LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Randolph College Director of Athletics, Tom Galbraith, announced Tuesday the hiring of Todd Pettyjohn as head women's track and field / cross country coach. He will also serve as an assistant coach for the men's programs in the same sports.
 
Pettyjohn re-enters the collegiate coaching ranks after four successful years as the head girls track and field coach at Jefferson Forest High School in Forest, Va. While there, his teams were twice the 4A Virginia state team runners-up. The Cavaliers won two state pole vault championships during his tenure, and the team won the Adidas Pentathlon National Girls Championship in 2022. Pettyjohn was named the 2022 Seminole District Girls Coach of the Year with the Virginia High School League (VHSL).
 
"From All-America student-athlete, to an NCAA Div. I conference Coach of the Year, to a state championship level coach at the highest division of the VHSL, Coach Pettyjohn brings to Randolph a wealth of experience and competitive drive to lead our women's track & field and cross country programs, plus assist with our men's programs," said Galbraith. "I was impressed by his vision for growth of the programs and an understanding of all of the coaching disciplines within the sport. Truly, Randolph is fortunate to have a candidate of this quality within its grasp. I cannot wait to see where our programs are headed under Todd's direction."
 
Collegiately, Pettyjohn served as the head track and field / cross country coach at Charleston Southern (S.C.) University for three seasons and was named 2001 Big South Conference Coach of the Year in his final campaign with the Buccaneers. From 2001-04 he served as the assistant coach at his alma mater, Liberty University. His collegiate coaching career began as an assistant coach at Campbell (N.C.) University. While at Liberty, Pettyjohn coached a 2004 United States Track and Field Championships third place finish in the women's pole vault and NCAA women's pole vault runner up in 2003.
 
Pettyjohn was a 1993 NCAA Division I decathlon All-America finisher at Liberty, setting a then-meet record in the pole vault. He is a three-time IC4A Champion and 2019 Chattanooga Ironman Finisher.
 
"I'm excited to be coaching at the collegiate level again and the challenge of building the program into an ODAC championship team," said Pettyjohn. As for what he is most excited about starting at Randolph, Pettyjohn said,"Helping develop the confidence and character of young women and men to go out into the world and achieve their dreams."
 
Pettyjohn and his wife, Annette, reside in Forest, Va. and are the parents of a son, Daniel, who serves in the U.S. Coast Guard, and a daughter, Hannah, who is a track and field student-athlete at Samford (Ala.) University.