Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) head track and field and cross country coach Valerie Brown will remain as the program’s leader through at least the 2023 season after inking an extension, Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison announced Wednesday.
“We are excited about the trajectory of our women’s track and field program since Coach Brown took over in 2019 and I look forward to our continued progress for years to come,” said Harrison.
“Val provides the kind of consistent leadership that not only builds champions on the track or in the field, but in life. That is the essence of the Total Gov Concept and I am proud to have her at Austin Peay,” Harrison stated.
In addition to earning 2020 Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Coach of the Year honors for leading the APSU Govs to their first team title in nearly 20 years, Brown has been an instrumental part of the program since 2011, first as an assistant coach before being elevated to associate head coach in 2014 and finally the top job in 2019.
During her tenure, every Austin Peay State University sprint record that could be toppled has been, with some falling particularly hard:
- The indoor 60-meter dash has been reduced by nearly two-tenths of a second since Brown arrived (from 7.68 to 7.49).
- The outdoor 100-meter dash has been reduced by more than three-tenths of a second (from 11.83 to 11.51).
- The indoor 200-meter has been reduced by more than a full second, from 25.24 to 23.93.
- The outdoor 200-meter has been reduced by more than a full second (24.47 to 23.35).
- The outdoor 4×100-meter relay mark has been reduced by nearly two seconds (46.94 to 45.28).
Brown was instrumental in the development of Breigh Jones, a three-time NCAA East Preliminary qualifier who represented APSU in the 400-meter dash at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Jones smashed the school indoor 400-meter record by nearly two seconds (to 53.96) and the outdoor by more than two seconds (to 52.65) in her training with Brown, and she was the only athlete in program history to break 54 seconds in the event until another of Brown’s finds, 2020-21 OVC Freshman of the Year Kenisha Phillips.
In the Ohio Valley Conference Championship competition, Brown’s sprinters have been responsible for a large portion of the hardware brought home by Austin Peay student-athletes during her tenure.
In all, Austin Peay State University’s sprints/relays/hurdles group has accounted for 54 medals, including 13 gold medals, during Brown’s time on staff; eight of those medals came at the 2019 OVC Outdoor Championships.
