The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Men's Track & Field

THE ROSS FILE Personal Information Full Name: Randolph Duane Ross Born: Dec. 5, 1972 Hometown: Dallas, North Carolina High School: North Gaston High School College: Clemson, 1996 Coaching Experience 2022-present: Tennessee, Head Coach/Director of Track & Field 2012-22: North Carolina A&T, Director of Track & Field 2008-12: Methodist University (DIII), Head Coach 1996: Clemson, Volunteer Assistant Coach Team Championships (20) Men's Indoor Championships: 4 MEAC: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Men's Outdoor Championships: 4 MEAC: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 Men's Cross Country Championships: 1 MEAC: 2018 Women's Indoor Championships: 6 Big South: 2022 MEAC: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Mason-Dixon: 2011 Women's Outdoor Championships: 5 MEAC: 2017, 2019, 2021 Mason-Dixon: 2011, 2012 Coaching Honors 2022 USTFCCCA Men's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2022 USTFCCCA Men's Indoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2021 USTFCCCA Men's Outdoor Co-National Coach of the Year 2021 USTFCCCA Men's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2021 USTFCCCA Women's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2020 USTFCCCA Men's Indoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2019 USTFCCCA Men's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2019 USTFCCCA Women's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2019 USTFCCCA Women's Indoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2012 Mason Dixon Conference Outdoor Coach of the Year 2012 USTFCCCA Women's Indoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year (Div. III) 2011 Mason Dixon C

Updated: December 2025 Amy Rudolph joined the Tennessee cross country and track & field staff in August 2024 as an assistant coach for UT's distance runners and cross country athletes. One of her generation's great American distance runners, she enters her second year with the program in 2025-26. Rudolph has been instrumental in Tennessee’s recent success at the conference, regional and national levels. Over the past two seasons, she has helped guide the Lady Vols to consecutive NCAA Cross Country Championships appearances and supported the development of two individual men’s national qualifiers. Tennessee distance athletes have totaled six All-SEC honors, 11 All-Region performances and one All-America certificate during that span. During the 2025 cross country campaign, the Lady Vols finished seventh at the SEC Championships and runner-up at the NCAA South Region to earn their third straight NCAA Championships berth. Freshman Mary Nyaboke Ogwoka led the postseason charge with All-SEC and All-Region honors before placing 24th at the NCAA Championships to become Tennessee’s first cross country All-American since 2015, while three additional Lady Vols earned All-Region recognition. The men’s team placed ninth at SECs and fourth at regionals, highlighted by All-Region performances from Zouhair Redouane and Ty Steorts and Redouane’s individual NCAA Championships qualification. Rudolph’s impact has extended to the track, where Tennessee distance athletes earned a bronze medal in t

Assistant Director of Olympic Sports Performance Barry Cain has worked to enhance the performance of Tennessee student-athletes for more than a decade. He currently oversees training efforts for UT's track & field/cross country program. He also previously worked closely with the Lady Vols' volleyball program. Cain worked for the Vols as a student-assistant from 1998-2001 and again as both an intern and full-time performance coach from 2003-07. He earned a B.S. in physics from Clemson in 1993 then collected both undergraduate (Exercise Science) and master's (Human Performance and Sport Studies) degrees from Tennessee in 2002.

Updated: December 2025 Brian Biekert serves as an assistant coach for Tennessee men’s and women’s cross country and works with the Vols’ and Lady Vols’ distance runners during the indoor and outdoor track & field seasons. He enters his second year with the program in 2025-26. In his time on Rocky Top, Biekert has helped guide the Lady Vols to back-to-back appearances at the NCAA Cross Country Championships while assisting in the development of two individual men’s national qualifiers. Tennessee distance athletes under his guidance have combined for six All-SEC honors, 11 All-Region performances and one All-America certificate. The 2025 cross country season marked continued postseason success for both programs. The Lady Vols finished seventh at the SEC Championships and runner-up at the NCAA South Region to earn their third consecutive NCAA Championships berth, highlighted by freshman Mary Nyaboke Ogwoka’s All-SEC and All-Region honors and a 24th-place finish at nationals to become Tennessee’s first cross country All-American since 2015. On the men’s side, Tennessee placed ninth at SECs and fourth at regionals, with Zouhair Redouane and Ty Steorts earning All-Region honors and Redouane advancing individually to the NCAA Championships. Biekert has also played a role in Tennessee’s success on the track. Graduate student Zach Jaeger earned bronze in the steeplechase at the SEC Outdoor Championships, while the Vols and Lady Vols recorded 11 UT all-time top-10 performances during t

