Wednesday, June 12, 2013

UCLA Names John Frazier New Head Men's Track Coach Frazier competed for the Bruins from '82-'86



John Frazier

June 12, 2013




UCLA Director of Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Mike Maynard has announced the appointment of John Frazier as the new head men's track and field coach. A Lancaster, California native, Frazier returns to his alma mater ('82-'86) after most recently spending seven seasons on the coaching staff at the University of Tennessee, where he was an associate head coach and coach for men's and women's throws.

"My fellow coaches, the entire team and I are excited to welcome John Frazier back to Westwood and the UCLA family," said Maynard. "John's professionalism and the coaching expertise he brings will certainly help us to continue to move the programs forward toward our goals. He is renowned for his ability to recruit and develop world-class talent, and I believe that his experience as a UCLA student-athlete, as well as his personal understanding of the academic and athletic expectations here, will aid him considerably in his new role."

With over 24 years of experience in the track and field coaching community specializing in coaching throwers, Frazier brings with him experience from stops at the University of Florida, the University of Arizona and Tennessee, among others. Throughout his career at the collegiate level, Frazier has produced 43 All-American athletes as well as four NCAA champions. Most recently, Volunteer javelin thrower Kyle Quinn earned second team All-America honors for his tenth place finish in Eugene at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Frazier's return to Westwood is a well-deserved homecoming for one of the great Bruin throwers ever to compete at Drake Stadium. Under legendary coaches Jim Bush, Bob Larsen, and Art Venegas, Frazier was a three-time All-American in the shot put during his UCLA career, earning first team honors at both NCAA Indoors and Outdoors in 1985 as well as at the 1986 Outdoor Championships. In his four years of Bruin collegiate competition (1982/1983/1985/1986), UCLA was 38-1 in dual meet contests, including an unbeaten 3-0 mark vs. USC (the 1982 UCLA-USC dual meet was non-scoring). As a freshman in 1982 and a senior in 1986, the Bruins were the top-ranked dual meet team in the nation. He currently holds two all-time UCLA records--first, the No. 9 mark all-time in Bruins shot put history (65-2.75) and second, the No. 10 mark all-time in the men's hammer throw (208-6). Frazier graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1986.

Courtesy UCLA

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