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BETH ALFORD-SULLIVAN | DIRECTOR OF TRACK & FIELD / CROSS COUNTRY

The 2018-19 school year will mark Beth Alford-Sullivan's fifth season as the director of track and field and cross country at the University of Tennessee. Overall, Tennessee has claimed seven NCAA championships, 15 SEC championships, 51 SEC medals and 94 All-American honors during Alford-Sullivan's first four seasons on Rocky Top. When Alford-Sullivan was tabbed to lead the men's and women's programs, she became the first woman to lead a men's program in any sport in SEC history.

The Vols put together a strong team effort in 2018, accounting for two SEC championships, 17 SEC medals and 11 program records between the indoor and outdoor seasons. Mustaqeem Williams won the SEC 200-meter title during the indoor season, and Stamatia Scarvelis took good in the hammer throw during the outdoor championship. Tennessee hosted the SEC outdoor meet at Tom Black Track for the first time since 2010 with the Lady Vols finishing fourth and the men taking sixth. Behind Sullivan's leadership, Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium underwent some of its most extensive renovations in time for the SEC championships. At the annual Tennessee Relays, the team held a dedication ceremony for three new buildings on site: the Boyd Family Track and Field Center, the Basler Broadcast Center and Phillips Pavilion.

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During the 2017 season, the Tennessee men tied for 10th at the NCAA Indoor Championship and finished in a tie for seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, the third and fourth consecutive top-10 finishes for the men's team. Student-athletes accounted for nine school records and appeared 73 times on the school's all-time top-10 lists.

The 2017 season was notable in part due to some fantastic individual performances. Christian Coleman won the NCAA National Championship in the 60m and 200m during the indoor season as he tied a collegiate record in the 60m (6.45) and recorded the second-fastest 200m in collegiate history at 20.11. He followed that up by winning the 100m and 200m dashes at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, joining VFL Justin Gatlin as the only two people to accomplish the double-double. Coleman set the collegiate record in the 100m (9.82) and posted the second-fastest 200m (19.85) in collegiate history during the outdoor season. He was named both the USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and in December 2017, he earned the Bowerman Award, given to the nation's top collegiate track and field athlete.

However, Coleman wasn't the only success story as the Vols recorded 12 All-American honors and seven SEC medals during the 2017 season. Tennessee student-athletes also set school records in the hammer throw on both the men's and women's side (Seth Whitener, Stamatia Scarvelis). Chelsea Blaase earned her seventh first-team All-America honor as she took seventh in the 10,000m race at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Additionally, freshman Megan Murray competed for the United States at the 2017 World Cross Country Championship. Murray made Team USA after finishing fifth at the trials and then posted a 10th place finish at the NACAC Championship. The Vols also posted 24 student-athletes on the 2017 SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Alford-Sullivan led the Vols to three individual national titles during the 2016 season. Jake Blankenship cleared 5.60 meters (18-4.50) to win the men's pole vault NCAA Outdoor Championship, the first men's outdoor national champion since 2006. Coleman set a Tennessee outdoor school record in the 100 meters with a 10.03 (+1.6) in the NCAA semifinal, and then claimed silver in the finals of both the 100m and 200m. During the indoor season, Coleman and Felicia Brown earned national championships in the 200m. With Coleman's and Brown's national titles, Tennessee became the first school in NCAA Indoor Track and Field history to win both men's 200 meters and the women's 200 meters at the same championship meet.

Coleman earned the SEC Men's Indoor Runner of the Year Award. Brown was the 2016 USTFCCCA South Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons as well as the 2016 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Women's Co-Runner of the Year. In addition to the Indoor 200m National Championship she also claimed titles at SEC Indoors and SEC Outdoors.

Chelsea Blaase claimed the indoor SEC Championship in both the 3000m and 5000m events which tied her for the meet's highest scorer. She also won the outdoor SEC Championship in the 10,000m event and took second in the 5000m. Blaase finished as the runner up in the SEC Cross Country championship before winning the NCAA South Regional and finishing 14th at the NCAA Championship.

The men's team was named the 2016 USTFCCCA DI Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year for both the 2016 indoor and outdoor seasons. The UT women garnered All-Academic team honors and 11 Vols were named All-Academic Individuals.

