Henry Wins 33rd Career National Crown as Coach, Again Sweeps National Coach of the Year Honors



June 21, 2011



NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced that Texas A&M’s Pat Henry again has swept National Coach of the Year honors in outdoor track & field for NCAA’s Division I. Henry, chosen by his peers for the awards, led the Aggies to an unprecedented double three-peat of NCAA team titles as both men’s and women’s teams won national outdoor crowns for the third-consecutive year.



Overall for Henry, the 2011 outdoor NCAA team crowns were the 32nd and 33rd national championship of his storied career that has spanned 24 years between LSU and Texas A&M. In all of NCAA athletics, only two others have earned more national titles as a head coach. Kenyon College’s Jim Steen with 50 NCAA titles in Division III swimming and diving and longtime Arkansas track & field and cross country coach John McDonnell with 40 national crowns are the lone names superior to Henry in the category.



NATIONAL MEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR: Pat Henry, Texas A&M



The Texas A&M men won their third-straight NCAA outdoor team title by a single-point, 55-54, over Florida State and just two points ahead of indoor champion Florida (53). The Aggies needed to win the final event of the NCAA Championships, the 4x400-meter relay to have a shot at the team title. The 4x400 squad, Texas A&M’s lone event champion of the national outdoor championships, of Bryan Miller, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Preble, and Tabarie Henry brought home victory to the Aggies in 3:00.62.



Texas A&M had 12 scoring performances in the NCAA meet as depth was a key contributor to the Aggies title run.



Henry’s Aggies were also the Big 12 Champions, scoring a league-record 175 points for the school’s first men’s outdoor conference crown since 2001.



Past Winners:

2011: Pat Henry, Texas A&M

2010: Pat Henry, Texas A&M

2009: Pat Henry, Texas A&M

2008: Bob Braman, Florida State

2007: Bob Braman, Florida State

2006: Bob Braman, Florida State





NATIONAL WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR: Pat Henry, Texas A&M



The Aggie women also needed a final boost from their 4x400 team to win their third-straight national title. Texas A&M would win the national title with 49 points, four ahead of runner-up Oregon (45). The 4x400 squad of Jeneba Tarmoh, Ibukun Mayungbe, Andrea Sutherland, Jessica Beard claimed victory as Beard would run an all-time meet best anchor split of 49.13 to catch Auburn at the tape for a 3:26.31 performance. Beard also won the individual 400-meter title in 51.10.



Texas A&M’s women also won the Big 12 title. The fifth-straight conference crown for the Aggies came with a 146-119 victory over Nebraska.



Past Winners:

2011: Pat Henry, Texas A&M

2010: Pat Henry, Texas A&M

2009: Pat Henry, Texas A&M

2008: Dennis Shaver, LSU

2007: Greg Kraft, Arizona State

Kraft, who is now entering his 31st year of Division I coaching and 22nd as a head coach, has long been associated with successful track and field and cross country programs. As an assistant, Kraft tutored 26 All-Americans and 36 individual conference champions while helping guide his schools to four conference titles and three NCAA Top 10 finishes. He started his coaching career in 1979 as a graduate assistant coach at his Alma mater, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. During Kraft's one-year stint at Cal Poly, the Mustangs won the NCAA Division II titles in both track and field and cross country. Kraft is married to the former Maggie Keyes of Mill Valley, Calif. Maggie is a former collegiate record-setting miler who won AIAW, TAC and Millrose Games titles. She was also a member of the USA's first-ever World Championship team in 1983. The Krafts have two sons, Kyle, an engineering student in ASU's Barretts College, and Cory, currently a sophomore on the ASU team (pole vault). Courtesy ASU


2006: Ralph Spry, Auburn







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Tom Lewis

U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association

Communications Manager

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