University of Arkansas Women's Cross Country

Harters individual honors include five-time National Coach of the Year and 27-time SEC Coach of the Year accolades. His Razorbacks have racked up 22 NCAA event titles, 157 SEC event titles and 435 All-America certificates through the 2016 outdoor season. In recognition of his standout career and accomplishments, Harter was inducted into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame on December 15, 2014, at the organizations convention in Phoenix. He is also a member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor, Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame and Cal Poly Hall of Fame. During his tenure, Arkansas has collected 13 NCAA podium (top four) finishes including the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship team title, 2015 NCAA Indoor Championship team title and five national runner-up performances four of those from cross country. Harter has also guided his team to 28 SEC titles (16 cross country, six indoor track and six outdoor track) including the last seven-consecutive conference championships dating back to the 2014 SEC outdoor meet. His title haul at Arkansas also includes 20 NCAA Regional Championships in cross country. In winning the 2015 NCAA indoor team crown, Harter and the Razorbacks secured the first-ever national title by any womens program at the University of Arkansas. With its 63 points, Arkansas scored the third-highest team total in meet history and scored in each of the 15 events it had entries. The 2015 indoor season marked another first for the Razorback women when the program received its first-ever No. 1 ranking when the USTFCCCA released the Feb. 16 national poll. Harter returned his track program into the national spotlight during the 2016 indoor season as the Razorback women posted their second-highest NCAA finish, earning a team silver for their efforts by only a three-point margin. Shifting his teams focus to its outdoor campaign Harter worked to develop his veteran and rookie talents, mentoring three-sport All-American Dominique Scott along with Arkansas steeplechase record-holder Jessica Kamilos and newcomer Devin Clark. At the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship Harters distance trio secured 32 of Arkansas 72 points with two gold medals from Scott in the 5K and 10K, a runner-up performance by Kamilos in the steeplechase and a fifth-place finish for Clark in the steeplechase. Currently with two national championships to his credit Harters womens track and field team remains the only womens program at the University of Arkansas to win an NCAA national title. Overall, Harter has guided Arkansas to 29 top-10 NCAA finishes (10 cross country, 12 indoor track and seven outdoor) in his tenure including 16 top-five performances. Through the 2015 outdoor season, the Razorbacks have finished third or better in 78 percent (56 of 72) of SEC Championship meets under his watch. Arkansas has never finished lower than third at an SEC cross country meet. One of the best distance coaches in the country, Harter is responsible for the development of 14-time All-American Amy (Yoder) Begley who was the first Razorback to win a national title at both the indoor and outdoor championships. During her tenure at Arkansas and under the guidance of Harter, Begley raced to 15 SEC titles earning five SEC Athlete of the Year honors across the three seasons. Continuing his legacy of training athletes that are nationally renowned through cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field, Harter transformed South African native Scott into one of the most versatile distance runners to ever compete on the collegiate circuit. The only five-time NCAA national champion in program history Scott was named the NCAA Indoor Runner of the Year in 2015 and was recognized as a semifinalist for the prestigious Bowerman Award in 2016. Under Harters guidance Scott set seven program records during her tenure as a Razorback. Scott along with Therese Haiss, Kamilos and Sparkle McKnight own the second best performance in the NCAA history in the distance-medley relay. Harters coaching prowess hasnt gone unnoticed by his peers at the international level where he has represented the United States five times including duties as an assistant coach at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. He served as the head coach of Team USA at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain, and worked with former pupil Deena (Drossin) Kastor ahead of the 2004 Olympics where she went on to win bronze in the marathon. Most recently, Harter was the head coach of the United States women at the 2003 World Cross Country Championships in Brussels, Belgium. Harter arrived at Arkansas in 1990 after 11 years of building the nations top Division II program at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. His teams at Cal Poly-SLO won a Division II record 14 national championships, including eight consecutive cross country and six track and field titles. He was Division II national coach of the year 10 times. From the beginning of NCAA Division II Championships in 1981, Harters teams controlled the awards ceremonies. The Mustangs finished runner-up the initial season and after that ran off a string of eight straight titles. In track and field, Harter won five NCAA and one AIAW championship. Before coaching at Cal Poly-SLO, Harter was the mens and womens track and field coach at Smoky Hill High School in Denver, Colo. During his five years with SHHS, his teams won five cross country and five track conference titles. Before SHHS, he was an assistant coach for two years at Colorado State. A 1972 graduate of Texas Tech, Harter set several school records as a member of the cross country and track teams. A deans list honoree every semester at Tech, he earned his degree in physical education and American history. He earned his masters in education from Colorado State in 1974, focusing on physiology of exercise. He has completed doctoral hours at both Colorado and Colorado State. 2016. All Rights Reserved.

