Williams joins Sun Devil track & field coaching staff

Williams joins Sun Devil track & field coaching staff
Ronnie Williams has been hired to serve as an assistant coach on the Arizona State University track and field coaching staff, Director of Track & Field Greg Kraft announced Tuesday. Williams, a former four-time All-American sprinter, will work with the Sun Devil men's sprints, hurdles and relays and replaces Terry Winston, who took a similar position at Louisville following the conclusion of the 2009 season.

"Ronnie brings a tremendous amount of energy to our program and will be a great addition to our staff," Kraft said. "He made his mark early in his career as a relentless recruiter. In this day and age, with the demands of recruiting and the relationships formed with the athletes, their parents and their coaches, Ronnie has established himself as one of the top recruiters in the country, along with being a highly technical coach as well. I feel his familiarity with our program and with the roster will make for a seamless transition. Our goals for our men's team this year are incredibly high and he understands that. I know he looks forward to the challenge of helping our program reach its goals and we look forward to having him guide our sprinters to success."

Williams' position with the Sun Devils brings him back to the Valley of the Sun where his coaching career began as an assistant at Mesa Community College (2006-07). Since his time at MCC, Williams served as an assistant coach at Iowa State (2008) and Texas Christian (2009) where he also worked with the sprints, hurdles and relays.

"Coming to work with the Arizona State track and field program is a very exciting opportunity for me," Williams said. "I know the tradition and have seen how the program has developed since Coach Kraft first stepped on campus. Arizona State is one of the top programs in the nation and vying for national titles each year is very exciting for me because I now am able to come in and have the opportunity to put my stamp on the sprints. I want to get this group of sprinters to the point where we are big contributors on the conference and national level and helping the program win titles at the Pac-10 and NCAA meets."

In his one year with TCU, Williams worked with several standout sprinters on both the men's and women's rosters with those athletes collecting All-America honors in a pair of relays and two individual events. At the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, the women's 4x400m relay placed fourth overall, which was the highest placement for that relay at a national meet in program history. He also worked with Jessica Young, who took fourth nationally in the 60m dash. At the outdoor meet, the men's 4x100m relay grabbed All-America honors by finishing eighth overall while Young finished as the national runner-up in the 100m dash.

Williams' sprinters also put on a show at the Mountain West Conference Championships. On the men's side, the TCU sprinters swept the Top 5 places in the 100m dash and added the Top 3 finishes in the 200m dash while recording eight NCAA regional qualifying marks. Young also fared well for the women by sweeping the 100m and 200m titles.

Prior to TCU, Williams worked with the Cyclones' sprinters and coached one athlete to All-America honors in the 800m run at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships. His athletes collected several regional qualifying marks during the outdoor season, which led to six Cyclones competing at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships.

In his first coaching position, Williams worked with the athletes at MCC for two seasons and left after his sprinters recorded seven NJCAA Top 8 finishes and four men's indoor school records (60m, 200m, 400m and 4x400m). During the 2007 season, Williams coached athletes to 11 marks good enough to qualify for the NJCAA meets (seven outdoor and four indoor) while posting four Top 8 finishes that year. One year earlier, 13 marks qualified for the NJCAA meets, including six indoors and seven outdoors. His athletes posted three Top 8 finishes at the national meets, including a third-place showing in the 100m dash at the outdoor championships.

As an athlete, Williams competed for two years at the University of Kentucky and collected four All-America honors and one Southeastern Conference title. In his first year in Lexington, Williams helped the 4x100m relay team to the SEC title before that same team earned All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In his senior campaign, he collected All-America honors in the 200m dash and the 4x400m relay at the NCAA Indoor meet before heading outdoors and helping the 4x400m relay to All-America honors as well. Williams later graduated from UK with his B.A. in Social Work (1997).

A native of California, Williams began his collegiate career by competing for two seasons at Long Beach City College. During his time at LBCC, Williams captured the 400m dash title at the 1994 Southern California Community College Championships while helping LBCC to a pair of team titles at the California Community College State Championships (1993 and 1994). Before departing to UK, Williams earned his Associates degree in Physical Education (1994).

Heading into his first season with the Sun Devils, Williams will inherit a talented roster of athletes that includes several All-Americans in Donald Sanford, Joel Phillip and Justin Kremer, as well as rising sophomore Allante Battle, who was one of only two freshmen to compete in both the 100m and 200m events at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

"We have a lot of talented sprinters already on this team and, with me coming in, they should expect to see my passion for the sport and for coaching track & field," Williams said. "My expectation is that the sprinters will continue to improve and run well each year and be contributors to our team goals each year. I also will continue to be an active recruiter and bring in other talented sprinters so that we can sustain our level of performance from year to year and keep Arizona State in the hunt for national titles."

Williams has attained three certifications from USA Track and Field in recent years, including a Level I Coaching Certification in 2006, a Level II Coaching Certification in 2007 and a Level II Jumps Certification in 2008.

The Williams File
• Coached sprints/hurdles/relays at TCU (2009), Iowa State (2008) and Mesa Community College (2006-07)
• Coached athletes to five NCAA All-America honors, including the 60m, 100m, 800m, 4x100m and 4x400m
• USATF Certifications: Level I, Level II and Level II Jumps
• Four-time All-American at Kentucky (200m, 4x100m, 4x400m indoor & 4x400m outdoor)
• Member of 1995 SEC 4x100m championship relay
• Graduated from UK with B.A. in Social Work (1997)
• 1994 Southern California Community College 400m champion
• Member of 1993 and 1994 California Community College State Championship teams
• Graduated from Long Beach City College with A.A. in Physical Education (1994)

courtesy ASU