Aug. 12, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After playing a key role in leading the Nittany Lion women's track and field program to a program-record fourth place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Penn State sprints/hurdles/relays mentor Chris Johnson has been promoted to Associate Head Coach for Men's and Women's Track and Field, announced by Director of Track and Field/Cross Country and Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan on Tuesday. Johnson joined the Nittany Lion women in 2004, and began coaching the Penn State men in 2006, making an immeasurable impact on both programs.
"I'm excited to promote Chris to the first-ever associate head coach in the Penn State athlete department, said Director of Track and Field and Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. "It was my decision to make this structural move to strengthen our program and continue to provide us to the means to be competitive at the conference and NCAA levels. I would like to thank (Director of Athletics) Tim Curley for his continued support of our overall track and field program."
Johnson's athletes fired on all cylinders in 2008, including national championship finishes from Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.) in the 400-meters, and Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.), and Cox in the 4x400-meter relay. Under Johnson's guidance, Barber will make Penn State history later this week, as she is slated to represent Trinidad in Tobago at the Olympic Games in the 100-meter hurdles in Beijing, China. In just four years in Happy Valley, Johnson has overseen a total of 29 NCAA All-America finishes, one Olympian, nine Big Ten individual champions, and eight winning conference relays. Johnson's efforts did not go unnoticed by his colleagues in 2008, as he was voted Mid-Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Johnson was the recipient of the same honor during the 2007 indoor season.
"I would like to thank Coach Sullivan and the Penn State athletic department, especially Tim Curley and (Assistant Athletic Director) Jan Bortner for promoting me to this position," said Johnson. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my first four years at Penn State and hope that I can continue to help the men's and women's teams continue to succeed and reach new heights in this new position."
The Penn State sprint stable has also been strong under Johnson's watch, as Ron Jules - an NCAA regional qualifier - captured runner-up honors in the 110-meter hurdles at the outdoor conference championships. Johnson also saw scoring finishes from Andrew Cope (Danville, Pa.) in the 100, and Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) in the 800-meters at the conference meet, as well as fourth-place finish in the 4x400. Jules was also the runner-up in the 60 hurdles at Big Ten Indoor Championships, to go along with top eight efforts from Adam Stanowick (Solon, Ohio) in the hurdles, Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.) in the 600-meters, and the 4x400 relay. In his first year overseeing the Nittany Lion men's sprints, hurdles, and relays in 2007, Johnson both the 4x100 and 4x400 teams to scoring performances at the conference meet. Johnson also led Jules to NCAA provisional qualifying status in the 60-meter hurdles, while Jules and senior Caleb Hood met the NCAA regional standards during the outdoor season.