Aug. 29, 2011

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By Miquel Jacobs
Assistant Media Relations Director

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head track and field coach Curtis Frye has announced that Ron Garner has joined the staff as an assistant coach.

Garner comes to South Carolina with over 25 years of experience at the collegiate level that includes serving as head coach at Clemson and as an assistant at Virginia, James Madison, Illinois and Christopher Newport. As head coach at Clemson from 1998-99, Garner coached the Tigers to the ACC team title and earned ACC Coach of the Year honors.

“This is a wonderful opportunity and I am excited to work at South Carolina,” Garner said. “The level of commitment and the kids in this program make me believe that South Carolina is just steps from recreating the magic of the 2002 NCAA Championship season. I am honored to work with Coach Frye and to be at South Carolina.”

Garner has coached 88 All-Americans, 189 national qualifiers, six NCAA champions and 77 conference champions in his time in the collegiate ranks. His coaching expertise has spanned all areas of the sport between field events and track events. He assisted in the development of an Olympic gold medalist (Kim Graham) and a bronze medalist (Tonja Buford-Bailey).

Under Garner, Bailey posted a career-best 52.62 in the 400-meter hurdles, the fourth-fastest women’s time ever recorded. Tanya Williams earned two gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the NCAA Championships in a two-year span and won 20 Big Ten championships in her collegiate career.

As recruiting coordinator at Illinois, Garner brought in three top-three nationally ranked recruiting classes, helped the Illini win six Big Ten team titles and coached Collinus Newsome to the 1995 USATF Junior National championship in the shot put. He began his career as an assistant at Christopher Newport University in 1982.

An alum of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, Garner was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in February 1999. He is married to former James Madison University head volleyball coach Disa Garner.