Devon Montgomery, a former standout athlete at Southern Utah University, continues his journey in track and field as a collegiate coach, according to an April 27 announcement. Montgomery did not begin hurdling until his junior year of high school after encouragement from his mother. “My mom said she was a hurdler and that I should try it,” Montgomery said. “The first time I tried it, I wasn’t very good.” However, he quickly improved and qualified for the state meet by the end of the season. “I just took to it fast,” he said.
Montgomery’s path to SUU came together late in his senior year of high school, but he saw an immediate opportunity with the Thunderbirds’ program. “I knew I was going to compete right away,” Montgomery said. During his time at SUU, he became one of the top hurdlers in program history but initially considered pursuing culinary studies before shifting focus to kinesiology and physical education when he realized SUU did not offer a culinary program. “I switched over to kinesiology and then finished with physical education teaching and coaching,” Montgomery said.
While still competing for Southern Utah, Montgomery gained early coaching experience through youth programs like Track Attack and by working with high school athletes during college. “It was a little weird coaching kids the same age as me,” he said with a laugh. Today, he serves as Director of Sprints and Hurdles at Viterbo University after applying to more than 40 schools post-graduation before accepting an opportunity in Wisconsin—a place he’d never visited—to help rebuild its program. “I didn’t want to just go somewhere and work with people that were already good,” Montgomery said. “I wanted to make them good.”
Montgomery has continued competing independently since graduating from SUU in 2019 while building his coaching career: “I’m a lot faster now than I was in college,” he said, attributing improvement to experience rather than harder training sessions: “Over time you learn that less is more.” He often trains alongside athletes during practice sessions but emphasizes intentionality over imitation: “I don’t necessarily want them to copy my form,” he said. “I want them to see the intentionality.”
Balancing roles as both personal trainer and university coach requires long hours starting early each morning—yet even on tiring days, Montgomery aims for consistency so athletes can learn discipline extending beyond athletics: “They know I’m tired,” he said; “But they also know I’m going to give my best effort.” Many students under his guidance are preparing for demanding health care careers requiring similar dedication.
Despite holding several records at Southern Utah University from his own athletic career there, Montgomery looks forward rather than dwelling on past achievements: “I don’t want to hold them forever,” he said; “Somebody’s going get faster than me at some point… That’s why the records are there… It’s fun.”
