Custom Search RALEIGH, N.C. – Shaw University has announced the hiring of Frantz Smith as the interim head men’s and women’s cross country and women’s outdoor track and field coach upon the start of the 2018 season.
Smith
Smith was promoted after spending the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Shaw under the leadership of former head coach Nadia Alexander-Pompey who resigned to take a position at Mississippi Valley State.
Smith was an instrumental part of the Lady Bears track and field program that finished fourth in last season’s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship that featured All-CIAA recognition in cross country through junior Kaydi-Ann Wint (Kingston, Jamaica), All-CIAA selections in women’s outdoor track and field in senior LaCherie Clarke (Raleigh, NC) who earned a gold medal in the 100m and a bronze medal in the 200m. In addition, Wint claimed the 800m title and placed second overall in the 1500m while senior Kyla Sanders (Hampton, VA) placed third in the 400m hurdles all under the guidance of Smith. That season, the women’s outdoor track and field program set new records in the 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter, 800 meter, 1500 meter and 4 x 400 meter relay.
In 2016, Smith gained immediate success through former track and field standout Destinee Williams (Leesburg, FL) who broke the school record in the 100 meter and 100 meter hurdles multiple times en route to making Second-Team All-American at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, marking the first Shaw female athlete to do so since 2002.
Prior to his coaching career, Smith was a former student-athlete at Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. While at Mid-America Nazarene, Smith was member of the Pioneers track and field and soccer program where he earned All-Conference recognition in both sports and was a three-time All-American in track.
After graduation, Smith was granted the opportunity to coach athletes to both NAIA Indoor Championships, Outdoor Championships and All-American honors in 2006. In 2008, Smith returned to Jamaica as a career advisor and coach for both high school and tertiary level where he coached for three seasons at his former high school, earning multiple medalists in the high jump from 2013-2015.
A native of St. Catherine, Jamaica, Smith attended Kingston College High School, one of the perennial high schools in Jamaica, where he was a three-sport athlete (track, soccer and basketball). During his high school tenure, Smith garnered seven individual medals and was a member of the two-time National Championship team (2001-2002) in the 100 meter, 100 meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, discus, and the heptathlon.