During Alford-Sullivan's first season in charge of the Vols track and field program Tavis Bailey earned a national-runner up spot in the discus at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championship. Cameron Brown won the SEC title in the weight throw as Bailey took second.

During the 2014 cross country season, Blaase finished third at the SEC Championship, second at the NCAA South Regional and took 10th in the national championship as she was an All-American during the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons.

Prior to coming to Tennessee, Sullivan spent 15 seasons at Penn State, including the last eight as the director and head coach of a combined men's and women's program. Sullivan originally joined Penn State in the fall of 1999 as the head coach of the women's track and field program.

Alford-Sullivan has a tremendous record of success at Penn State, including the women's team finishing the 2013-14 season ranked as the No. 6 Track & Field and Cross Country program in the nation by the USTFCCCA. Her tenure has produced nine Big Ten team championships, including the women's program capturing its fifth Big Ten outdoor championship (fifth in the last seven years) and second consecutive this May. Penn State won eight Big Ten championships overall in 2013-14 (including one team and seven individual), equaling the school record set the year before. Sullivan was named the Big Ten Women's Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, her fifth overall Big Ten Coach of the Year outdoor honor. She has earned nine overall Coach of the Year accolades at Penn State.

The Nittany Lions sent 38 competitors to the NCAA First Round this year, 15 of whom qualified for the NCAA Championships. Four Penn State competitors earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, bringing the total during Sullivan's tenure to 158 (116 women and 42 men). In 2010, Penn State's women's program ranked third in the annual Program of the Year standings, trailing only Oregon and Florida.

In addition to the 158 All-Americans, the litany of accomplishments under Sullivan's leadership at Penn State includes nine Big Ten team titles, 88 Big Ten individual champions, 19 Big Ten Champion relays, and four individual NCAA champions. The Nittany Lions have also won one NCAA Champion relay, one Big Ten "Triple Crown," eight Big Ten Championship records, and five Big Ten Athletes of the Year.

The Penn State women's program has scored in the last 12 NCAA Outdoor Championships as well as in 11 of the last 12 NCAA Indoor Championships. The squad has also recorded two "trophy team" finishes in the last five years, placing fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2008 and 2010.

The Nittany Lion men's program finished in the top 25 in the seven consecutive NCAA track and field competitions. The 2013 indoor team finished ninth nationally and played 11th at the 2011 NCAA Indoors. The 2010-11 men's program also finished 11th in the "John McDonnell Program of the Year" standings, honoring overall combined program excellence between the cross country, indoor, and outdoor seasons.

Excellence in the classroom has also been a staple under Sullivan at Penn State, as the women's team has earned United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honors in each of her 14 seasons at Penn State. In 2010, they were named the USTFCCCA Scholar Team of the Year. The Nittany Lions also piled up numerous All-Big Ten academic honors. The men's and women's programs both posted GPAs over 3.0 during recent fall semesters.

One of the most impressive seasons during Sullivan's tenure was in 2012, when the Nittany Lions featured 12 First Team All-Americans and set multiple school records. The men's 4x400-meter relay squad finished second in the NCAA Indoor Championships, the highest finish in that event in school history, while setting and subsequently breaking the school record several times, last at 3:05.22. The team also set the relay school record of 3:01.52 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2012.

The 2011-12 campaign also featured eight individual Big Ten champions and two conference champion relays. The cross country squad also finished 13th in 2011-12, the highest finish for the program in almost two decades.

Overall in Big Ten competition during her time at Penn State, Sullivan has seen her women competitors claim 50 individual conference titles as well as 13 relay wins over the past 11 years. Additionally, the men have won 21 individual titles under Sullivan and two relay wins. Since 2003, the Penn State women's program has finished no less than fourth in the overall team standings.

Sullivan joined Penn State after five seasons at Stanford, where she coached more than 30 NCAA All-American athletes and one NCAA individual champion as the women's coordinator for the Cardinal track program. Sullivan was also the head coach at Mankato State from 1993-95 and an assistant at Southeast Missouri State from 1991-93. She graduated with a degree in social work in 1989 from the University of Minnesota, where she competed in cross country and track and field, serving as captain of the cross country team from her sophomore through her senior seasons.

Sullivan's husband, Jim, serves as a volunteer assistant with the Tennessee track and field team.

