Jay Ronayne
Head Coach

Jay Ronayne is in his fifth year as head gymnastics coach at Iowa State University. Ronayne has seen his Cyclones succeed both in the gym and in the classroom, while witnessing record attendance figures during his tenure. The Worcester, Mass., native has piloted the Cyclones to NCAA regional appearances in his four seasons at Iowa State. He has also led the Cyclones to .1 of a point from being Big 12 champions, a tie-breaker from advancing to the NCAA Championships and has coached four Big 12 champions during his four-year tenure.

Ronayne’s squads continually score well in the classroom, highlighted by the Cyclones earning the most Academic All-Big 12 honorees of all league schools in 2009 and 2010.  During his time at ISU, Ronayne has seen his Cyclones receive 33 total Academic All-Big 12 honors.

The 2010 Cyclone squad ranked as high as 13th in the country and earned a trip to the program’s 14th consecutive NCAA Regional meet. Sophomore Michelle Browning capped off the year by earning a trip to the NCAA Championships in the all-around.

Ronayne’s 2009 squad closed the campaign with a third-place finish at the NCAA North Central Regional, where the Cyclones were within striking distance of advancing to the NCAA Championships. Iowa State crowned three 2009 Big 12 Conference event champions in Megan Barnes (vault), Ceilia Maccani (bars) and Jasmine Thompson (beam). The three league champions ties the all-time high mark in ISU gymnastics history.

The 2009 campaign was also highlighted by record-breaking attendance figures as Iowa State shattered the all-time season mark by over 4,000 fans. Furthermore, the Cyclones had an all-time crowd of 7,224 watch Iowa State down Minnesota on Feb. 20.

In 2008, Ronayne had his injury-riddled, young squad in the lead of the Big 12 Championship with only one competitor remaining. It took a 9.950 on the vault from Oklahoma’s All-American and 2008 Big 12 Gymnast of the Year Kiara Redmond-Sturms to wrestle the league crown away from the Cyclones by .1 of a point.

In 2007, Ronayne led the Cyclones to the NCAA Central Regional in his first season at the helm. Only a tie-breaker procedure prevented the Central Regional co-runners-up from advancing to the NCAA Championships. The Cyclones tied Oklahoma for second place with a 195.925 score. With the top two teams advancing to the NCAA Championships, the sixth score in each event was added and the Sooners escaped with the win by .2 of a point. Ronayne coached All-American Janet Anson in 2007, the eighth All-American he’s tutored in his 19-year collegiate coaching career.

Ronayne was named head coach at Iowa State July 5, 2006. He came to ISU after four seasons (2003-2006) as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Auburn.

Ronayne’s tenure at Auburn coincided with the most productive period in school history. The Tigers competed in four consecutive NCAA Regional Championships (2003-06), one NCAA Championship (2003) and produced three All-Americans in his four years. Ronayne is credited with helping elevate the Tigers’ program into a steady Top 20 finisher (three times in his four seasons) with his tireless and effective recruiting skills. Prior to his appointment, Auburn had gone six seasons finishing outside of the NCAA’s Top 20. Ronayne also helped the Tigers rank in the nation’s top five in attendance in two of his last three seasons.

One of Ronayne’s recruits, Julie Dwyer, became just the third multiple All-American in Auburn history. She was named 2006 SEC Gymnast of the Year. He also recruited Lindsey Puckett, the 2006 Northeast Regional vault champion. Ronayne had three recruits who qualified for the NCAA Championship in his tenure.

Prior to joining the staff at Auburn, Ronayne was the top assistant at West Virginia University, where he helped the team to eight conference titles in the EAGL (East Atlantic Gymnastics League), 13 NCAA Regional appearances and three NCAA Championship appearances. He coached four All-Americans, seven individual qualifiers, two NCAA Regional champions and 20 conference champions. He was named the 1992 NCAA Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year.

A native of Worcester, Mass., Ronayne began coaching gymnastics after competing in the sport for 12 years at the USGF and NCAA levels. A 1989 graduate of Massachusetts, Ronayne received a bachelor’s degree in English. Since his graduation, Ronayne has done extensive graduate study in sport psychology and athletic coaching education.

