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WILLIAMSON
HICKORY – Lenoir-Rhyne University announced Wednesday it has a new men’s and women’s cross country and track and field head coach, a 30-year veteran.
The Bears have hired Danny Williamson, who spent 30 years as head coach in men’s and women’s cross country and track and field at Western Carolina.
He retired from WCU in July of 2016 and then served as head cross country and track and field coach at Cherokee High, where he also served as a college liaison and athletic support specialist.
“He is the ideal candidate to build on the great foundation that Coach Jason Stewart established while taking our programs to the next level,” Kim Pate, LRU’s athletic director, said in a press release. “Coach Williamson is a relentless recruiter, a great teacher and motivator and is known for getting the absolute most out of his student-athletes.
“He understands and knows how to develop and build perennial championship programs while prioritizing the student-athlete experience.”
Williamson replaces Stewart, who resigned after 16 years as mentor of the cross country programs (2001-16) and 13 seasons as the school’s track and field coach (2005-17).
At Western Carolina, Williamson developed the Catamounts from the bottom of the Southern Conference to a prominent level at the top of the league standings year in and year out. He led WCU to 32 Southern Conference (SoCon) team championships and was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year 39 times.
Under Williamson’ guidance, 19 WCU athletes were named the SoCon Athlete of the Year and three earned NCAA Division I All-American honors in track and field.
Williamson is a 1985 WCU graduate (bachelor’s degree) and he completed his master’s degree in education at WCU in 1986.
LRU finished third (men) and fourth (women) in track and field in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) outdoor championship in April. In cross country, the Bears’ teams finished sixth in the SAC, three spots better than the year before.
The Bears will play host to the SAC Championships at Southside Park in Newton on Oct. 21. They will also play host for the league’s outdoor track and field championships at Moretz Stadium on April 20-21, 2018.
- LRU Sports Information