Williams Named Collegiate Pole Vault Coach Of The Year

Jan. 17, 2003

RENO, Nev. - Tom Williams, who is in his third season as an assistant track and field coach at the University of Oklahoma, was named National Collegiate Pole Vault Coach of the Year today by USA Track and Field. The award was presented during the opening ceremonies of the USA Track and Field Pole Vault Summit in Reno. Williams took eight current and one former Sooner vaulter to the two-day meet.

"This is a huge honor and frankly I was quite surprised," Williams said. "This truly is a reflection of the efforts of our student-athletes and the support we receive. We work hard together and we share our success together. We have taken more vaulters to nationals the last two years than any school in the country and I am indeed fortunate to have the talented student-athletes and support to make that happen."

The award recipient is selected annually by the event committee of USA Track and Field. Coaches are honored for their work with collegiate student-athletes as well as their work promoting the sport and their outreach. Williams qualifies on all accounts.

His Sooner vaulters have been among the best in the nation the last two years. Current senior Michael Westlund won the 2001 Big 12 Indoor championship and current junior Leslie Dunlap won the 2001 Big 12 Outdoor title and the 2002 Big 12 Indoor title on the women's side. OU got huge points from the vaulters at the 2002 Big 12 Indoor meet as the Sooner men finished third (graduated Michael McNamara), fourth (Westlund) and fifth (then-freshman Austin Landreth) while the women were first (Dunlap) and fourth (then-freshman Lindsey Bourne). At the 2002 Big 12 Outdoor Championship, the vaulters once again provided a significant number of points with the women finishing third (Dunlap) and fifth (Bourne) and the men finishing second (Westlund), fourth (then-senior Brett Corlett), fifth (then-junior Robin Hanna) and sixth (Landreth).

The Sooners sent three vaulters (Westlund, Michael McNamara and Dunlap) to the 2002 NCAA Indoor meet and Westlund earned All-America honors with his fourth-place finish. It marked the fourth time in his three-year Sooner career for Westlund to earn All-America honors. McNamara was ranked fourth in the country heading into the meet and Westlund was sixth. Dunlap was ninth. OU had four vaulters (McNamara, Westlund, Dunlap and freshman Austin Landreth) compete at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor meet. Dunlap became the first NCAA All-American in women's pole vault in school history with her sixth-place finish. Landreth was the only true freshman to make the 2002 NCAA Outdoor field and McNamara just missed earning NCAA All-America honors with his ninth-place finish.

Additionally, Dunlap earned first team Academic All-America honors last year from the National Collegiate Division I Track Coaches Association.

Williams is active as a pole vault clinician across the country and has worked with high school coaches and parents to discuss safety issues with the sport and training programs.

He is the first Sooner track coach to be selected by the event committee of USA Track and Field for national collegiate coach of the year honors. Williams, a former vaulter and assistant coach at Nebraska, joined the Sooner staff in September 2000.

While Williams and the Sooner vaulters are in Reno, the rest of the Sooner track and field team is in Norman to host the Oklahoma Track Classic, the season opener for the 2003 indoor track and field season. Field event action begins at 10 a.m. and the first event on the track is set for 12:30 p.m. at the Mosier Indoor Facility.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Williams Named Collegiate Pole Vault Coach Of The Year

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