Veteran college coach John Ridgway joined the UTA track and field coach as an assistant coach in January of 2017. Ridgway, who is in his 22nd year as a collegiate coach in 2025-26, oversees the team's throwers.
To open up the men's weight throw back at the Ted Nelson Invitational in January of 2025, multiple personal records in the men's and women's weight throw events highlighted the day which included Logan Villalva who claimed 8th place with an 17.22m fling. His mark was not only good enough for an indoor personal record, it also ranked 1st in the WAC standings at the time. In the women's weight throw, Jalaah Puryear set an indoor personal record of her own with a 15.77m toss while Esther Adedire, the freshman, additionally set an indoor personal record with a 14.15m hurl.
Ridgway guided Desomond Frazierto WAC Athlete of the Week honors after claiming an indoor PR in the men's shot put with a 17.89m toss. At the Ted Nelson Invitational, Frazier recorded a 17.61m toss, which led the conference by almost a full meter and a half.
At the 2025 WAC Indoor Championships, Hayden WIlson repeated as the WAC Indoor Champion in the men's shot put, winning the gold medal with a season's best throw of 17.22m. Teammate Frazier snatched the silver medal behind a throw of 17.09m.
Wilson took the top spot in the men's shot put at the Bill Schmidt Invite with an outdoor personal best throw of 17.68m while Frazier tok third place with a throw of 16.95m. In the men's javelin throw, Brady Shadrick finished third after a throw of 50.52m. On the women's side, UTA took two of the top three spots led by Khya Walton who finished second with a throw of 37.48m while Eliza Lemberga placed third after a throw of 36.45m.
Ridgway helped Abigail Flores to WAC Field Athlete of the Week honors after the senior finished in the top half of a crowded women's discus field at the 44 Farms Team Invitational after launching an outdoor program record mark of 50.97m. Competing against a field that featured athletes from national powerhouses like Texas Tech, Nebraska, and Michigan, the senior launched a program-record throw of 50.97m in the women's discus. The mark placed her 15th overall in a highly competitive field, shattering both her personal best and the UT Arlington outdoor record.
At the 2025 WAC Outdoor Championships, Josh Hoelkendorf kicked off the scoring for the Mavericks on the men's side by taking the top spot in the hammer throw. Hoekendorf entered his final throw sitting in second before launching it 57.09m to take the lead over Abilene Christian's Sutton Welch. Welch's last throw fell just short of Hoekendorf's mark, going 56.98m to secure the victory for Hoekendorf and the Mavs.
Out of eight selections for UTA, Wilson represented in the shot put at the 2025 West Preliminary Round in College Station where wrapped up his junior campaign finishing 32nd overall in the men's shot put. The WAC champion's best throw came on his first attempt where he launched it 17.71m which tied for his fourth best throw of the outdoor season.
In his first four seasons in Arlington, the team's throwers have set three school records and have posted seven top-3 all-time marks in throwing events between the indoor and outdoor seasons. In 2020, Nolan Daggs set a school mark in the men's weight throw and snagged third-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors indoors.
Ridgway joined the Mavericks after spending one season at Harvard. Prior to that, he served as the throws coach at Central Michigan from 2009-15.
During his career, Ridgway has coached one Olympian, nine All-Americans, 13 conference champions, 44 conference medal winners, one conference MVP, four conference record holders, 44 NCAA Regional qualifiers, five conference Field Performers of the Meet, the 2016 USTFCCCA Northeast Region Athlete of the Year, two IAAF World Championship qualifiers and one USATF World Junior team member.
At Harvard, Ridgway mentored Nikki Okwelogu, who earned first-team All-America honors in the shot put (eighth place) and second-team honors in the discus (10th) at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also was a first-team All-American in the indoor season after placing third in the shot put. In addition, Okwelogu represented Nigeria in the shot put at the Rio Olympics after landing an Olympic standard throw at the NCAA East Preliminary Round (17.91m).
Ridgway began his collegiate coaching career in 2004 as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Baptist. There he helped the women's team win the 2005 National Championship. After Oklahoma Baptist, he had two-year stints at both Louisiana-Monroe and Central Florida.
Ridgway, whose top event as a competitor was the shot put, began his collegiate career at Oklahoma. As a Sooner, he earned two varsity letters and a spot on the 1999 Academic All-Big 12 team. He then transferred to North Carolina for his final two seasons, where he was recognized as an All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer during the 2000 outdoor and 2001 indoor seasons.
Ridgway graduated from UNC in August 2001 with a bachelor's degree in economics.