Johnson received his eighth USTFCCCA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year honor for his development of Regina George during his first year back at Arkansas. Former Razorback and Nigerian Olympian, George won an NCAA title in 2013 by anchoring the Razorbacks outdoor 4×400-meter relay to a national championship. He added to his collection of awards in 2016, claiming his ninth USTFCCCA Regional Coaching honor, following the development of one of the most pronounced sprints and multis contingents in the country which boasted another 400 specialist in Philadelphia native Taylor Ellis-Watson as well as nationally-dominant heptathlon trio Taliyah Brooks, Alex Gochenour and Payton Stumbaugh. Johnsons first year in the Ozarks was not unfamiliar to him as he spent two years as a graduate assistant with the Razorbacks in 2003 and 2004. During that time Arkansas won two Southeastern Conference titles and was a mainstay at the top of the leaderboard at both the SEC and NCAA Championships. Johnson had a hand in the development of multi-time Olympic gold medalist Veronica Brown-Campbell and NCAA Outdoor Champion and future U.S. Olympic Relay consideration LaShauntea Moore. In between Johnsons two stops in Fayetteville, he spent eight years at Penn State University, as an assistant and associate head coach. He was named the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Associations (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Mens Assistant Coach of the Year seven times during his tenure in State College. Johnsons time at Penn State included two NCAA Championships by his student-athletes, 36 Big Ten titles and more than 50 All-America honors. Johnson also guided the Nittany Lions to their first Big Ten 4×400-meter relay championship in program history. While in State College, Pa., Johnsons student-athletes played a pivotal role in Penn State womens fourth-place team finish at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships. During the 2015 season, Johnsons student-athletes produced top performances at both the indoor and outdoor SEC Championships assisting Arkansas efforts to secure their third triple crown. 2015 saw Johnson transition senior Chrishuna Williams from a sprinter to one of the best 800-meter runners in the country. In her first year competing in the event, Williams won a conference championship, broke the school record with 2:01.61 (Payton Jordan Invitational) and posted two top-five performances at the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships. Over the year, Johnson produced seven All-Americans, four SEC champions (400m, 800m, 4x400m), and two NCAA runner-up performances. The two silver medals from Ellis-Watson (400m) and the 4×400-meter relay team and a top-five finish from Williams (800m) aided in the Razorbacks winning the programs first national title at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships. Carrying the momentum into the next year, Johnsons group became even more formidable, leading Arkansas to two more conference titles, a fourth program triple crown and its first outdoor national title. Along the way to collecting multiple program accolades Johnson was instrumental in guiding Ellis-Watson to two more SEC gold medals and four additional NCAA silvers. At the NCAA indoor meet his pentathlete trio became the first in the history of the NCAA to all medal in the same championship meet, scoring points which led to a national runner-up team finish. One of the major highlights from the 2016 season came at the NCAA West Preliminary round during which Johnson coached his 4-x-400 relay squad, anchored by Ellis-Watson to a world-leading performance and meet, facility and program record of 3:25.48. In addition to the relay record, Johnsons athletes set four more program all-time bests over the course of the year including the 400 (outdoor), long jump (outdoor), 60 hurdles and 100 hurdles. Fresh off the NCAA outdoor championship meet Johnson coached several Razorbacks to Olympic Trial bids with Ellis-Watson and Williams earning spots on the U.S. national team in the 4-x-400 and 800, respectively. Following through with their development Johnson journeyed to Rio with the pair, training the duo right up until their respective races Ellis-Watson collecting an Olympic gold for her efforts. Johnson graduated from Lamar University in 1999, earning a degree in kinesiology. An outstanding athlete in his own right, he was a Sun Belt Conference champion at 400 meters. He is married to the former Gi-Gi Miller, a 2001 NCAA triple jump champion and four-time All-American during her collegiate career at Arkansas. With Johnson as her coach, Miller competed at the 2005 and 2007 IAAF World Championships and was the 2006 U.S. champion in the heptathlon. The couple was married in October 2005. 2016. All Rights Reserved.

Elliott earned her B.S.E. in Kinesiology in 2010, majoring in P-12 Teaching Physical Education from the University of Arkansas and also completed her Masters degree in Kinesiology/Exercise Science from the U of A in 2013 after serving as a graduate assistant. As a GA with the Hogs, Elliott was involved in practice structuring, individual workouts and on-campus recruiting. She was also heavily involved with the University of Arkansas Track Camps. She earned All-American honors in the steeplechase in 2008 and was an Academic All-American throughout her college career. She also served on the Arkansas Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was a two-time team captain for both the cross country and track programs. She earned SEC All-Academic First Team accolades every year of her collegiate career as well as being named to the Athletic Directors Honor Roll all four years. She was also involved in the Fayetteville community, participating with the Arkansas Athletes Outreach (AAO) and Sweat Hawgs program. She also took part in the Lee Spencer Cup, given annually to the Arkansas team which demonstrates the strongest commitment to life skills initiatives, academic success and athletic excellence. Elliott prepped at Northridge High School where she was a four-time First Team All-State performer. She finished among the top 13 at the IHSAA State Cross Country Meet all four years of her high school career and was part of four conference and sectional championship teams and six squads that earned regional titles. Megan and her husband, Rick, were married in June 2014 and the couple resides in the Fayetteville area. 2016. All Rights Reserved.