Showalter Hands Off RC Track Baton To Tisone
After 20 years of coaching the Rockbridge County High School track and field teams, Jennifer Showalter is stepping down, but a coach with a lot of experience and success will be taking her place.
Julie Tisone, who has coached the Wildcats in cross country for the last 10 years and has been an assistant track coach for the last seven years, has taken on the role as the head coach for the RC track and field teams. RC announced the hire on Feb. 18, and athletic director Anthony Marasco said he’s excited to see how Tisone will continue to shape and grow the program.
Showalter, 50, announced in early February that she was retiring to pursue new adventures, including working as a travel agent and spending time with her husband, Ruben and their children. “For two decades, I’ve stood at the starting line, encouraging kids to chase the finish, to dig deeper, run harder, and believe in what’s possible,” said Showalter in a Facebook post on Feb. 10.
“It has been an incredible privilege to coach amazing athletes to the state level… and to work alongside amazing coaches, administrators and colleagues who made every season meaningful,” added Showalter. “The journey has been unforgettable.”
In 2019, Showalter coached then-senior Danielle Crawford to the state indoor championship in the shot put. Crawford became the first RC thrower to win a state championship, and she went on to place second in the outdoor state meet in both the shot put and discus.
Showalter was a standout track athlete for RC, under the direction of coaches Mike and Gloria Brown. As a senior, she won the 1994 state title in the 55-meter hurdles and holds school records in several sprints and in the long jump and triple jump. She won Blue Ridge District and Region 3 titles in the 300-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash, and she placed second in the state in the 300-meter hurdles and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles. Showalter went on to run track for Division I school Appalachian State University before transferring to Division III school Eastern Mennonite University.
In 2022, Showalter was inducted into the inaugural RC Athletic Hall of Fame.
Tisone’s résumé is also impressive. She grew up in New Mexico and was an elite gymnast at Eldorado High School, winning the state championship once and finishing as the state runner-up twice before graduating in 1982.
After high school, Tisone went to the University of New Mexico and got a bachelor of business administration in accounting and a teaching license. Following college, Tisone competed in road bicycle races at an elite level in Boulder, Colo. Her offseason training was running and cross-country skiing, depending on the weather.
Tisone focused on running after she had children and said the training was very similar to bicycling. She ran many road races, trail races and ultramarathons, with distances ranging from 5 kilometers to 50 kilometers.
As a cross country coach, Tisone has guided both the RC girls and boys to state meets. The most successful team she’s coached was the boys’ team last fall, which won the Shenandoah District before placing second to Western Albemarle at both the Region 3C and Class 3 state meets. The runner-up finish at the state meet tied the best finishes in program history, when the Wildcats placed second in both 2001 and 2002.
Many of Tisone’s cross country runners will be running for the outdoor track and field team this spring. Tisone was an assistant outdoor track and field coach for seven years and assisted with the indoor team for five years, focusing on distance running.
Tisone said her experience coaching led her to apply for the head track and field coaching position and because “I had a really good group of athletes, and I wanted them to have some continuity in their running,” said Tisone.
“The head coach is an exciting position,” added Tisone. “There are a lot of things going on at once in track and field. I look forward to coaching and directing all of the events and bringing in some of the latest movement theories from my continuing education in athletics.”
Tisone said she enjoyed working with Showalter, who coached two of Tisone’s daughters in high school before they went on to run in college. “I respect all of the time and effort she put into coaching,” said Tisone.
As for what she will do differently as head coach, Tisone said, “I think all coaches change programs, so I will change it up to make it mine and reflect who I am as a person, coach and athlete.”
Outside of coaching, Tisone enjoys spending time with her husband, James, and works for the athletic department at Virginia Military Institute, mentoring athletes for academic success. She’s also a professional knitter and crafter, making samples for big companies such as Dreamworks, Craftsy and Plucky Knitter.
Joining Tisone’s coaching staff is Hallie McCurdie, a junior at Washington and Lee University who was an assistant cross country coach for Tisone last fall. “We work really well together and know most of the athletes that are coming out for track,” said Tisone.
Daniel Shelton, a counselor at Maury River Middle School, will serve as the head coach for the middle school program and will be helping the high school team with jumps, his specialty.
RC’s throwing coach, returning from the indoor team, is Zavery Wallace, a 2021 Parry McCluer High School graduate who won state indoor and outdoor shot put titles as a PM senior. “He did a great job with the throwers, and the throwers are excited to have him back.”
Confident in her staff, Tisone said, “It will be a strong, knowledgeable coaching team, and I look forward to working with them.”
Looking toward this season, Tisone said the coaches always have the goal of advancing athletes to the state meet in their events. She said the other goals are “to improve as athletes, contribute to being a part of a team and to represent the high school in a positive way.”
TISONE SHOWALTER
