Jeff Perkins enters his sixth year as the UC Irvine track & field/cross country head coach.
Perkins, a member of the UCI staff since 2007, took over the program on Jan. 1, 2014, after serving as associate head coach the previous four years.
Perkins works primarily with the sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers. He is a USATF Level 1 and Level 2 certified sprints/hurdles/relays and jumps coach.
In his five years at the helm of the men’s and women’s track & field teams, the Anteaters have claimed four All-America honors and won 14 Big West individual titles, while producing 40 NCAA West Preliminary qualifying marks.
Since Perkins joined the UCI staff in 2007, the ‘Eaters have also boasted one NCAA champion, seven All-Americans, 12 national qualifiers and 33 conference champions. In addition, 29 of UC Irvine's current indoor and outdoor school records have been set during Perkins' tenure.
Last year, Persis William-Mensah bettered her own program bests in the indoor 60m and 200m. She then proceeded to break the 100m and 200m records during the outdoor season. Barbara Coward also shattered a two-year old record in the hammer throw. Both William-Mensah (100m, 200m, 4x100) and Coward (Discus, Hammer) qualified for the NCAA West Prelims, along with teammates Hope Bushnell (4x100), Julia Sambvani (4x100), Mikayla Scott (4x100), Asa Allen (110H) and Brandon Lucas (200m). William-Mensah and Coward were also Big West champions in the 100m and discus, respectively.
In 2017, Perkins guided Lloyd Sicard (110H) and Isaiah Jewett (800m) to second-team All-America honors as they both finished among the top-16 in their respective events at the NCAA Championships.
It was no surprise that Sicard qualified for nationals as it was his third trip to Eugene, but Jewett had some of UC Irvine’s more unexpected performances in 2017. Jewett was in his first year focusing on the 800m and had run 1:54.38 in his only collegiate race at that distance as a freshman. Under the tutelage of Perkins, Jewett improved his lifetime best to 1:47.43, which ranks second in program history. He ended up running four sub-1:49 races, while winning the Big West 800m title and advancing to the NCAA Championships. Both Sicard and Jewett went on to compete at the USA Track & Field Championships.
Perkins had a total of nine student-athletes qualify for the NCAA West Preliminaries, while 13 ‘Eaters combined for 21 All-Big West honors. Sicard (110H, 4x400), Jewett (800m, 4x400), Brandon Howard (4x400), Paul Resong (4x400) and Megan George (100H) all claimed individual titles. It was the third-straight conference championship for both Sicard and George in the hurdles.
On the women's side, there were also three outdoor and five indoor school records broken in 2017. Persis William-Mensah eclipsed her own records in the indoor 60m (7.43) and 200m (24.38), as well as the outdoor 100m (11.57). Crystal Lizaola topped the indoor charts in the 600m (1:33.93) and 800m (2:12.93), while combining with Saniya Syed, Megan George and Simone Buchanan to run the fastest outdoor 4x400 relay in program history at 3:42.57. George added an indoor-best 8.44 in the 60m hurdles. Barbara Coward accounted for the final outdoor record in the discus as she bettered the previous standard by over 10 feet with a toss of 180-08.
In 2016, Perkins saw 10 of his student-athletes advance to the NCAA West Regional meet with Sicard qualifying for nationals and receiving honorable mention All-America distinction. Sicard (110H) and George (100H) defended their Big West titles, while George also joined forces with Taisyn Crutchfield, Michelle Norman and Persis William-Mensah to win the 4x100 in a school-record 44.51. It was the second-fastest time in meet history and marked the Anteaters’ first victory in that event since 1992. During the regular season, George added a program-best 13.28 in the 100m hurdles.
In Perkins’ first two years as head coach, the 'Eaters notched 13 NCAA West Regional qualifying marks and secured six Big West individual titles.
Two of Perkins’ student-athletes have already reached the pinnacle of the sport, participating at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Charles Jock competed for Team USA in the 800 meters, while Persis William-Mensah was part of Ghana’s 4x100 relay.
Jock is one of the most decorated runners in UC Irvine history as he won the 800m at the 2012 NCAA Track & Field Championships, making him the program's first individual national champion in 34 years. In 2010, Jock also broke the legendary Steve Scott's school record in the 800m that had stood for 32 years. In addition, the three-time All-American and Big West Track Athlete of the Year was the runner-up at the 2011 NCAA Championships and competed for the USA National Team at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Another Perkins protégé, Lloyd Sicard, was tabbed the 2016 Big West Track Athlete of the Year after winning his second 110-meter hurdle title. As a sophomore in 2015, he broke the school record held by Stan Longino that had stood for 33 years, one of the oldest marks in the Anteater record book. Sicard was also named UCI’s first Big West Freshman Athlete of the Year in 2014.
Outside of UC Irvine, Perkins coached both Danny McFarlane and Josef Robertson from Jamaica in the 400-meter hurdles. McFarlane won the 400H at the 2008 Jamaica Olympic Trials to advance to the Beijing Olympics. He was a silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games, placed fifth at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, and came in sixth at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Robertson was a 2009 World Championship qualifier and semi-finalist in the 2011 World Championships.
Perkins joined the Anteaters' staff from the University of Oklahoma (2005-07), where he served two years as an assistant for the men's program, coaching the sprints, hurdles and relays. In his first season with the Sooners, he led Ronnie Pines to the third-fastest 60m time in the nation at 6.60 seconds. Perkins also had three 110m hurdlers compete in the Big 12 Conference final, placing second, third and eighth. Perkins' student-athletes scored a combined 34 points at the Big 12 Championship, helping the Sooners finish fifth after a 10th-place showing the previous year.
In 2006-07 at Oklahoma, Marcus Pugh won the 60m in 6.67 seconds at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. The Sooners went on to win the Big 12 outdoor title as well as the Midwest Regional Championship. Oklahoma's 4x100 relay also finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after winning conference and regional titles.
While at Oklahoma, Perkins coached 12 NCAA-regional qualifiers and six NCAA qualifiers.
Perkins served from 2002-05 at fellow Big West member Cal State Northridge, where he coached the men's and women's sprints, hurdles and relays. In his first season at CSUN, he guided four individuals,as well as the men's 4x100 and 4x400 relays, to conference titles. He had five individuals and three relays qualify for the NCAA West Regional, and four NCAA outdoor qualifiers in the 400H and 100m.
In 2003-04, the Matadors won the men's and women's Big West titles with four of Perkins' student-athletes taking home individual conference championships. He coached eight individual and three relay NCAA-regional qualifiers, with two of his athletes advancing to the NCAA Championships.
In 2004-05, the Northridge men won their second-straight conference title, while Perkins also mentored the Big West Freshman Female Track Athlete of the Year.
In his three seasons with the Matador staff, Perkins coached a total of 12 conference champions, 19 NCAA-regional qualifiers and six NCAA qualifiers.
Perkins began his career at the University of Tennessee, where he was a manager and volunteer coach under the tutelage of Vince Anderson. Perkins helped coach then-NCAA 100m/200m champion, future Olympian and world-record holder Justin Gatlin, and future 60-meter indoor world champion Leonard Scott on their way to the 2001 SEC Championship and NCAA Outdoor Championship. Tennessee won the 2002 SEC title and the NCAA Indoor Championship during Perkins' tenure.
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