Ronayne is married to the former Mary Hefferin, who is the Iowa State director of gymnastics operations.

Mary Ronayne
Director of Gymnastics Operations

Mary Ronayne is in her fifth year as the director of gymnastics operations at Iowa Sate. She joined the Cyclone gymnastics staff from Auburn where she served as assistant director of the Aquatics Center for four years which hosted conference and national championships. As the director of operations, Ronayne coordinates all team travel, organizes community service outreach and is the meet director for all home meets. Additionally, she is responsible for daily office operations. Ronayne is also the director of Cyclone Gymnastics Camp held each summer and the co-owner and director of Cardinal Gymnastics Academy, a recreational and competitive club on Iowa State’s campus for young gymnasts. A 1998 graduate of West Virginia, Ronayne earned a bachelor’s of science degree in elementary education.

Ronayne is the wife of Iowa State head gymnastics coach Jay Ronayne.

Kristen Maloney
Assistant Coach

Former NCCA national champion and a member of the 2000 United States Olympic bronze-medal winning team Sydney, Austrailia, Kristen Maloney is in her first season as an assistant coach at Iowa State.

Maloney came to Iowa State after a stellar amateur career and one year as an assistant coach at New Hampshire.

Before getting into coaching, Maloney was a member of three (2001, 2003 and 2004) NCAA national-title-winning squads at UCLA and won two individual national titles (vault and beam) in 2005.  The Pen Argyl, Pa., native was the first UCLA gymnast to score a perfect 10.0 score on all four events during her collegiate career.  Maloney concluded her collegiate career as a nine-time All-America recipient. She placed second on bars at the NCAA national championships in 2004 and tied for the highest all-around score at the national team finals in 2004 with a 39.725.

In 2005, Maloney was the Pac-10 Conference champion in the all-around, vault, beam and floor en route to being named Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year. Maloney was the second gymnast in league history to earn all-conference honors on all four events and in the all-around.  In addition to winning vault and beam national titles, Maloney placed second in the all-around at the 2005 national championships. She was the 2005 NCAA West Regional Gymnast of the Year after winning the vault, beam and floor titles. Maloney's stellar 2005 season was capped when she was earned the Honda Award, given to the top collegiate female gymnast.

Prior to arriving at UCLA, Maloney was a member of the United States national team from 1994-2000.  From 1998-2000 Maloney won four national championships (all-around, all-around, vault and floor), and was tabbed the 1998 USA Gymnastics Sportswoman of the Year. She would later win the gold medal on beam at the 1998 Goodwill Games.

After graduating from UCLA in 2005, Maloney spent time as a gymnastics instructor in New York and as a performer in Cirque Du Soieil.
 

Katie Minasola
Assistant Coach

Katie Minasola joined the Iowa State gymnastics staff in July 2011 after seven seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan State. While with the Spartans, Minasola helped guide MSU to NCAA Regional appearances the past six seasons.

Minasola's roles at Michigan State included working with the floor exercise competitors on choreography for routines, the team's academic liaison and as recruiting coordinator. She helped the Spartans to their best finish in school history at the NCAA Regionals.

Minasola's college career started at the University of Massachusetts, where she claimed school records on both the uneven bars and balance beam while earning an Atlantic 10 Conference championship on bars in 2002 with a 9.950 mark.

After the UMass gymnastics program was discontinued, she transferred to Central Michigan to close out her career. In her one season with CMU, Minasola took down the school record in the bars with two perfect 10 performances. She went on to take the Mid-American Conference and regional title in the event to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Prior to collegiate competition, Minasola competed in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing eighth in the all-around which earned her the opportunity to serve as an alternate for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team. Minasola helped the U.S. earn gold at the 1995 Pan American Games with a fourth-place finish on the balance beam. In 1994, Minasola finished eighth in the All-Around at the Coca-Cola National Championships. Her list of accomplishments also includes a first-place finish on beam and in the all-around at the 1993 Junior Olympic National Championships.

Minasola earned her degree from Massachusetts in 2003.