Princeton University Men's Track

Samara has been the head coach of the varsity program since 1982. As head coach, Samara has guided the Tigers to 37 Ivy League titles, 18 indoor, 15 outdoor and four in cross country. Since 2000 alone, Samara had guided the Tigers to 12 Ivy League track & field titles, winning eight in indoor track and field and four in outdoor. His team posted an Ivy League triple crown in 2010-11 as Princeton became just the 10th program in NCAA history to sweep all six titles (men and women) in a single academic year and did it again in 2011-12 and 2014-15. An Olympian himself, Samara has coached fellow Americans to international success. Samara was the second U.S. finisher in the decathlon behind Bruce Jenner at the 1976 Olympic Games. In 1982, Samara coached the 1982 U.S. decathlon team, which competed in Leningrad. He was named national decathlon chairman for The Athletics Congress (now USA Track & Field), the national governing body of track and field. Samaras first Olympian was shot-putter Augie Wolf (83) at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Samara was also the field events coach for the US at the 1987 World Championships in Rome. In 1992, Samara was selected as the assistant coach responsible for decathletes and field events at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, where he worked extensively with Mike Stulce and Jim Doehring, the first Americans to sweep the gold and silver in the shot put since 1968. He also coached former Princeton high jumper Tora Harris (02), who competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens after finishing third at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Other international coaching experience includes: head coach of the victorious 1995 U.S. Pan American team that competed in Argentina, coordinator at the 1998 Goodwill Games and the 1987 field events coach at the World University Games in Kobe, Japan. Samara has had unmatched success from the league to the national level. Craig Pearce ('11) became Samara's 11th weightman at Princeton to achieve All-America status in the hammer throw in 2011. Past All-America weightmen include: David Pellegrini (80), the 35-pound weight throw NCAA champion in 1980; Tom Meyer (82), a two-time NCAA scorer in the javelin; Wolf, a second-place finisher in the 1983 indoor shot put who also placed fourth at the 1984 Olympics; Alex Kolovyansky (96) in the discus; Rob Manning (99) in the javelin; Scott Denbo (00) in the outdoor shot put and Josh McCaughey (05) in 35-lb weight throw in 2001 and 2002. McCaughey is the only four-time Heptagonal weight throw champion as well as a four-time Heps hammer throw champion in history. In 2010, Conor McCullough won the World Junior Championships hammer throw. McCullough had the nation's leading throw in the 35lb weight, at 76-1. Princeton track and field experienced unprecedented success beginning in 1997-98, when the Tigers claimed titles at cross country, indoor and outdoor Heptagonals for their first Triple Crown under Samara. The 1998-99 Princeton team repeated the feat, and both Samara and the 1999-00 squad went into uncharted territory with a third straight triple crown. The Tigers have posted back-to-back Triple Crowns in 2010-11 and 2011-12, and earned their latest in 2014-15. A 1975 national AAU decathlon champion, Samara was a five-time Penn Relays champion. While attending Penn, he was a two-time All-America, receiving honors in the sprints, long jump, pole vault and his specialty the decathlon. He also captured the decathlon title at the World University Games trials and later placed fifth at the World Championships in Moscow. In 1975 he was captain of the US team at the US vs. USSR Team Decathlon, leading the team to a world record. In 1974 he established an American record in the indoor pentathlon. Samara was inducted into the Public Schools Athletic League Wingate Hall of Fame in November 2003 for his accomplishments as an athlete at Fort Hamilton High in Brooklyn, N.Y., including being the top-ranked high school decathlete in the nation in 1969. Samara received a bachelor of science degree in economics from Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business and Finance in 1973. He and his wife Lorraine live in Pennington, N.J. Their son, Ben, is a graduate of The College of New Jersey where he competed on the track and field team. By the Numbers 4 Olympians   Auggie Wolf, shot put 1984, Los Angeles   Debbie St. Phard, shot put 1988, Seoul   Tora Harris, high jump 2004, Athens   Donn Cabral, steeplechase 2012, London 7 NCAA Champions   Tora Harris, high jump 2002, indoor & outdoor   Donn Cabral, steeplechase 2012 outdoor   DMR (Callahan, Dinkins, Hollimon, Williams) 2013, indoor 73 All-Americas   2- Weight Throw (Pellagrini, Pessala)   1- Hammer (Pearce)   5- Shot Put (Wolf-3, Purcell, St. Phard)   1- Javelin (Meyer)   2- Pole Vault (Slovenski, Bragg)   9- High Jump (Richards-2, Harris-5, Frick, Forlidas)   2- Long Jump (Ikpeowo, Dyer)   3- Triple Jump (McLean-3)   5- Mile (Burke-2, Nightingale, Callahan, Williams)   8- DMR teams (2)   8- 4x400 teams (2)   7- 5k (Cabral-3, Nightingale, Maag, Amirault, Stilin)   4- Steeplechase (Cabral-3, Owens)   7- 10k (LeMay, Macreery, Franklin, Leung, Bendsten-2, Pons)   2- 1500 (Burke, Van Ackeren)   2- 800 (Dinkins-2)   1 - 400h (Hollimon)   3 - Cross Country (Macreery, Nightingale, Maag)  1 - Decathlon (Soerens) 37 Ivy League Team Titles   Cross Country (4)   Indoor Track & Field (18)   Outdoor Track & Field (15) 280 Ivy League Champions including Relays   Indoor (139)   Outdoor (141) 9 USTFCCCA Coach of the Year Awards   Mid-Atlantic Indoor Men's Coach of the Year 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012   Mid-Atlantic Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year 2001, 2002, 2011, 2012, 2013 Coaching Experience US Decathlon Team 1982, Leningrad 1984, France 1994, Germany 2012, Germany US Field Events Coach, US World Championships 1987, Rome US Assistant Coach, Olympic Games 1992, Barcelona US Head Coach, Pan American Games 1995, Argentina US Team Coordinator, Goodwill Games 1998

Frick placed ninth to earn All-America honors with a height of 2.09 (6-10.25). At the 2008 Outdoor he was 11th with a mark of 2.14 (7-0.25) and in 2010 was 16th at 2.10 (6-10.75). He also competed in the outdoor championships as a sophomore. It was during his sophomore year, that Frick was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Field Athlete of the Year. The following outdoor season he was the East Region champion in the high jump. Frick earned the Morgan Award and the Babb Trophy and was a recipient of the Roper Trophy. He ranks fourth all-time in the outdoor high jump at Princeton at 2.20 (7-2.50) and third indoor with the same mark. After earning a degree in English, Frick used his final year of eligibility at the University of Oregon. While earning a degree in teaching & learning, Frick made his way into the Ducks records book. He cleared 2.23 (7-3.75), the third-best mark in school history. He also competed in the NCAA Championships and finished 19th at 2.10 (6-10.75). This past June, Frick competed in the high jump at the US Olympic Trials. He finished fifth at the trials with a PR of 2.25 (7-4.50). - All Rights Reserved |