Jay Ronayne
Head Coach

Jay Ronayne is in his fourth 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 three 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 five Big 12 champions during three-year tenure.

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. It marked the program’s 13th consecutive and 14th overall NCAA regional appearance. Iowa State crowned three Big 2009 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. Iowa State also had a Big 12-best nine gymnasts receive first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors in 2009.

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 Championships 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 led Iowa State to a 12-5 regular-season finish in 2007 and a berth in the NCAA Central Regional.
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 fourth 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. She also 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.

Jay Santos
Assistant Coach

A 29-year gymnastics veteran, including 10 years of coaching and competing at the Division I level, Jay Santos is entering his fourth year as an assistant coach at Iowa State. Santos serves as the recruiting coordinator and bars coach for head coach Jay Ronayne.

Santos has helped guide the Cyclones to three-consecutive NCAA Regional appearances, a co-runner up finish at the 2007 Central Regional and second-place showing at the 2008 Big 12 Championships.

In 2009, Santos helped guide Ceilia Maccani to a Big 12 co-title on bars.  Maccani also scored a 9.925 on bars in front of a record-breaking crowd of 7,224 in Hilton Coliseum.  Maccani's score tied for the fourth-highest tally in ISU history.

The ISU bars line-up has thrived under Santos, finishing No. 11 in the final 2007 rankings. In 2009, Santos helped guide Ceilia Maccani to a Big 12 co-title on bars.  Maccani also scored a 9.925 on bars in front of a record-breaking crowd of 7,224 in Hilton Coliseum on Feb 20, 2009.  Maccani's score tied for the fourth-highest tally in ISU history. Janet Anson, Maccani and Katie Lasher were named all-conference after finishing in the top four at the Big 12 Championships. Nikki Dilbert also placed third at the NCAA Central Regional. In 2008 Dilbert and Jasmine Thompson tied for third on the bars at the Big 12 Championships.

Before his arrival in Ames, Santos spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio State. While at OSU, he coached bars and floor and was a major factor in recruiting. He also coached five Buckeyes to All-Big Ten honors.

Prior to Ohio State, Santos served as women’s team director and head coach at Somersault Gymnastics Center in Stoughton, Mass., for four years. He coached at Somersault for a total of eight years. He was responsible for all facets of the women’s program and produced several Junior Olympic national and regional qualifiers, and many state champions. Santos served as a nationally rated men’s gymnastics judge from 1997-2001, working numerous college dual meets as well as Junior Olympic state and regional championships.

Santos graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1995, earning a business degree in operations management. He competed for the men’s gymnastics team for four seasons and during his stay at UMass the Minutemen won the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) team championship in 1995, and the New England regional championship from 1992-95. Individually, Santos was a three-time co-captain for UMass (1993-95).

Jessica Bartgis
Assistant Coach

Former Pittsburgh assistant coach Jessica Bartgis is in her first year as an assistant coach at Iowa State.

Bartgis joins Iowa State after a three-year (2006-09) stint at Pittsburgh where she was named the 2007 NCAA Northeast Regional Co-Assistant Coach of the Year. The Frederick, Md., native focused on vault and floor at Pitt and oversaw Dani Bryan, who won the league vault crown in 2007. Bartgis had four other gymnasts earn all-league recognition on vault during her tenure at Pittsburgh. Bartgis was additionally the co-recruiting coordinator for the Panthers.

“Iowa State is extremely fortunate to have someone of Jessica’s talents,” ISU head coach Ronayne said. “She brings tremendous experience as a competitor and coach on all events. She is a judge and a tremendous spotter, which is important in practice. Jessica also has a true passion for recruiting and it showed while she was at Pittsburgh because she brought in some really quality gymnasts.”

Before joining the Pittsburgh staff, Bartgis was a volunteer assistant at her alma mater, West Virginia (2005-06). In her season coaching for the Mountaineers, Bartgis saw WVU take third in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) and place fifth at the NCAA Southeast Regional competition.

While competing at West Virginia, Bartgis put together the third-highest all-around score (39.625) in program history. Additionally, she was a first-team All-EAGL honoree in the all-around and on bars in 2005. In 2004, Bartgis tied for the league vault crown and was a second-team all-league recipient in the all-around and vault. Bartgis is the last Mountaineer to score a 10.0, a feat she accomplished on vault in 2004. She was a three-time All-EAGL academic pick, while being a 2005 NACGC/W All-Academic selection.

Bartgis has been a club coach in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia and has camp coaching experience throughout the United States.

Bartgis earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in athletic coaching education from West Virginia in 2005 and later earned her master’s degree in the same concentration in 2007. She has been a certified USAG judge since 2007.

Bartgis will also serve as the team director and head coach of Cardinal Gymnastics Academy.