Jordan Geist, Knoch grad and world-ranked thrower, joins Slippery Rock track and field as assistant coach
There will be another Geist in the Slippery Rock track and field coaching ranks.
Jordan Geist, who set records in high school and was named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year before graduating from Knoch in 2017, was announced Wednesday, Oct. 22, as a full-time assistant throwing coach at SRU.
His parents are Jim and Judy Geist, who are volunteer assistants for the team and SRU Hall of Fame throwers themselves.
“I think the biggest thing that’s exciting for me is just being able to give back to Western Pennsylvania throws culture,” Geist said.
Jordan Geist was named the Butler Eagle’s top male athlete since 2000 this summer after a legendary career at Knoch, the University of Arizona and now as an international competitor.
He won six PIAA and six WPIAL titles in the shot put and discus and set state records in both events — 74 feet, 3 1/2 inches in the shot and 207-6 in the discus. He holds the high school record in the 16-pound shot put with 68-4.
He went on to win the 2017 Pan-American U20 Athletics Championships gold in the shot put before becoming a two-time NCAA champion and 11-time All-American at Arizona.
He has competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2020 and 2024, falling one spot short last year of making the Paris Games. He’s targeting the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
“I’m still a little young to excel at the world level,” Geist, 26, told the Eagle in the summer. “You peak in this sport in your early 30s. The guys who have been beating me out are in that age range now. When the next Olympics roll around, I’ll be near my peak and those guys will be past theirs.”
He said Wednesday it’s not uncommon for an active athlete to coach as well; the collegiate and professional seasons have little overlap and “it’s actually kind of easy to do.” It will allow him to keep training remotely with his throwing coach, who recently moved from Phoenix, Ariz., to California.
Geist has been competing in the World Diamond League, where he ranks No. 16 in the world in the shot put and fifth in the U.S. This year, he took fourth in the U.S. Indoor Championships and sixth in the shot and eighth in the hammer throw at the U.S. Outdoor Championships.
He said he’s helped the program in prior years, running a clinic and helping develop the weight training program for The Rock’s throwers.
SRU said Geist will begin his new role in November before the start of the collegiate indoor track and field season.
“Our student-athletes are going to get to be mentored by and train alongside one of the best throwers in the world and one of the best athletes to ever come out of this area,” Rock head coach Bill Jordan said. “We're really excited to welcome Jordan back home as his story comes full circle from competing here on our campus while he was growing up to now having the chance to impact the next generation of throwers in this area.”
