Rochelle Black is entering his seventh season as the director of the Lincoln Memorial University men’s and women’s track and field and cross country programs. He arrived at LMU in June 2016.
In his six seasons in Harrogate, Black has helped put the LMU track & field program on the map and make it a competitive force in the South Atlantic Conference.
2020-21 was another banner year for the Railsplitters. The indoor season saw Roberto Fajardo and Jaeden Douglass garner United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association all-region honors in the 800 and 400 meters, respectively. Success continued in waves for LMU as the outdoor season saw a myriad of program records set, while Fajardo and Maria Chellah continued their outstanding careers with medal-winning performances at the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Fajardo finished with the bronze medal in the 800 meters while Chellah captured the gold in the same event with a personal best and school record time of 2:15.92. At the end of the year, Chellah and Kyle Nabe earned USTFCCCA all-region honors for their performances in the 800 and decathlon, respectively.
The COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 season saw four athletes post podium finishes at the South Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, as Jalesia Tillman shattered the school record in the 60 meters and became the first indoor conference champion in LMU history. Maria Chellah also matched Tillman's gold medal performance with a winning 800-meter run of her own in a then-school record time. Kyle Nabe and Morgan Salyers also earned bronze medals in the heptathlon and triple jump, respectively.
Additionally, both the men's and women's squads were recipients of the USTFCCCA team academic award. The women finished with a 3.46 GPA for the year while the men posted a 3.21. Jonathan Hughes and Roberto Fajardo received Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America while Hughes went on to be named a third-team Academic All-American.
During the 2018-19 indoor and outdoor seasons, Black’s teams established a new school record in every meet, setting a new standard in every women’s sprint event and breaking school records in all men’s sprint events except the 60-meter dash. The 2019 season also was the first time an LMU athlete competed in the SAC Outdoor Championships in the decathlon, where Kyle Nabe finished fourth.
LMU had two athletes named to the Division II All-Region team in 2019, Morgan Salyers in the triple jump and Roberto Fajardo in the 800-meter run. Salyers was also a medal winner (bronze) in the SAC Indoor Championships. Freshman Jalesia Tillman has the top three 100-meter dash times in school history and additionally, records dropped in the 400-meter, 800-meter and 1500-meter women’s events.
The relay teams saw marked improvement in 2019 with the women’s 4x400 team-earning medals at both the indoor and outdoor SAC Championships and the men’s 4x400 finishing second in dramatic fashion at the SAC Outdoor Championships.
In the classroom, the cross country and track and field programs had 19 student-athletes named to the South Atlantic Conference Honor Roll in 2019. The women’s cross-country team had a grade point average of 3.49 while the men checked in with a 3.17 GPA. The women’s track & field team registered a 3.28 GPA.
In 2017, Black coached LMU record holder Oluwatosin Balogun to the national championship meet in the 400-meter dash.
Prior to arriving at LMU, Black spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Murray State University, where he specialized in coaching the jumps and multi-events. During his time at Murray State, he sent one of his long jumpers to the NCAA first round meet and had individuals place in various events at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships.
Black began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Troy University in Alabama where he coached in the sprints, jumps and multi-events. From Troy, he went to Shorter University in Georgia where he served in several capacities, including Director of Operations and Recruiting Coordinator.
Black, who is a native of Virginia Beach, VA, obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise, Sport and Health Education from Radford University in 2005. He earned his Master’s Degree in Leadership from Shorter University in 2014. He also holds USATF Level II certification in sprints, hurdles and relays and holds a Specialist Certification in jumps by the USTFCCCA, as well as a Strength and Conditioning certificate from the same organization.
