July 12, 2004
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As two Gamecocks medaled at the USA Olympic Trials last night, South Carolina today announced it has hired one of the top sprints and jumps coaches in the country.
Jeff McAuley joins the Gamecock family as the newest assistant coach with the Gamecock track and field program. McAuley replaces Kevin Brown who took a position with Vector Sports Management last month. A respected veteran of track and field coaching, McAuley came to South Carolina from Penn State University. Prior to working with the Penn State women’s program the past two years, he was at Cal State Northridge, his alma mater, where he served as an assistant coach for seven seasons.
“Jeff brings a wealth of knowledge in a number of events,” said USC Head Coach Curtis Frye. “He will bring a lot of help in the short sprints area and he has background in the vertical and horizontal jumps. He has trained a number of international athletes and NCAA level athletes. Last year Penn State recruited one of the top five classes in the country. They also moved from being eighth place three straight years to winning the Big Ten Conference and finished 10th in the country – both their highest finishes.”
“I have known Jeff for a long time and his efforts as a recruiter, coach and family man have always impressed me,” said Frye. “He is great addition to our program and to the university.”
“I am excited and proud to be a part of the Gamecock family and I look forward to helping the track and field program build on its history and success. It was a tough decision to leave Penn State because they treated me and my family first-class and I enjoyed my time there,” said Jeff McAuley. “I have known Coach Frye for a long time and have always respected him. He is an outstanding coach and I look forward to working with him. Coach Quarles, Coach Sergent and Coach Rosenthal are all accomplished coaches in their event areas. I was impressed with what I saw when I interviewed there and know they have a quality athletic program from top to bottom. They have a lot to offer. My family and I are excited about moving to Columbia.”
Former Nittany Lion stars Connie Moore will also move to Columbia to train under Coach McAuley. Moore is an 11-time All-American and eight-time Big Ten Champion. Moore was ranked fifth in the 200 meters going into the trials by Track and Field News and beat Marion Jones earlier this spring. She finished eighth in the 100m at the US Olympic Trials and will compete in the 200m later this week.
McAuley’s impact in recruiting was huge at PSU, helping secure one of the top classes in the nation and possibly the best-ever at Penn State last fall. The group consists of athletes recognized among the top hurdlers, jumpers and sprinters in the nation on the high school level and includes several Track and Field News All-Americans and state champions from California, Delaware, Massachusetts and New York.
While at PSU, McAuley coached a number of fine athletes including Moore and Chi-Chi Aduba – one of the top jumpers in the country – a 5-time All-American, 3-time Big Ten champion and school record holder of all the Nittany Lion school records.
McAuley coached the sprints, hurdles and horizontal jump events for both men and women at Northridge since 1996. At Northridge, McAuley guided his athletes to 89 individual conference championships, 42 NCAA national qualifying marks, 43 indoor and outdoor school records and 21 Big Sky Conference records. Some of his more prominent Matador athletes included All-American sprinter Joe Criner, who ran a national best of 20.14 in the 200m in the 1998, nine-time Big Sky champion Brandi Preieto, multi-talented Clinte Motley, the most prolific scoring athlete in Big Sky history, 15-time conference champion sprinter Annetta Wells, All-American hurdler and 800m runner Races Santin, All-American triple jumper Dee Scott, NCAA hurdler and two-time conference champion Heather Heron, either-time conference champion Lashaunda Foweler and the 2002 USATF National Junior champion at 100m, Rashaad Allen.
His coaching resume includes 1999 national champion heptathlete Shelia Burrell, world class hurdler Dominique Arnold, NCAA triple jump runner-up Brandi Prieto, USATF 400m finalist Andre Ammons, and Avery Anderson, a first-year decathlete who placed sixth at the 2000 US Olympic trials among others.
Prior to coming to Northridge, McAuley served as a coach both privately and on the prep level. He was head track and field coach at Alemany High School from 1989-91, where his cross country teams were undefeated in dual meets both years. He also was an assistant track and field coach and cross country coach at Alta Loma High School from 1992-1995, where both the track and cross county teams were undefeated in dual meets.
McAuley and his wife, Lolita, the Northridge school record holder in the triple jump, have five children – Mariah (8), Jordan (6), Calah (3), Nehemiah (1) and Keziah (8 months).
Coaching Experience
Assistant Coach
2004 – present – South Carolina
Assistant Coach
2002 – 2004- Penn State
Assistant Coach
1996 – 2002 – Cal State Northridge
Assistant Coach
1992 – 1995- Alta Loma High School
Head Coach
1989 – 1991- Alemany High School
