Greene named Regional Sprint Coach of the Year

FAYETTEVILLE – University of Arkansas Associate Head Women’s Track Coach Rolando Greene was named the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association’s (USTFCCCA) Mideast Regional Sprint Coach of the Year in a release over the weekend.

Greene’s sprinters have had a tremendous season setting lifetime bests just about every time they step on the track and eclipsing three school records this spring. Juniors Jessica Cousins and Tominque Boatright have each held the 400-meter record at some point during the outdoor campaign with Cousins’ 52.06 standing as the UA record and the ninth-fastest time in the nation. Along with teammate Sasha Rolle, Cousins and Boatright are poised to race at the NCAA Championships in the quarter-mile sprint making Arkansas the only school with three runners at the national meet in the 400.

“I feel truly blessed,” Greene said of the award. “It is always an honor to be recognized by your fellow coaches and to have them see what I’ve done here with all of the amazing performances that have gone on throughout the region and the country is very humbling. My success this year is due to the hard work that our athletes have put in not just in season but going back to the end of last year.”

Along with the 400-meter record, Arkansas has had tremendous success in the relays this spring with records in both the 4×200 and sprint medley relays. The Lady’Backs set the 4×200-meter mark on way to a victory at the Drake Relays and the sprint medley with a victory at the Texas Relays. Arkansas’ 4×400-meter relay also took a Drake Relays title making the 2007 regular season one of the best in Lady Razorback history. While the Lady Razorback relays flourished, Greene certainly did not ignore the individual events. Each of his athletes set personal bests in multiple events this season including 100-meter hurdler Tiavannia Thompson who set the Bahamian National Record in her event at the Arkansas Twilight Meet.

The upcoming NCAA Championships could add even more accolades to Greene’s sprint crew as eight of the athletes he coaches are prepared to compete. Along with his three 400-meter runners, Greene has placed one in the 100-meter hurdles, one in the 200, one in the heptathlon and one in the javelin along with a 4×400-meter relay. Arkansas’ 4×100-meter relay could have competed at the NCAA Championships, but was scratched in order to maximize Arkansas’ scoring potential.

Greene’s honor is his second regional coach of the year award in the past four years. He was also designated the regional coach of the year in 2004, the same year he took national sprint coach of the year honors. That season, Greene coached Veronica Campbell and LaShaunte’a Moore to a sweep of the NCAA 200-meter titles indoors and out and then watched the pair go on to compete at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, Greece, where Campbell won two gold medals and one bronze.

Voting for the USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year is currently underway with a release date set for this week at the NCAA Championships. For more information about Lady Razorback track or about Arkansas women’s athletics, please go to LADYBACKS.COM.