University of Florida Women's Track & Field

Head Men’s and Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country Coach 2020 Tokyo Olympics U.S. Track & Field Head Coach 22nd season as Florida Men's Track & Field Hea...

A decorated former student-athlete and coach, Cameron Ponder joined the program as an Assistant Coach for both the Track & Field and Cross Country programs i...

Entering 4th Season at Florida 3-time Big Ten Champion (Iowa) 4-time NCAA Champion SEC Outdoor Champion (2022) Eric Werskey is entering his fourth season as an assistant coach for the University of Florida. He joined the Gators’ coaching staff in the summer of 2021 after four seasons at Iowa (2018-21), two years at California State University Northridge (2016-17) and three years of professional training at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, where he took his first strides into coaching after working with some of the top throwers in the world. During the 2023 season, Werskey coached Alida van Daalen, in her freshman season, to an SEC Indoor Championship, an SEC Outdoor Championship and a pair of fourth place finishes at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the shot put. Prior to Florida, Werskey helped the Hawkeyes to seven combined Big Ten top-3 finishes, including three conference titles. Additionally, Werskey coached Hawkeyes throwers to five Big Ten individual championships, one NCAA championship, seven combined All-America honors and eight school records during his tenure at Iowa. Werskey coached Hawkeyes standout Laulauga Tausaga to a combined total of five Big Ten individual championships and Iowa’s first individual NCAA Outdoor Championship in 34 years in 2019. Tausaga also became the school’s first-ever Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year in 2020 and was named to that year’s Bowerman Preseason Watchlist. Additionally, Tausaga competed at th

Sherrer joined the Gators for his second stint prior to the 2024-25 season. Sherrer most recently spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Ole Miss, his alma mater, coaching sprints and hurdles. He worked closely with McKenzie Long, a 2024 Team USA Olympian, and guided her to three NCAA Championships in the 2024 outdoor season in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay in a season that made her a Bowerman semi-finalist. Prior to Ole Miss, Sherrer was an assistant coach down the road at Mississippi State, where he was in charge of men's and women's sprints, hurdles and relays. At MSU, Sherrer coached SEC scorer and All-Freshman member Rosealee Cooper in the 60-meter hurdles, who topped out at 8.15 in 2021. Prior to his stay in Starkville, Sherrer worked with the sprints and jumps groups at Syracuse for the 2019 season. There, his assisted Eunice Boateng, Dasia Pressley, Alexis Crosby and Cheyenne Trigg, who broke the school record in the 4x100-meter relay at the ACC Outdoor Championships (45.17) then did so again at the NCAA East Prelims (44.36). Sherrer also helped with hurdlers who scored at both the indoor and outdoor conference championships. Matt Moore finished third in the indoor 60-meter hurdles (7.83), while Richard Floyd and Chevis Armstead II were third (14.07) and seventh (14.38), respectively, in the 110-meter hurdles outdoors. Floyd went on to run at the NCAA East Prelims where he missed advancing to the national championships by 0.07 seconds. Sherrer helped the Orang

Entering 18th Season with Florida (First Season as Associate Head Coach) 13-time NCAA Division I National Champion 14-time SEC Champion Mellanee Welty enters her 18th season with the Gators, and her first as associate head coach for the women’s program. During her tenure at Florida, Welty has worked primarily with the program’s dynamic sprints and relays corps and—aside from the 2016 and 2017 seasons—vertical jumpers and multis athletes. Welty’s second stint with the Gators began in 2008; she previously served as an assistant coach for distance runners from 2002-03. Her impact on the Florida program since her return in 2008 has been undeniable, especially on the recruiting trail. With Welty handling recruiting coordinator duties for Florida, the program has consistently signed top-10 recruiting classes, including a highly-touted 2016 group and another star-studded contingent in 2017. Since she rejoined the Gators in 2008, Welty has helped UF’s quarter-milers and relay teams amass 16 NCAA titles, 18 SEC titles, and a collegiate record time of 2:57.74 in the men's 4x400 relay. Moreover, Welty has helped coach Florida quarter-milers and relay teams to 86 times on the program’s current all-time top 10 lists. One of the top highlights in Welty’s time on staff came at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, where Florida became the first team since 2005 and fifth program in Division I history to sweep the women’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay titles. From 2008-2015 and 2018-present, Welty has

Entering 15th season at Florida (fifthas Associated Head Coach) Nine-time NCAA Division I National Champion Seven-time SEC Champion Nic Petersen, who enters his 15th season with the Gators and his fifth as Associate Head Coach, has made is own imprint on one of the nation’s historically elite jumps programs. The Gators have continued their extraordinary run of success in the jumps under Petersen. The program has recorded 21 men’s and women’s individual NCAA titles since his arrival in 2013, including seven from Jasmine Moore (2022-2023), two from Yanis David in 2019, three from KeAndre Bates in 2017 and seven from Marquis Dendy (2012-2015). Petersen has been a part of nine National Championship teams and seven SEC Championship teams since his arrival to the program. During his tenure, Petersen’s jumps group has won 21 National Championships, outlined above, and 28 SEC Championships. Claire Bryant, during the 2024 indoor season, was coached by Petersen to an SEC Individual Championship and NCAA Runner-Up finish in the Long Jump. Petersen also guided Malcolm Clemons and Sean Dixon-Bodie to seconds place finish at the conference meet and third and fifth place finishes on the national stage, respectively. Caleb Foster, also under Petersen's guidance, placed third in the SEC in the Long Jump while finishing eighth in the same event at nationals. In 2023, Petersen coached the men to ten points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships which contributed to the program’s 14th National Title.

Will Palmer enters his third season with the Florida Gators as the Associate Head Coach for Cross Country and Assistant Track and Field Coach During the 2024...

Yanick Hart, a hurdler for the Gators from 2014-17, was hired as an Assistant Coach for the program in 2023 after spending 2019 as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2019 season and 2018 as a student assistant coach. Hart was a 2016 USTFCCCA Indoor All-American in the 60-meter hurdles, as well as a two-time USTFCCCA Outdoor All-American in the 110-meter hurdles (2015, 2016). The Jamaican also finished second in the 60 hurdles final at the 2016 SEC Indoor Championships, earning an All-SEC Second Team nod. Hart's personal records of 7.71 and 13.58 rank fourth and sixth, respectively, on Florida's All-Time Indoor and Outdoor Top 10s. In his final year of eligibility (2017), Hart earned a spot on the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll. Collegiate Career Yanick Hart’s TFRRS Profile (for top performances and meet results) 2017: Did not compete outdoors due to injury, ran one race indoors ... SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll. 2016: USTFCCCA Indoor All-American (60mH) ... USTFCCCA Outdoor All-American (110mH) ... All-SEC Indoor Second Team ... Ran the 60mH preliminaries at NCAA Indoor Championships and NCAA Outdoor Championships ... Runner-up finisher in the 60mH at SEC Indoor Championships, clocking a PR of 7.71 ... Ran a season-best 110mH time and PR of 13.58 at the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminary ... Finished eighth in the 110mH at SEC Outdoor Championships ... Won 110mH titles at the Power Conference Cardinal & Gold Meet and UF Tom Jones Memorial. 2015: USTFCCCA Outdoor All-American (11