In 2003 he led Defiance to its highest finish ever at both the conference and regional meets. In the process, the women’s team was named an academic all American team. His 2004 Illinois College cross country team also earned that honor and was ranked number one in Division III. In track his distance/mid distance runners have broken the Defiance school records a total of twenty one times and one of those runners won the 800 meters at the conference championships in both 2003 and 2004. Coach Lyon has had the privilege of learning from three nationally prominent coaches in Joe Vigil, Jack Hazen and Patrick Shane.
Lyon received his BA from Asbury College with a double major in Physical Education and Psychology. His Master's degree was earned in sports science at the United States Sports Academy with an emphasis in Human Performance. Recently Lyon earned his PhD from Kansas State University where his dissertation studied the common elements of effective cross country coaches.
Lyon is certified by USA Track and Field as a level II coach and lead instructor. An accomplished runner, Coach Lyon has run nearly 18,000 miles, including six marathons and 22 half marathons.
Lyon and his wife of fourteen years, Kristine, have a son John, and a daughter Allison, both of whom compete in cross country.
Augustino Adams
Augustino Adams joins the UC track as assistant coach in charge of the sprints/jumps. Adams is from Los Angeles, California and moved to West Virginia in 2003 to attend UC as an undergrad student. While at UC he majored in Business Administration and ran track, and played football and graduated in 2006. He earned honorable mention honors in football, and I also won the Community Service Award.
Before arriving at UC, Adams ran track under the tutelage of legendary sprinter Tommy Smith, the gold medalist in the 200 at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Much of what he teaches the UC sprinters was learned under Coach Smith.
He recently completed his Masters in Business in December of 2007 and is currently working on a degree in Sports Administration. In his spare time he enjoys going to movies, go kart ridding, coaching and surfing when back in California. Hobbies include snow boarding, video games, and swimming. When he is not working with the sprinters he works as a grad assistant for the University of Charleston as the football team.
Candace Swann
Candace Swann enters her second year as a graduate assistant coach at her alma mater after a successful college career. Candace, a native of Waldorf, MD was a 3-time state champion while competing for Westlake High School. In 2001 she was the Indoor 3A shot put champion, setting the meet record which still stands today. That spring she followed her indoor title with outdoor titles in the 3A shot put and discus.
In her freshman campaign at the University of Charleston, Candace claimed her first All-Conference award winning the discus setting the first in a series of meet record setting throw throughout her career. During her sophomore year Candace again broke her own meet record in the discus, adding the hammer title and record to her resume. 2003 marked the first year she qualified for a national championship, earning her way to the 2003 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the discus, where she would finish 12th. Following a redshirt year in 2004, Candace returned to the throwing scene with a force, earning her first indoor national qualifier in the 20lb weight throw. In the 2005 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships she would finish 8th in the event earning her first All-American award. In Candace’s final competitive season, she again qualified for nationals in the 20lb weight throw, earning an automatic mark that would translate into a 3rd place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships, the second of her All-American awards. For her tremendous winter season she was recognized as the 2006 East Regional Field Athlete of the Year. That spring Candace would again qualify for a national championship, earning her way into the field in the discus, where she would finish 11th. At the WVIAC Track Championships her final year she would win the shot put, discus, and hammer, setting two meet records, earning herself WVIAC Field Athlete of the Year Awards. By the end of her career Candace had achieved 7 WVIAC All-Conference titles, 4 national championships qualifiers, and two All-American awards, making herself UC’s first and only All-American and automatic national qualifier in track and field.
Candace resides in Charleston, where she is pursuing a Masters degree at the University of Charleston.