Hunter Named Assistant Men's Track Coach

July 23, 2004

Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – Men’s head track coach Mike Ward announced today that J.J. Hunter has been hired as Assistant Track and Field Coach.

Hunter joins the Hurricane coaching staff after spending last season as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s track and field teams at Florida International University.

During his time with the Golden Panthers, Hunter worked primarily with the sprinters and hurdlers. Last season, three of Hunter’s student-athletes advanced to the NCAA East Regional Championships with one advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In addition, his student-athletes broke six school-records and earned Sun Belt Conference honors 16 times, including Sheri-Ann Brooks who captured the conference title in the indoor 200-meters.

Prior to joining the Golden Panthers, Hunter spent two seasons as an assistant coach at The College of New Jersey, where he worked with both the men’s and women’s teams, focusing on sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers. He helped guide the team to a fifth-place finish at the 2003 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships and helped his student-athletes earn a total of 24 All-America honors.

Before joining the coaching ranks, Hunter was a successful track and field competitor. In 1996 he was the Penn Relays Olympic Development 100-meter champion and was a provisional qualifier for the Olympic Trials. In 1998 he was ranked as high as 25th in the United States in the 100-meters. Hunter was a three-time qualifier for the USA Track & Field Outdoor National Championships and recorded personal bests of 10.10 seconds in the 100-meters and 20.83 seconds in the 200-meters.

Hunter graduated from La Salle University in 1993 with a degree in biology. He was a four-year letterman in track and field for the Explorers, anchoring the still-standing school-record in the 4×200-meter relay (1:26.18).