Jill Lancaster - Track & Field Coach - Troy University Athletics

Jill Lancaster

Title:
Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
Email:
jllancaster@troy.edu
Phone:
5651

Jill Lancaster begins her sixth season overall at Troy University, and third as the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country, after spending a pair of seasons as the assistant coach on the Trojans staff. Lancaster, who took over the reigns prior to the 2008 season, oversees the direction of both the men’s and women’s programs, while concentrating her efforts with the Trojan multi-event student-athletes. She also oversees the teaching of the sprints, hurdles and jumps for the Trojans student-athletes who are competing at the highest level.

Last season, Lancaster saw the Trojans earn three team awards for their academic performance; and narrowly miss on a fourth (by just .02 points). She also led two student-athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships; while also coaching 13 student-athletes to the NCAA Mideast Regionals.

Lancaster was also voted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame last season, following this statement from Drake University: Jill Lancaster was a three-time NCAA All-American at the University of Oklahoma. She earnd her first Drake Relays win in 1980 as a member of the Sooner 4x800-meter relay team, which took the victory in 8:40.93. She won five heptathlon titles at the Drake Relays (1983-1985, 1988-1989). Lancaster set the Drake Relays record with 5,393 points in 1985, and was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 1988.

In her first season as the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country, Lancaster coached two student-athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa and helped those same two student-athletes compete for a spot on the United States Olympic Team at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon this past summer. She also coached a gold medalist in Tawanna Meadows at the NACAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Mexico over the summer.

During her first season as the director of the program, Lancaster coached 13 student-athletes to the NCAA Mideast Region Championships and saw several individual and relay records fall during the 2008 season. She also coached four Sun Belt Conference Track and Field Outdoor champions, six Sun Belt Conference silver medalists, three individual Sun Belt Conference bronze medalist and one relay bronze medal, the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Female Athlete of the Year in Meadows, the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field champion in the sprints and the co-Sun Belt Conference Female Indoor Track and Field Performer of the Year in Meadows.

During her first two seasons, Lancaster served as the Women’s Head Coach for the Trojans; as well as working with and coaching both men’s and women’s sprints, hurdles, multi and relay events. During her tenure at that position, numerous records were broken in each event. Her athletes, at the time, set numerous records in her first year; which included the 4x100-meter relays and 4x400-meter relays, multi-events and short hurdles. She produced four Sun Belt Conference Athletes of the Week and a total of 25 student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Mideast Region Championship during that period, and one competed in the United States Junior Nationals. Most recently, 13 student-athletes and two relay teams qualified for the 2006 NCAA Mideast Region Championships.

As a coach at Troy University, Lancaster has molded the lives of many student-athletes and coached them at the highest level of track and field.

Along with the performances of Bassett and Meadows two seasons ago and the performances of Leander McKenzie and Tiphanie Baker a season ago, Lancaster has also coached the likes of Monique Johnson, Juzil Rudolph and Mike Acree.

Johnson was the first-ever NCAA Indoor Provisional Qualifier in school history during her time wih the Trojans, working with Lancaster in the 60-meter hurdles. She holds multiple school and conference records in the event.

Rudolph repeated as the Sun Belt Conference championships last season in the Heptathlon, while Acree repeated as the Field Event Athlete of the Meet in the Sun Belt.

During the 2007 season, Lancaster witnessed the growth of the women’s track and field team, with numerous records broken during the indoor and outdoor seasons.

During that same season, Lancaster worked with Juzil Rudolph, Monique Johnson, Meadows and O’Darien Bassett. During that season, Rudolph finished as the Sun Belt Conference Heptathlon champion, Johnson won consecutive 100-meter hurdle titles and Bassett finished as the Sun Belt Conference long jump champion and Meadows finished as the Sun Belt Conference silver medalist in the 100-meter dash. The indoor season saw the same success as Johnson claimed the 55-meter hurdles championship, followed closely by Rudolph as the runner-up. Agata Cichoszewska also finished as runner-up in the conference meet in the triple jump.

During the 2006 season, Lancaster worked with Mike Acree who claimed the outdoor championship in the long jump and triple jump at the Sun Belt meet. He was also named the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Meet. She also worked with Matt VanZandt, the eventual champion in the Decathlon at the conference meet.

On the women’s side, Lancaster worked with Tanisha Davis who finished as the runner-up in the 200-meters and with Johnson, who finished as the conference champion in the 100-meter hurdles.

Before coming to Troy, Lancaster was the co-head track and field coach at her alma mater, the University of Oklahoma, for eight years. At Oklahoma, Lancaster worked mainly with the horizontal and combined events, and played a key role in recruiting. During her tenure as co-head coach, the program produced 69 NCAA Division I-A All-Americans. In 2004, she and co-head coach Rodney Price led the Sooner women’s team to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Region, an all-time best for the women’s program. She also coached the NCAA Oklahoma Woman of the Year, All-American Janel Hayes, in 2001. She also coached NCAA All-American Decathlete Justin Conkling while at Oklahoma.

Before joining the coaching staff at Oklahoma, Lancaster was at Kansas State University as an assistant coach for four years. While at Kansas State, she worked with the sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers. Lancaster was also in charge of recruiting and helped bring one of the largest recruiting classes in school history on to campus in Manhattan.

Prior to coaching at Kansas State, Lancaster made three other stops in her career. She began her coaching career at the University of Oklahoma in 1983, and stayed with the Sooners for four years before moving on to Big 12 rival Kansas in 1986. After coaching at Kansas until 1987, Lancaster spent the next six seasons as the head women’s coach at the University of Toledo, her first experience as a head coach at the NCAA Division I-A level.

During her stay at Toledo, Lancaster coached another Olympic Trials Qualifer in Candy Campbell in the long jump. Lancaster was twice named as the Mid-American Coach of the Year during her tenure at Toledo, and coached United States team member Shantel Ransom - who at the time was named NCAA Women of the Year. Ransom still holds records at Toledo.

Before her coaching career began, Lancaster was a collegiate athlete at the University of Oklahoma. As a student-athlete, Lancaster was a three-time NCAA Division I-A All-American selection in the 600-meter dash, mile and two-mile relays. She was a member of the 1980 indoor mile team that still holds the Oklahoma school record (3:45.2), and also shares the school’s all-time outdoor record in the 400-meter hurdles (59.03).

After her collegiate career ended, Lancaster was a member of four national combined event teams and placed 14th at the 1988 United States Olympic Trials in the Heptathlon. Lancaster was inducted into the Drake Relays hall of Fame after winning the Heptathlon title at the Drake Relays five times.