MIDWAY, Ky. - Midway's Jay Walls has been named the River States Conference Coach of Character, the conference announced Monday.

Walls, who serves as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at Midway, received the honor that highlights an RSC coach that best embraces the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character program: Respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership and sportsmanship.

"It is an honor for me to be selected as the RSC Coach of Character," Walls said. " To be chosen by your peers throughout the conference and the conference administration truly means a lot to me. 

"This really is a testament to the type of student-athletes that we have in our program, though. They are the ones who go out there every day and put our core values on display. I am grateful and blessed to be able to work with such amazing student-athletes daily."

During the 2024-25 school year, athletes in Walls' programs recorded an accumulative grade-point average of 3.661, the highest of any athletic program on campus. The cross country program was also credited for more than 120 hours of community service.

His efforts have continued to leave an impact on athletes even after they've left the program.

"I've have many coaches -- none like Jay Walls," said Madison Clayton, a 2024 Midway graduate who ran for three seasons under Walls. "Joining a coach Jay team meant joining a family. He is the type of person who takes time to understand his runners, (forming) the kind of relationship that makes you know you're never alone.

"In my mind, there is no other coach who deserves this award because in every way he represents the very best of what a coach and person can be."

Walls, the 2021 River States Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year, begins his seventh season with the program this fall.

He is the second person from Midway to win the River States Coach of Character award, joining Sherril Smith, who earned the honor with the women's soccer program in 2021.

Walls is also the second Eagle to win an RSC postseason honor this summer, joining Athletic Trainer of the Year Anthony Passarette.