June 4, 2002
Columbia, SC – After leading South Carolina to the school’s first-ever NCAA title, Gamecock Head Track and Field Coach Curtis Frye has been named the United States Track Coaches Association (USTCA) Division I Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year today. It is the second time he has received this honor in four years and the fourth time he has been named a National Coach of the Year.
Frye’s Gamecock women won the school’s first NCAA title in any sport with by a 10-point margin over favored-UCLA. It topped the women?s highest finish, as the ladies were fourth in 1997 and 2001. It was the seventh straight year the women?s team finished in the top 10 outdoors – matched only by Texas and UCLA nationally.
“While I accept this award with much gratitude because it was voted for by my peers, I also accept it with my hat off to the Carolina athletes, coaches, administration and staff,” said Frye, in his sixth year at Carolina. “As a member of the Gamecock family, I couldn’t have won this award without the support of Athletics Director Mike McGee and the entire department. I am honored to have the best coaching staff in America with some of the top support staff in the country. The men?s and women?s team have worked hard this year and the five NCAA outdoor titles and numerous All-Americans are a tribute to the work everyone put in all year.”
Frye saw his women’s team win the 4x100m relay, the 4x400m relay (with a collegiate record) and individually, Lashinda Demus won the 400m hurdles with a world junior record.
On the men’s side, who finished sixth at the NCAA meet, Otukile Lekote won the 800m title for the second straight year and the men’s 4x400m relay also brought home a title. It is the fifth straight year the men have finished in the top 20.
The men’s coach of the year is LSU’s Pat Henry. The women’s athlete of the year is Angela Williams of Southern Cal, while the men’s athlete of the year is LSU’s Walter Davis.
See below for a list of other Frye honors and achievements:
FRYE – one of the usa’s finest coaches
? 2002 Women’s Outdoor National Coach of the Year
? 2001 Nike Coach of the Year
? 2001 Goodwill Games U. S. Men’s Head Coach
? 2000 USTCA Women’s Region Outdoor Coach of the Year
? 1999 USTCA Men’s National Indoor Coach of the Year
? 1999 USTCA Women’s National Outdoor Coach of the Year
? 1999 SEC Outdoor Women’s Coach of the Year
? 1999 Assistant Coach for the USA at the World Track and Field Championships
? 1997 USOC Track and Field Coach of the Year
? 1980 North Carolina High School Coach of the Year
? Founder of Speed Elite, formerly South Carolina Elite, a track and field club for serious athletes with the goal of making the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics
? Head Coach of one NCAA Championship Team
? Head Coach of two SEC Championship Teams
? Assistant Coach of 18 ACC Championship Teams
? Coached 6 Olympic medalists
? Coached 17 Olympians
? Coached almost 50 NCAA Champions
? Coached almost 300 NCAA All-Americans
? Coached over 75 SEC Champions
? Coached over 75 ACC Champions
