Portland State University Athletics

Javier Olivas enters his second season within the Portland State track and field program in 2015-16, after joing the Vikings as a full-time assistant before the 2014-15 school year. Olivas coaches the multi-events, all of the men’s jumps, the throws and the women’s high jump for the Vikings, and serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator.

Olivas helped lead Baileh Simms to second-team NCAA All-American honors in the long jump in his first season as a Viking. Simms, a sophomore in 2015, became just the Vikings' third second-team All-American in school history with her honor in the long jump, and became the youngest Viking to ever earn NCAA All-American honors since the program elevated to the Division I stage.

Simms also defended her Big Sky title in the long jump while setting new Portland State, championship meet and Big Sky Conference records in the event with a jump of 20-09.25 (6.33m) at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships.
 
Olivas joined the Viking program after spending five seasons at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, including the last three as a full-time assistant. Olivas coached seven athletes to the NCAA Championships and 10 athletes to the NCAA preliminaries at UMES, the highest total in the school’s recent history. Olivas’ athletes also broke 10 school records in his time at UMES, including records across the sprints, jumps and throwing disciplines. In his first season as a graduate assistant at UMES, Olivas led the program’s throwers to school records in every throwing event.
 
Olivas oversaw several decorated athletes at UMES, too, including Owen Cain, who set the school record in the triple jump at 51-1, and was the IC4A Champion and MEAC Field MVP during the 2012 season. Additionally, Olivas served as the director of strength training at UMES both while a graduate assistant from 2008-10, and then later as a full-time assistant from 20011-14.
 
Olivas spent the 2010-11 school year as a member of the University of California Santa Barbara’s track and field coaching staff in between his time as a graduate assistant and full-time assistant at UMES. Olivas oversaw the vertical jumps, throwers and multi-events at UCSB, and coached one USA Junior National qualifier and two NCAA National qualifiers while at the school. Additionally, his athletes scored a combined 59 points at the 2011 Big West Conference championships, including a 1-3-4 finish in the high jump. Olivas also coached Derek Masterson to a personal-record score of 7,295 points in the decathlon, ranking him in the top 30 in the nation during the 2011 season.
 
Olivas holds a USATF Level 1 certification, and is a USTFCCCA Certified Jumping Specialist, USTFCCCA Certified Sprinting Specialist and a USA Sports Performance Coach.
 
Olivas was also an accomplished athlete himself in college, as Olivas, a native of Del Rio, Texas, was a NCAA National qualifier finalist as a thrower at Texas A&M, as well as a three-time All-Big 12 performer and a two-time all-region performer. Olivas originally joined the storied Aggies program as a walk on, but worked his way to earning a full scholarship by the time he graduated in 2008.