Rebecca Hartley finished her 17th season as an assistant coach for the George Mason track and field teams in 2020-21. She brings with her solid credentials as a masters' thrower, distance runner, triathlete and USATF Level II certified throws coach.
Hartley has been instrumental in the development of three-time Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Field Performer Jaylen Simmons. Simmons, a three-time A-10 shot put champion, is a two-time NCAA East Preliminary qualifier. He currently holds the school records in the indoor shot put and hammer throw.
Under Hartley's coaching, Mason student-athletes have registered over 50 all-time marks in Mason's record books, highlighted by school records from Simmons (shot put, hammer) Wallerstedt (discus) and Benjamin Viau (weight throw),
Hartley coached NCAA Woman of the Year semifinalist Michelle Wallerstedt to Second Team All-America and Academic All-America honors in 2017. Wallerstedt finished 15th in the discus throw at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and was a two-time A-10 champion in the event.
Under Hartley’s coaching in 2016, Emily Muniz finished fourth in the weight throw, and Wallerstedt finished fifth in the shot put at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships. Hartley also coached Emily Muniz to a second-place finish in the hammer throw, Patrick Hodge to a fourth-place in hammer, and Jared Lewis to a fourth-place in shot put at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships. Hartley’s athletes qualified for two events at the ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Championships.
In the 2015 season, Hartley coached Michelle Wallerstedt to a first-place finish in the discus at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships, a second-place finish in the college discus throw at the Penn Relays and third place at the ECAC Championships. Wallerstedt was also an NCAA East Region qualifier and currently stands second on Mason’s all-time list.
During the 2012 season, Hartley coached Kelsey Reese to the CAA conference championship in the javelin. Reese also was an NCAA East Region qualifier and currently stands fourth on the all-time list at Mason.
Hartley was the head coach of the McLean Youth Track and Cross Country Club from 2002-08 and was an assistant coach for that club for two years. She has coached numerous youth athletes who have qualified for national competitions in throws and running events.
Hartley is a 1985 cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College, where she received a bachelor's degree in government. She later earned a master's from the University of Virginia in foreign affairs. She matriculated to law school at Virginia where she was editor-in-chief of the journal of law and politics and elected member of the Raven Society. She received her law degree in 1994.
In addition to her coaching duties, Hartley is also Mason’s Director of Export Compliance & Secure Research. She resides in Vienna, Va.
