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Anthony Williams enters his 12th year at Villanova and his third season as Associate Head Coach for both the Wildcat Men's and Women's teams in 2005- 2006. Williams brings to Villanova a sprint background influenced by his years growing up in Jamaica and competing at the collegiate level at Blinn College in Texas and in the Southeastern Conference at Ole Miss. His coaching duties involve working with the men's and women's sprinters and jumpers. Under his guidance, Villanova has seen its sprint image dramatically improve on the national level with athletes each year attaining national-level performances while making appearances at the NCAA Championships as well as international competitions. Since joining the staff eleven years ago, Williams' sprinters have had a major impact on rewriting Villanova's sprint record books and in the process, garnering many national honors. His athletes have also won many Big East Conference titles in a variety of events. Under Williams' guidance Villanova has seen the development of Wildcat greats such as Kareem Archer who competed for Jamaica in the 1997 World Championships while only a Villanova junior. In 1998 Archer achieved the rare feat of making the final in every hurdles race offered at the NCAA level. Charmaine Walker was a six-time Big East Champion and three-time NCAA All American in the sprint hurdles. In 2001 she recorded the fastest time run at a Big East Championship in the 100m hurdles. While at Villanova, Nic O'Brien set a New Zealand national record in the 400m hurdles, and he also earned a national title as a member of the 2003 DMR team. Mike Brown is another sprinter who has garnered numerous awards at Villanova with Williams. He won Penn Relay Championship titles in the 400m hurdles and DMR relay and won a national title on the 2002 Championship DMR relay team. Brown also has the distinction of winning conference titles in both the flat 400m and 400m hurdles event. Monique Morgan continues to develop in the sprint hurdles with Williams, and in 2005 she ran one of the top fifteen times in the country in the 100m hurdles. Drew Eckman is another sprinter who is making a name for himself with Williams; in 2005 he won two Big East titles and recorded national qualifying times in the 400m and 400m hurdles. Williams has guided standout jumpers Jermaine Deans and Marlena Robinson to multiple appearances at the NCAA, while also winning numerous Big East titles in the triple and long jumps. In 1998, Deans dominated the jumps on the east coast and was named "Big East Most Outstanding Field Event Performer" at the indoor championships. He also set a conference long jump record at the outdoor championships the same year. Carlos Bedoya is one more sprinter who has excelled under Williams' guidance, and he has won several Big East 200m dash titles. Kia Davis, Kesha Walley, Melanie Sklepko, Sherese Price, and Antoine Johnson have all won Big East titles and made NCAA appearances with Williams. Williams' athletes have added great balance and diversity to the Villanova Track and Field tradition. These student-athletes have helped to give Villanova the distinction of having one of the most consistent and productive sprint programs on the east coast. Nationally, his hurdlers and long sprinters have consistently had an impact on the NCAA scene with high quality performances. Williams serves as Director of both the Wildcat Track and Field and Speed Camps. He also is meet director of the Jack Pyrah Invitational and plays a major role in Villanova hosting of outdoor track meets. Williams is the team's liaison with Compliance, and he is prominent in the recruitment of international student-athletes. A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Williams attended Blinn College in Texas where he was captain of two national championship teams and a Junior College All-American in the sprints and triple jump. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in management from the University of Mississippi, where he was a Dean's List student- athlete and also an Academic All-SEC honoree. In 1994 and 1998, Williams was the Jamaican national champion in the triple jump, and he went on to represent Jamaica internationally on several national teams. Prior to coming to Villanova, he spent three years as a volunteer jumps coach at Plainfield High School in New Jersey. Williams is married to Pat Itanyi and has one son, Craig, and two nieces, Danielle and Brianna. WILLIAMS' COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS • 17 All-Americans • 32 Big East Champions • 10 ECAC/IC4A Champions • 29 Villanova Records |
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