TRAVIS GEOPFERT | ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH

The 2018-19 season marks Travis Geopfert's first season as an associate head coach at Tennessee.

Geopfert, who will work primarily with the jumps and multi-event programs, spent the previous nine years on the Razorback staff where he was named the 2013 and 2014 USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year. Prior to his time in Fayetteville, he was on the Northern Iowa staff for six seasons, serving as Head Coach in 2008-09.

"It's an exciting day on Rocky Top to announce Travis Geopfert joining our track and field staff," Coach Sullivan said. "Travis is an amazing coach, an outstanding recruiter and will bring a great spark to our staff as we move forward into phase two of bringing track back at Tennessee. Travis' accomplishments from Northern Iowa to Arkansas are amongst the best of the coaches in our field. What he as accomplished under head coach Chris Bucknam and the staff at Arkansas shows that Travis has all the skill set to help propel us to the top of the podiums."

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"I am thrilled to have him, his wife Nicole and his family, join our Tennessee track and field family. I'm looking forward to this opportunity to join forces."

Geopfert has coached 11 NCAA national champions, which notably includes 2016 Bowerman Award winner Jarrion Lawson, who completed the "Jesse Owens Triple" of winning the 100 meters, 200 meters and long jump at the 2016 NCAA outdoor meet.

In his 15 years of coaching, he has led student-athletes to 70 conference titles and has worked with four Olympians and six world championship qualifiers. He has a track record of producing numerous standouts in the jumps and combined events. He has coached 24 NCAA national qualifiers in long jump and 23 in the decathlon/heptathlon, with five NCAA titles. The 2012 Razorbacks finished 1-2-3-6 in the decathlon at the SEC outdoor meet.

In addition to standout individual performances, Geopfert has been part of extensive team success on the conference and national stage. This includes 15 NCAA top-10 finishes, including the 2013 NCAA indoor national championship at Arkansas, and 30 team conference championships.

"I'd first like to thank Coach Sullivan, Senior Associate AD Donna Thomas, and Tennessee AD Coach Fulmer for their confidence and belief in me to help build upon the rich tradition that is Tennessee track and field," Geopfert said. "The energy and excitement that Coach Sullivan and her staff are continually cultivating is something I'm very much looking forward to being a part of. I'd be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to thank the administration, staff, support staff and student-athletes at the University of Arkansas for a wonderful nine years there. In particular, I'd like to thank my long time colleagues, mentors and friends Chris Bucknam and Doug Case for helping me develop into the person and coach I am today. It's a lifelong friendship that I value tremendously.

"With that being said, I'm thrilled to move forward with this exciting opportunity of fulfilling the vision that Coach Sullivan has set on Rocky Top. There is a lot of passion and enthusiasm that surrounds Tennessee Track and Field. I have great relationships with many of the former coaches and alums and our family is very much looking forward to being part of Vol Nation."

A native of Panora, Iowa, Geopfert earned his bachelor's degree from Northern Iowa in 2002. He and his wife Nicole have one daughter, Ellyn, and two sons, Jones and Jax.

Geopfert's coaching career began at Central Missouri State, where he spent two years as an assistant coach for the NCAA Division II program. He coached two national champions, one national runner-up, six All-Americans and five conference champions.

As a collegiate competitor for Northern Iowa, Geopfert earned All-America honors and was a three-time MVC champion. Including his professional athletic career, he was a two-time Drake Relays decathlon championships, three-time member of the Thorpe Cup and a six-time USA Championships qualifier in the decathlon.

RYAN FOSTER | ASSISTANT COACH (DISTANCE) & RECRUITING COORDINATOR

The 2018-19 season marks Ryan Foster's first year at Tennessee as an assistant coach for the distance group and recruiting coordinator for the track and field program.

Foster was an All-American middle distance runner for Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan at Penn State and later served on staff as an assistant coach and director of operations. He comes to the Vols from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where he has spent the last two years as the head cross country coach and assistant coach for the middle- and long-distance runners.

He will be joined on the Volunteer coaching staff by his wife, Kara Foster, who also ran for Coach Sullivan at Penn State and was a 10,000-meter All-American. She will be a volunteer assistant coach for the distance events.

