COACHING STAFF Angela Williams, Natasha Danvers, Brigita Langerholc, Grezyna Penc and Inga Stasiulionyte on the women’s side. He has coached 24 All-Americans and guided a USC athlete to eight Pac-12 titles each in the 100m and 200m races.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON JR. Women’s Head Coach 1st Season UCLA ‘90 John Henry Johnson, Jr., the 2013 USTFCCCA National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year, was hired as UCLA women’s track & field head coach on July 3, 2013. A former all-conference decathlete at UCLA, Johnson returns to his alma mater after 19 years as an assistant coach at USC, where he coached sprinters and served as the team’s strength coach and recruiting coordinator. This past season, he helped lead USC sprinters Aaron Brown (100m, 200m) and Bryshon Nellum (200m) to three AllAmerica honors. Johnson’s sprinters went 1-2-3 (Nellum, Brown and Davonte Stewart) in the 200m, and 1-2 (Brown and BeeJay Lee) in the 100m at the 2013 Pac-12 Championships. “What John Henry Johnson has done in the sprints and hurdles at USC is widely recognized. Reviving UCLA’s strength in the sprints and hurdles legacy and tradition is something that is important to our team philosophy,” said Maynard. “I’m excited about John Henry’s abilities as a coach, leader, and his drive and ability as a recruiter. Throughout our combined careers we’ve competed head to head on the track, and the recruiting front. In my opinion, Coach Johnson is one of the finest coaches and recruiters in the NCAA. He follows fellow Bruin and our recently named head men’s coach John Frazier back to UCLA. I am very pleased to repatriate another Bruin back into the UCLA family.” Johnson’s recruiting prowess has been welldocumented, as each of USC’s last 17 men’s and women’s recruiting classes have been ranked among the best in the nation. Johnson recruited the No. 1 men’s class in 2009 and the No. 1 women’s class in 2006 and also nabbed Top 3 classes in 2012 (women), 2011 (women), 2010 (men), 2008 (women) and 2007 (men). Johnson recruited to USC stars such as Nellum, Brown, Jerome Davis, Lionel Larry, Ahmad Rashad, Felix Sanchez, Denis Kholev, Charles Lee, Ryan Wilson and Julien Kapek on the men’s side, and
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2014 Track & Field Media Guide
A state champion in the decathlon at Long Beach City College in 1987, Johnson became an AllPac-10 honoree at UCLA and a 7,000+ point scorer in the decathlon during his two-year Bruin varsity career (1989, 1990). He was a member of UCLA’s 1988 NCAA Championship team as an injured redshirt junior. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in international relations in 1990, Johnson went on to serve as an assistant coach at Long Beach State from 1990-92, working with sprinters and throwers. “I’d like to thank Mike Maynard and (Senior Associate Athletic Director) Glenn Toth for selecting me for this position,” Johnson said. “That such a prestigious university would reach out to me and offer this opportunity is amazing, but being able to come back to my alma mater as a head coach is unbelievable.” “I was on some great teams here at UCLA and truly want to see the program at that level again, and I will work tirelessly toward that goal,” Johnson continued. “Developing student-athletes is my life’s work, and educating and graduating these talented students is our number one responsibility. I’m excited to get started.”
JOHN FRAZIER Men’s Head Coach 1st Season UCLA ‘86 John Frazier returns to his alma mater (‘82-’86) as men’s head coach 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.