Salem College

AWARDS & ACCOLADES (West Forsyth HS)
-Central Piedmont Conference Coach of the Year (Girls Track: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 / Girls Cross Country: 2017, 2018, 2019 / Boys Cross Country: 2019, 2020)
-North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A Runner-Up Coach of the Year (Girls Cross Country: 2018, 2019 / Girls Indoor Track: 2019)
-Coached 17 Individual North Carolina High School Athletic Association State Champions
-Coached 54 Student Athletes to Collegiate Level (40-NCAA Division I, 7-NCAA Division II, 5-NCAA Division III, 2-NAIA)
-Team Conference Championships (Girls Track: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 / Girls Cross Country: 2017, 2018, 2019 / Boys Track: 2019, 2020)
-North Carolina High School Athletic State Championships (Boys Team Outdoor Track: 2017)
-North Carolina High School Athletic State Runner-Up (Girls Cross Country: 2018, 2019 / Girls Team Indoor Track: 2019 / Boys Team Indoor Track: 2017, 2020)

On Monday, January 20, 2025. Salem Director of Athletics, Michael Williams, announced the addition of Nathan Newsome as the program’s Director for Track & Field / Cross Country. Newsome will look to revive the Spirits’ cross country program, which last competed in 2019, while developing a new track and field program for Salem. 

Along with his duties with track and field as well as cross country, Newsome will serve as the program’s Assistant Director of Athletics for Business Operations and Development. 

A nine-time Central Piedmont Conference Coach of the Year at West Forsyth, a combined distinction for both track and cross country, Newsome has familiarity with both Winston-Salem and Triad-area prep programs. Newsome, who had two stints at West Forsyth, which spanned from 1995-2001 and later from 2006-2024, captured league Coach of the Year honors in girls track (2016-18, 2021), girls’ cross country (2017-19) and boys cross country (2019-20) during his tenure.

Additionally, Newsome was recognized as one of the top coaches in North Carolina for both the cross country as well as track and field programs, earning the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A Runner-Up Coach of the Year for girls’ cross country in both 2018 and 2019 as well as girls indoor track in 2019. 

Along with coordinating and implementing training, scheduling and travel accommodations for both programs, Newsome has developed 54 of his student athletes for success at the collegiate level. Of those 54 student athletes, 40 went onto compete at the NCAA Division I level, while seven reached the NCAA Division II level and five went onto compete in NCAA Division III and two at NAIA institutions. 

Newsome’s student athletes also found success during their time at West Forsyth. Among the most notable to compete in the collegiate ranks after Newsome’s tutelage were Tyson Adams (N.C. State), who was a four-time state champion in the long jump. He captured All-American honors in 2022-23 and reached the 2023 Indoor Nationals for the Wolfpack. Another was three-time state champion Lindsay Absher (Purdue), who was second at the 2019 Indoor Nationals, earning All-American status along the way. Mason Ellis, who established the state record in shot put, competed at Wake Forest. 

Newsome spent one year in the business sector, working for BB&T bank in 2001-02, before joining the staff at Mount Tabor High School from 2002-05. During his stint at Mount Tabor, Newsome was an assistant football coach and assistant indoor/outdoor track coach. He spent one year (2005-06) as the assistant principal at Bolton Elementary School. Newsome was also responsible for leading one of he top visual art programs in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School system as the taught advanced art courses at the high school level. He earned awards on a local, regional and national level in visual arts. 

After earning Male Athlete of the Year at West Forsyth in 1989, where he lettered in football, wrestling, baseball and track, Newsome played two seasons of baseball at East Carolina. He would earn his bachelor's degree in art education from East Carolina in 1993. In 2005, Newsome received a Master of Arts in school administration from Gardner-Webb. 

Newsome also qualified and competed in the Boston Marathon (2018) and saw four of his children enjoy success in track and field as well as cross country. His daughter Mackenzie competed in both track and cross country at Tusculum. Meanwhile his son Brock was an all-conference performer at UNC Asheville, setting the school record in the Distance Medley Relay. His youngest daughters, Blair and Hope, have also enjoyed success. Blair is attending Wake Forest and received the Presidential Fine Arts Scholarship, while Hope is currently a junior at West Forsyth and is an All-Conference performer in both the long jump and triple jump, qualifying nationally in triple jump.