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"It is with great excitement to announce the hiring of Ryan Foster as our recruiting coordinator and to assist me in coaching the distance events," Coach Sullivan said. "Ryan was a standout All-American runner on my team at Penn State and has entered the coaching ranks with great success. Ryan brings to the table a great energy for the job of recruiting and filling out our squads at here at Tennessee as well as continuing to help develop our middle distance and distance program. I'm thrilled to join ranks with him again and have his expertise as a young coach among my staff.

"Along with Ryan is his wife, Kara Foster, also an All-American 10K athlete for me at Penn State, will join our staff as a volunteer coach and will be helping in many capacities as we move this program toward the podium. Together, they're a great team."

Foster has earned recognition from fellow NCAA Division II coaches over the last year at Edinboro. He led the women's cross country team to the 2017 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship with five freshmen scoring. He was named both the PSAC and the USTFCCCA women's cross country coach of the year.

He also earned 2018 USTFCCCA regional men's track and field assistant coach of the year.

During his career, he has coached 24 conference champions and four runners who earned freshman of the year honors.

"I am very excited to work with Coach Sullivan again," Foster said. "The time I have spent working with her has been a great experience, and I'm looking forward to joining her staff. What really stood out to us in the quality of the people. Coaching is a privileged position getting to work so closely with young adults and help them achieve their goals. To work with such talented men and women at Tennessee is an exciting opportunity for us. We're grateful to Coach Sullivan and Donna Thomas for the opportunity. Their vision for the future and direction of the track and field program is so easy to buy into."

A native of Hobart, Australia, Foster received his degree in Economics at Penn State in 2011.

He was a four-time Big Ten champion for the Nittany Lions, notably placing third in the 800 meters at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships and third in the mile in 2011.

As a professional runner in 2011-12, he set Australian national indoor records in the 800 meters and 1,000 meters and also competed in the IAAF World Indoor Championships, placing 19th in the 1,500 meters.

Foster served as a volunteer assistant coach for Penn State for two seasons before joining the staff as an assistant coach. Away from the track, he also spent a year with the Tasmanian state government as the project manager for disability sports and served as chief of staff for Partners Financial Group, LLC. His non-profit work with Partners Financial and the Kevin Dare Foundation resulted in organizing a 10-person, 1,000-mile road race over seven states as a fundraising initiative.

KEN HARNDEN | ASSISTANT COACH (SPRINTS / HURDLES / RELAYS)

Two-time Olympian and veteran sprints coach Ken Harnden joined the Tennessee track and field staff to start the the 2018-19 season.

Harnden serves as the Vols' assistant coach for sprints, hurdles and relays. He comes to Rocky Top having spent the last three seasons in the same role at Georgia, and prior to that, he spent 12 seasons coaching at Florida State.

"I am thrilled to add Ken to our coaching staff here at UT," Tennessee director of track and field/cross country Alford-Sullivan said. "His consistent and proven success shows that he is one of the best sprints coaches in the country. The University of Tennessee sprints crew is storied in history and tradition. Our alums, current student-athletes and future Tennessee Volunteers deserve a coach that can build on that tradition at the highest level.

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"Ken has a career filled with 14 Olympians, 25 NCAA individual champions along with two collegiate records and 5 NCAA team titles. These results show Coach Harnden's commitment to consistently bringing out the best in his student-athletes. Former, current and future Tennessee Volunteers can rest-assured we have a proven veteran coach that has been there and done it multiple times."

The three-time USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year has guided 14 Olympians, 25 NCAA champions and more than 150 All-American honors. In addition to individual accolades, Harnden has contributed to substantial program-wide success as a part five NCAA team championship teams, most recently the Georgia men's outdoor title earlier this year.

"I would like to thank Coach Sullivan for inviting me to join this amazing staff," Harnden said. "I was blown away at how family oriented they are. This group of coaches is destined to do great things at Tennessee, and I am blessed to be a part of it. I would like to also thank Greg McGarity and Josh Brooks at UGA, I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had to work at UGA."

Numerous student-athletes have achieved world class times under Harnden's watch. Six of his sprinters have broken the 10-second barrier in the 100-meter dash. His short sprints coaching prowess is also exemplified in the 200 meters with six NCAA individual championships in the even under his watch.

