The Siloam Springs track and field program will be headed up by a husband-and-wife team.
Sharon Jones has been named head girls track coach, district athletic director Kevin Downing said Thursday.
Sharon Jones will join her husband Chuck Jones, who will return to the head boys track coach position after spending the 2015 spring as head soccer coach.
Sharon Jones replaces Rose Cheek-Willis as head girls track coach after Cheek-Willis recently resigned to concentrate on the volleyball program.
Sharon Jones is also the head cross country coach and has led the Panthers and Lady Panthers to four state championships -- boys in 2008 and 2009 and girls in 2011 and 2014. She was slated to be the middle school track coach for the 2015 season. When Chuck Jones moved to soccer, she assumed head boys track coach duties.
"She showed she could handle it," Downing said. "She's a great leader. She's a proven winner as a head coach. We're looking forward to her taking over the girls track program."
Sharon Jones said she is looking forward to being the head girls track coach.
"I'm so blessed and thankful," she said. "I love working at Siloam Springs and this could very well be my dream job. Some people might think I don't dream very big, but I'm right where I want to be. I love working with Chuck, my boys love this school and community and I love the kids that we'll get to coach. We have big goals for the program."
"I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with Coach Cheek this year, as we shared the boys and girls a lot. We had a lot of fun and I wish her well.
Downing said Cheek-Willis resigned as head girls track coach late in the spring. The volleyball program is adding a seventh-grade program this fall.
"With the expansion of volleyball, the timing was right and she wanted to step down and focus all of her attention on teaching and coaching volleyball," Downing said.
Downing said the district is posting an opening for middle school track and it will be an internal hire.
Sports on 06/14/2015