Tennessee head coach and director of track & field Duane Ross has announced the hiring of Deanna Hill as an assistant coach in August 2025. Hill will aid the...

Tennessee head coach and director of track & field Duane Ross announced the hiring of Devin West as a recruiting coordinator and assistant coach in the fall ...

Tennessee head coach and director of track & field Duane Ross announced the hiring of Hadrien Choukroun as an assistant coach in August of 2025. Choukroun is tasked to assist Ross with sprinters and hurdlers while spearheading coaching efforts in the horizontal jumps. "We are excited to welcome Hadrien—also known as 'Frenchie'— to our staff," Ross said. "He brings a wealth of experience developing elite athletes across multiple event groups, and his passion for the sport is evident in the success his athletes have achieved. I'm confident he will make a tremendous impact on our program as we continue to strive for an NCAA Championship." Choukroun arrives on Rocky Top with 14 seasons of coaching experience at NCAA Division I institutions, most recently serving as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa where he led the Hawkeyes' jumps and combined events from 2022-25. In three seasons, he guided seven athletes to 12 All-America honors and two Big Ten individual titles. Prior to Iowa, Choukroun coached jumps, pole vault and multis for five seasons at Stephen F. Austin where he contributed to six team conference titles and dozens of all-conference accolades. He began his collegiate coaching career in Columbia, South Carolina, serving his alma mater Benedict College as an assistant coach before gaining valuable experience in the Southeastern Conference with a five-year stint at South Carolina. "I am truly excited for the opportunity to coach alongside Coach Ross," Choukroun s

Tennessee head coach and director of track & field Duane Ross has announced the hiring of Jeff Chakouian as an assistant coach in July 2025. Chakouian is tas...

Updated: December 2025 Tennessee Director of Track & Field Duane Ross announced the hiring of Justin Duncan as the program’s head coach of men’s and women’s ...

Updated: December 2025 Kyle Ellis joined the Tennessee track & field staff in August 2023. Entering his 16th year of collegiate coaching in 2026, Ellis overs...

Updated: December 2025 Ron Garner brings more than 30 years of collegiate coaching experience to Tennessee as he enters his fourth season with the program in 2025–26. He assists in the development of the Vols’ and Lady Vols’ sprinters, hurdlers and relay squads. Since arriving on Rocky Top, Garner has helped elevate Tennessee into a national contender across the sprint and hurdle events. Over his first three seasons, his athlete groups have produced 13 school records, 82 All-America certificates and 24 SEC medal-winning performances, while consistently scoring at both the conference and national levels. 2025 Summary Tennessee's sprinters, hurdlers and relays totaled three conference titles during the 2025 campaign, beginning with Myreanna Bebe winning the SEC crown at the indoor championship meet with mark of 7.95 seconds. The men’s 4x100-meter relay quartet of Deron Dudley, Davonte Howell, Kalib Branch and T’Mars McCallum earned the conference title in school-record fashion with a time of 38.20 at the SEC Outdoor Championships, while Vol freshman Saad Hinti took home UT’s first SEC gold in the 400-meter hurdles in nearly four decades with a time of 48.44. The Lady Vols had four First-Team All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships – headlined by a fourth-place finish for the 4x400-meter relay of Cydney Wright, Esther Joseph, Brianna White and Javonya Valcourt with a school-record mark of 3:27.25. The men tabbed six scoring marks at the outdoor national meet – includ

Taylor Whitter joined the University of Tennessee Sports Medicine Staff in July 2024 and serves as an Athletic Trainer for M/W Cross Country and M/W Track & ...