Among that group is Walter Dix, a six-time NCAA champion and 18-time All-American for Florida State. He was a bronze medalist in the 100m and 200m at the 2008 Olympics and remains the NCAA record holder in the 200m (19.69).

Harnden also coached 2011 Bowerman Award winner Ngoni Makusha, who became the fifth man in NCAA history to win the 100m and long jump at the same championship (DeHart Hubbard, 1925; Jesse Owens, 1936; Carl Lewis, 1981; and Jarrion Lawson, 2016). Makusha also set the then-NCAA record in the 100m (9.89).

Over the last four years of coaching combined men and women sprint groups, Harnden has also coached several women to the top of the national podium. Kala Funderburk won the 2015 NCAA 400-meter dash for Florida State, capturing the title in 51.09 seconds. Harnden also recruited and worked with Lynna Irby at Georgia, who went on to win the 400m title for the Bulldogs this year as a freshman.

Harnden represented Zimbabwe in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games in the 400m hurdles, and he competed in the event three times at the IAAF World Championships, making the finals twice. He holds Zimbabwe's national record in the 400m hurdles (48.05).

On the collegiate stage, Harnden competed for North Carolina, where he won the 1995 NCAA title in the 400m hurdles. He was also part of the 1995 NCAA indoor champion 4x400m relay team.

Harnden is the father of two sons: Garry and Pierce.

DAVID NEVILLE | ASSISTANT COACH (SPRINTS / HURDLES / RELAYS)

The 2018-19 season marks David Neville's second season at Tennessee as an assistant coach for sprints, hurdles and relays.

Neville, who served as the head coach of Taylor University's track and field program from 2014-17, serves as one half of the sprint coaching tandem with associate head coach Ken Harnden.

In his first year on Rocky Top, the 2018 Vols set four program sprint records and accounted for 22 All-America honors. Mustaqeem Williams won the 200-meter title at the SEC indoor championships and took second outdoors. Nathan Strother set team records in both the indoor and outdoor 400 meters. Shania Collins emerged as one of the nation's top women sprinters during the outdoor season, taking second in the 100 and 200 meters at SECs.

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"We are absolutely thrilled to have David Neville join us here on Rocky Top," Tennessee director of track and field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "David brings a great amount experience from the collegiate to the international to the professional ranks and has also been instrumental in the rebirth of Taylor University's track and field program. We have worked hard to find the right person for this job and we feel that we have found a diamond in the rough and someone that will come in and join us on our continued drive to the top of podiums. We are excited that he will be starting on the first of October. His impact will be immediately felt."

In his three seasons leading the Taylor University track and field program, Neville produced 106 NAIA indoor and outdoor national championship qualifiers (47 men, 59 women). Under Neville, the Trojans broke 30 school records (11 on the men's side, 19 on the women's side) and earned 30 NAIA All-American honors (15 on men's side, 15 on women's side).

Neville is native of Merrillville, Indiana, and an Indiana University graduate. He enjoyed a distinguished professional track a career that was highlighted by a gold medal for the United States in the men's 4x400 and a bronze in the men's 400 meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Neville also won gold in the 400 meters at the 2008 Indoor USA Championships and earned bronze in the 400 meters in at the 2006 USA Championships and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Neville was a six-time Big Ten champion and a five-time NCAA All-American for Indiana from 2004 through 2006. He set Indiana program records for the 200 meters, 400 meters, 4x400 and distance medley relay. He was also the 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Neville decided to forgo his senior season at Indiana and signed a professional contact with Team Nike. He completed coursework and earned a degree in music education from Indiana in 2007.

He has also worked as a personal trainer for sprinters and has given individual lessons to high school athletes. Neville also served as the worship pastor and director of young adult ministries at Santa Clarita Christian Fellowship Church. Most recently, Neville served as Associate Pastor at Elevate City Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Neville and his wife, Arial, are parents to a four-year old daughter named Acaia and a newborn son named David.

JOHN NEWELL | ASSISTANT COACH (THROWS)

John Newell will return for his sixth season at Tennessee in 2018-19 as the assistant coach of throwing events.

