University of Florida Men's Cross Country

Welty is in her second stint with the Gators, as she previously served as an assistant coach for distance runners from 2002-03. Weltys impact on the Florida program since her return in 2008 is undeniable, especially on the recruiting trail. With Welty handling recruiting coordinator duties for Florida, the program has consistently signed top-10 recruiting classes, including a highly-touted group set to arrive in the summer of 2016. This past season, Floridas women swept the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with the former being the first national title of its kind in program history. The womens 4x400-meter relay team also broke the schools indoor record, while the 4x100 crew broke the program record en route to the national title. Also, the mens and womens outdoor 4x400-meter relay teams collected SEC titles. Taylor Burkes record-breaking performance in the high jump also served as a high point for Weltys 2015 coaching campaign. Burke leapt 1.85 meters (6-0.75) at the Tom Jones Memorial, topping the programs outdoor record. Burke also earned indoor All-America honors, the fourth straight year she did so, and collected the second outdoor All-America honor of her career. In the multi-events, Brittany Harrell capped her career with the third indoor pentathlon All-America honor of her career. The year prior, Harrell broke the schools pentathlon record with 4,287 points at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships, and was an outdoor All-American in the heptathlon. Also in 2014, Burke broke the indoor high jump school record she previously set as a sophomore, leaping 1.87 meters (6-1.5) at the SEC Indoor Championships. Another highlight of 2014 came at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where Weltys guidance helped the mens 4x100-meter relay team capture its second consecutive national title. The womens 4x400-meter relay claimed the SEC Indoor title as well. In 2013, Welty worked with Burke, then in her sophomore year, and helped her set a new Florida school record in the womens high jump indoors with a mark of 1.86m/6-1.25. Burke garnered All-America honors for the second straight year in the event. Welty was also instrumental in the development of junior Lorraine Graham, who competed in the multi-events for the first time in her career. Graham etched her name in the Florida record books, becoming the second-best performer all-time in the indoor pentathlon (4,010) and fourth all-time in the outdoor heptathlon (5,239). In 2012, Welty honed four SEC Champions, as junior Dwight Barbiasz and freshman Taylor Burke swept the SEC Outdoor high jump titles, and senior decathlete Gray Horn earned his second-consecutive SEC indoor heptathlon title. Barbiasz was a finalist in the mens high jump. Burke won the womens high jump at the U.S. Junior Championships and competed at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain. In 2011, Welty guided then-junior Gray Horn to his third SEC Decathlon title and a First Team All-America performance in the event with his school record of 7,914 points. Horn was also the SEC Indoor Heptathlon Champion with a total of 5,816 points. In 2010, Welty mentored sophomore Gray Horn to his second consecutive Southeastern Conference decathlon title in as many years. Horn, who consistently set personal-best marks and times, is the only athlete in mens school history to win a league multi-event crown. He also placed second in the heptathlon at the 2010 SEC Indoor Championships and won the decathlon event at the North American Central American Championships during the summer of 2010. In 2009, Welty directed then-freshman Gray Horn to the first SEC decathlon in school history as just a freshman. He went on to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Horn finished second at the SEC Indoor Championships, a meet in which another of Weltys pupils, Frankie Hammond, finished third in the high jump. Horn also was the silver medalist in the decathlon at the 2009 Junior Pan Am Championships. In just her first year back in Gainesville, Floridas sprinters and hurdlers captured a combined 25 All-America honors during the 2008 campaign, including a combined eight top-five finishes at the NCAA Championship. Welty made her way back to Gainesville after a two-year stint at Louisville, where she oversaw its short sprinters, mid-distance runners and multi-event athletes. During Weltys time with the Cardinals, her pupils broke 12 school records. Additionally, the mens team captured the 2007 BIG EAST Outdoor Championship, while the womens squad garnered runner-up honors and saw its 4x100-meter relay team qualify for the regional championships. Prior to Louisville, Welty coached sprints, jumps and multi-events at Texas Pan-American during the 2005 season, helping her athletes break 10 school records that season. The Wichita, Kan., native was an assistant at UF from 2002-03, playing an integral part in a historic 2003 campaign that saw the Florida women with the Southeastern Conference outdoor championship and the NCAA East Regional title, finish second at the NCAA Indoor Championships and take fourth at the NCAA outdoor meet. During that time, Florida runners captured 23 All-America honors, while Welty also helped the 2003 4x400m relay squad capture the conference crown. After departing Florida, Welty served as head track and field coach at Gainesvilles P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, where she guided her team to a runner-up finish and five individual titles at the FHSAA Class A state championships. She began her coaching career in 2001 with a one-year stint as a jumps coach at Illinois State. Her tenure in Normal saw Welty develop an NCAA qualifier, three NCAA provisional qualifiers and two Missouri Valley Conference Champions. A 2001 Cum Laude graduate of Wichita State, Welty earned All-America honors in the heptathlon in 1999, one of two years in which she qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also collected two Academic All-America honors, eight MVC titles, two MVC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Meet accolades and two Drake Relays heptathlon crowns during her collegiate career. Welty also earned a masters degree from the University of Louisville in 2008. Coaching Career   Team Accomplishments   Top Athletes Gray Horn  2009 and 2010 SEC Decathlon Champion; 2009 and 2010 USTFCCCA Outdoor All-American; 2009 Junior Pan Am Championships silver medalist; 2010 NACAC decathlon champion.