Webb honored again as track heads to NCAAs

If greatness was based merely on accolades, Pitt head track coach Alonzo Webb would be at… If greatness was based merely on accolades, Pitt head track coach Alonzo Webb would be at the head of his class.

Just one week after guiding both the men’s and women’s track teams to top-10 finishes in the NCAA Regional qualifying meet, the fourth-year head coach was honored as the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association 2006 Coach of the Year.

“You don’t focus on awards like this, but when they happen you certainly are appreciative of being recognized by your peers,” Webb said after winning the award. “I’m very honored and our entire team should be honored because this is a reflection of all of our hard work and dedication to making Pitt great.”

Webb has done exactly that in his short tenure with the Panthers. Since being named as both the men’s and women’s track and field head coach in August 2002, the Panthers have rocketed to elite standing in the region and the nation.

Recently, Webb coached the women’s team to its fourth consecutive Eastern College Athletic Conference Outdoor title this May after recording its second Big East Outdoor Championship in as many years. The Panthers won their first Big East title in 11 years in 2005.

The women’s team has also won nine championship titles in its four years under Webb.

The conference quickly took notice of Webb and his accomplishments with the Panthers and honored the head coach along with his staff as the Big East Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year in 2005.

This year, they repeated this honor.

Webb isn’t short on national attention either. In his first two years as coach of the Panthers, Webb was named by the United States Track Coaches Association as Mid-Atlantic District Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004. Only one other coach in history has won the award in consecutive years.

Shortly after, Webb was elected by his Big East coaching peers to serve as the Vice President to the Big East Track and Field Championship and Competition Committee.

Despite all the recognition, Webb hasn’t forgotten what he believes is the most fundamental part of being a coach.

“When you coach, your priority is doing the best for your student-athletes,” Webb said.

His student athletes certainly reflect that, as current Panther Maureen McCandless was just named an Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine. McCandless, along with teammate Marissa Dudek, also earned All-America status at the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this year.

McCandless and Dudek join teammates Julianna Reed and Shantea Calhoun in Sacramento, Calif., today to begin the four-day competition in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Keith Higham, Tony Bonura, Mike Wray and Sam Bair are competing for the men’s team.