Stamatia Scarvelis and freshmen men led the way for the Vols' throw group in 2018. Scarvelis became the first Tennessee woman to win an SEC title in the hammer throw and took third in the event at NCAA championships. She set three records during the season (weight throw, indoor shot put, hammer). Jordan West broke Tennessee's 34-year-year-old outdoor men's shot put record and took third at the SEC meet as a newcomer. He and fellow freshmen Georgios Korakidis (hammer throw) and Joseph Maxwell (shot put, discus) all scored at the SEC meet. 2017 marked a breakout year for the Tennessee throws program as the squad broke three school records and reached some milestones. Scarvelis set the school record in the weight throw (21.49m/70-6.25) during the indoor season. She followed that up with the school mark (65.26m/214-1) in the hammer throw during the outdoor season. However she was not the only one as the 2017 throws group posted 17 top-10 marks in school history. On the men's side Cameron Brown broke the school record in the hammer throw with a toss of 68.19m/223-8. However, the record stood for less than a month as Seth Whitener pushed the record to 68.59m/225-0 at the NCAA East Prelims. Both Whitener and Brown were named second team All-America in the hammer. Matthew "Scotty" Zajac added a third place finish at the SEC Championship in the discus.

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In 2016, Newell coached Cassie Wertman to three Shot Put wins during the outdoor season as well as a SEC Silver medal and second team All-America honors. During the indoor season, Wertman took second place at the SEC Championship and at the NCAA Indoor Championship. Cameron Brown won the SEC Indoor Championship in the weight throw before a third place finish at the NCAA Championship. Matthew Zajac finished in the top five of the discus throw in five straight meets during the outdoor year.

Newell has worked with Tavis Bailey since Bailey graduated from Tennessee in 2015 and went with the discus thrower to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Newell had a big season in 2015, as his athletes produced one SEC individual title, a national runner-up finish, six total All-American honors. During the 2015 indoor season, junior Cameron Brown had a season for the record books. Not only did he become Tennessee's second-ever SEC champion in the weight throw, he also set a new program record in the event with a throw of 76 feet, 8.5 inches (23.38). He went on to earn honorable mention All-America accolades. Also turning in strong indoor seasons were Tavis Bailey, who finished second at the SEC meet in the men's weight throw, and Cassie Wertman, who earned SEC bronze in the women's shot put. Both athletes would go on to snare All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

During the outdoor season, Bailey navigated his way back to the NCAA Championships in the men's discus where he finished as the national runner-up. Bailey was also a qualifier in the men's shot put, becoming a two-time outdoor All-American in 2014. Meanwhile, Maria Jimenez represented Tennessee at the NCAA Championships in the women's javelin. She was the first women's NCAA qualifier in the event since 2001. She was an honorable mention All-American.

Newell had served the last six seasons as an assistant coach for the track and field program at Michigan State. In his time with the Spartans, Newell had 24 NCAA championship qualifiers, 18 All-America honors and 46 regional event qualifiers. His athletes won nine Big Ten championships and recorded eight school records.

Newell's throwers enjoyed considerable individual success this past season. At the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships, Beth Rohl took second in the women's weight throw, and Antonio James pulled off the same feat on the men's side. At the outdoor meet, Rohl placed third in discus. The year before, Rohl also made the discus finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

In 2011, Newell was named the Great Lakes Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.

Newell started his college career in his home town at Sacramento City College, where he was a USA Junior Team member in 2001 and the school's athlete of the year in 2002. He moved on to the Georgia, where he was a six-time NCAA qualifier and earned All-America honors in the shot put at the 2005 national indoor meet.

He graduated from UGA in 2005 with a degree in sociology.

Following his college career, Newell continued training in the hammer throw at Ashland University under the watch of four-time Olympian Jud Logan. While there, he realized he wanted to join the coaching ranks himself. He joined the Michigan State staff in 2007.

ELLEN HURST | DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Ellen Wortham will be in her third season as the Director of Operations for Tennessee Track & Field in 2018-19.

Wortham was a student-athlete at Tennessee from 2009-2012 and was named the SEC Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2012. She graduated from Tennessee, Summa Cum Laude, with a B.A. in Psychology, earning an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

The Maryville, Tenn. native holds the Tennessee school record for the 400m Hurdles with a time of 55.55 which she set at the 2012 SEC Championship. She won back-to-back SEC Championships in the 400m Hurdles and won another SEC title as part of the 2009 Indoor Distance Medley Relay team.

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