Olympian Among Newest Additions to Little Rock Track and Field Staff

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock Director of Track and Field/Cross Country J.P. Behnke announced two additions to his coaching staff Tuesday with Lexi Jacobus and Meg Joiner being added to the program's coaching staff.
 
Jacobus, wife of current Trojan assistant coach Derek Jacobus, is a 2016 Olympian in the pole vault and recently became the first-ever four-time NCAA Champion in the women's pole vault. Joiner, who has ties to Behnke as a former Oakland multi athlete, has spent the last three years as a high school head coach in Naples, Florida. Derek Jacobus moves from a volunteer role to a graduate coach role while Lexi will coach in the volunteer role.
 
Jacobus joins Alan Webb as the second Olympian on the Little Rock coaching staff.
 
"I am excited to announce the addition of Meg Joiner and Derek Jacobus as our new graduate assistants and Lexi Jacobus as our pole vault coach," Behnke said. "Lexi is a four-time national champion and the second Olympian added to our staff this summer. Derek, an All-American decathlete with the Razorbacks, joined our staff as a volunteer last March and did an exceptional job helping with our jumpers during the outdoor season. Meg brings several years of coaching experience including three years at the high school level in South Florida. She will assist Coach Webb with the distance events."
 
Lexi Jacobus
A 2016 Olympian and the first woman to ever win four NCAA Championships in the pole vault, Lexi Jacobus joined the Little Rock staff in the fall of 2019.
 
Jacobus claimed bronze at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials to qualify for the pole vault at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
 
She joined the Trojans' staff after spending four years at Arkansas racking up multiple honors including her four NCAA titles and seven First Team All-America honors during her collegiate career. Jacobus was a five-time Southeastern Conference Champion, an eight-time All-SEC honoree and led the Razorbacks to three NCAA team championships.
 
Also during her time in Fayetteville, she was a three-time Elite 90 Award winner, twice was named the NCAA South Central Regional Field Athlete of the Year and swept the SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year honors during the 2016 season.  Also named the 2019 Track & Field News Indoor Athlete of the Year, she holds the Arkansas school record for the indoor pole vault and ranks second all-time in program history in the pole vault outdoors.
 
Not just a standout athlete, she embodied the ideal student-athlete as she graduated from Arkansas in 2019 with a 4.0 grade point average in biochemistry and was named the 2018-19 Google Cloud Division I Academic All-America Team Member of the Year as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
Meg Joiner
Joiner spent the previous three years as a head coach at Barron Collier High (2016-17) and First Baptist Academy (2017-19) in Naples, Florida where she claimed back-to-back Naples Daily News Coach of the Year honors (2018-19).
 
She got her coaching start at her alma mater, Oakland, coaching the jumps for the 2015-16 season. That came after claiming back-to-back fifth place finishes in the multis at the Horizon League Championships, indoor and outdoor. Prior to her time at Oakland, she was an all-conference triple jumper and 100m hurdler at Spring Arbor College.
 
Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Joiner graduated from Oakland University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in education with a minor in language arts (English). She is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in sports administration at Little Rock.
 
Derek Jacobus
Former All-American Derek Jacobus enters his second season as an assistant coach for the Little Rock Track and Field program, working primarily with Trojan multi athletes.
 
A three-time NCAA Championship qualifier at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville), Jacobus was a second team indoor All-American in the heptathlon in 2019  and a second team outdoor All-American in the decathlon in 2018 while earning NCAA outdoor honorable mention honors in both 2016 and 2017. He was a key member of the Razorbacks' outdoor SEC Championship team in 2016 and the indoor title in 2017.
 
Jacobus placed fourth in the decathlon at both the 2017 and 2017 SEC Championships, capping his senior season with a seventh-place showing in the decathlon at the USATF Championships after placing 11^th in 2017.
 
Meet the New Coaches and Staff
Fans can meet all of the new coaches on the Little Rock staff at the 2019-20 season kick-off luncheon on Aug. 29 at the Legends Room located inside the Jack Stephens Center. The meal, provided by Corky's BBQ, costs just $20. For a $40 donation, fans will receive lunch and a t-shirt or can opt for a sweatshirt for $60 in addition to the meal.
 
To attend, please RSVP to Director of Track and Field/Head Cross Country Coach J.P. Behnke at 586-224-5112 or at jpbehnke@ualr.edu.
 
#LittleRocksTeam