May 31, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – The United States Track Coaches Association named South Carolina track and field Head Coach Curtis Frye and redshirt junior All-American Tiffany Ross-Williams as the 2005 Mondo District Outdoor Coach and Athlete of the Year for the southeast region.
Frye, in his ninth year as the head coach at South Carolina, recently coached the No. 2-ranked women’s team to their third SEC Outdoor Championship title in six years and their first NCAA East Regional Championship. At SECs, the Gamecocks won two relay wins and four individual titles, totaling 145.2 points for the win. Nine athletes and two relays at the East Regional Championship qualified to advance to the national championship in Sacramento, Calif. on June 8-11. Prior to the two championship wins, Frye led the women’s team to four relay wins and two individual titles at the 2005 Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
“It’s a team award,” Frye said. “I’m a part of a great staff and any time a head coach gets recognition, it’s credited to the entire staff. We have the best staff in the SEC.”
Ross-Williams, who was named the Most Outstanding College Athlete at the 2005 Penn Relays, won the 400m hurdles title, finished second in the 100m hurdles and ran on the winning 4x400m relay. Ross-Williams qualified for NCAAs in the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles, finishing in the top five in both events at the NCAA East Regional Championship.
“Tiffany Ross-Williams got the recognition that you should get when you overcome obstacles,” Frye said. “She is the product of a great support system that includes her grandmother, mother, husband and beautiful daughter. It could not happen for a more deserving young lady.”
Appalachian State coach John Weaver was named the southeast region men’s Coach of the Year, while Spyridon Jullien, of Virginia Tech, was named men’s Athlete of the Year for the region. The Athlete and Coach of the Year awards are sponsored by Mondo, USA, the world’s largest supplier of track &field surfaces. Mondo is the official provider of all tracks and equipment for the Track and Field Competitions for the Athens Olympic Games.
