Beighley Ayers joined the UMBC Cross Country and Track and Field coaching staff in August of 2023 and had an immediate impact. In the 2023 cross country season, she helped guide Baraka Sila and Cameron Hindle to All-Conference honors. Ayers helped Jafar Hussen break the school record in the 5k and Lexi Tepper to a top 10 mark all-time in the 6k.
During the 2023-204 indoor track season, Ayers helped lead UMBC to historic results. Liam Meginniss became the first UMBC male to win the 1,000m America East Championship. The men's 4x800m relay also won the America East Championship for the first time since 2013. Tyler Edson also earned All-Conference honors with his 2nd place finish in the 800m. Ayers helped coach 4 school records - the men's 1 mile, men's 1000m, the men's 4x800m and the men's Distance Medley Relay. The men's 4x800m relay finished the season ranked #7 in the NCAA, and the men's DMR finished ranked #37 in the NCAA - both the highest rankings in school history.Â
"Beighley has provided a tremendous boost to UMBC XC/TF" stated Head Cross Country Coach Mike DuPaul. "Her work ethic, positive attitude, and passion for the sport have helped our program reach historic levels of success."
Ayers graduated summa cum laude from Eastern Kentucky University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in forensic biology and minors in chemistry and psychology. She was a member of the Colonels cross country and track and field programs from 2018-2022. While a student-athlete there, Ayers was a member of the xc team during three OVC conference team titles. She also earned second team All-OVC honors after finishing 13th at the 2020 OVC XC Championships. At the outdoor OVC Track and Field Championships in 2021, Ayers placed sixth in the 5,000 meters. She will receive her Master’s degree in May 2024 in forensic biology from Towson University. While at Towson, she competed a fifth year in cross country and track and field from 2022-2023. Ayers is from Wheeling, West Virginia.
