While winning national and conference titles now are annual, and realistic, goals, turning recruits into top-flight competitors has long been a hallmark of Clark and the Lady Vol program. During Clark’s first five years at the UT helm, 21 athletes have combined to earn 90 All-America certificates, with his Lady Vols collecting five NCAA titles (three indoors and two outdoors) and 21 SEC championships (12 indoors/nine outdoors) during that period. Two of those pupils, 400m standout Dee Dee Trotter and long jump ace Tianna Madison, ascended to stardom internationally before their college days were through, resulting in their early departures for the lucrative world of professional track & field. Among UT’s national victors are 2005 indoor and outdoor long jump winner Madison, 2004 indoor 800m champ Nicole Cook, 2004 outdoor 400m winner Trotter and 2004 DMR legs Brooke Novak, Trotter, Nicole Cook and Lindsay Hyatt. Cook, who set the collegiate record indoors in the 800 meters at 2:00.75 in 2005, surely would have added another individual crown had it not been for a late season leg injury that knocked her out of the NCAA Indoor meet.
For his fantastic efforts in 2005, Clark was honored at nearly every level of track & field, earning USTCA National Indoor Women’s Coach of the Year as well as USTCA South Region Indoor, SEC Indoor and USTCA Mideast Region Outdoor Women’s Coach of the Year accolades. His wise choice of staff members also was highlighted, when former aide Caryl Smith Gilbert was selected as both the USTCA National and USTCA Mideast Region Assistant Coach of the Year for sprints and hurdles after only her third year here.
Lest someone consider Tennessee’s 2005 NCAA victory a one-hit wonder, the momentum at Rocky Top has been building since Clark took the reins on May 23, 2002, after he left his 10-year post as track & field assistant and cross country coach at Florida. With the Lady Vol thin-clads coming off NCAA finishes of 42nd indoors and 39th outdoors when he made the move northward, Clark has quickly moved Team Orange back up the charts where the storied program belongs. Indoors, his résumé includes improvement from 23rd to fourth to national champions in his first three seasons, while his outdoor body of work showed steep upward mobility from 22nd to seventh to fourth in that same time frame.
At the SEC level, the UT women have risen from ninth to second to first at the indoor meet, while climbing from seventh to sixth to third outdoors. The 2005 outdoor results at both the SEC and NCAA meets would unquestionably have been higher if not for the aforementioned injury to the ultra-talented Cook.
In 2004, Clark returned the Big Orange to vogue at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa., as the Lady Vol contingent pulled off a hat trick of baton event victories at the historic Penn Relays. Tennessee quartets captured “Championships of America” in the distance medley, 4x800m and sprint medley relays, with the latter establishing a collegiate record. UT, which also added an SMR title in 2006 and a DMR crown in 2007, had not won that many relays in Philly since 1984.
Speaking of records, there have also been some league and NCAA marks set on Clark’s watch. Among them, the 2004 DMR plated the SEC record at 11:16.61, while Cook’s 2005 collegiate record in the 800m also stands as a conference best. Madison’s leap of 22-8.50 at the 2005 SEC Outdoor meet, while not a record due to a slight gust of 2.2 mps, stands as the best mark in the 25 years that women have competed in the long jump at the conference championships. Madison’s measurement of 22-3 at the 2005 NCAA Indoor meet, meanwhile, tied Carol Lewis’ American collegiate record and was just short of the NCAA standard.
During Clark’s first five years on The Hill, marks in 11 events indoors and 11 events outdoors have been revised. In addition to that, there are names of numerous current athletes who continue to climb their way up the charts, and UT women continue to pepper the facility and meet record lists, both at home and around the nation.
Internationally, Tennessee is also back on the scene under Clark. His former athletes Cook, Madison, Trotter, Kameisha Bennett (800m) and Sharon Dickie (distance/XC), and current Lady Vols Sarah Bowman (1500m), Shanna Dickenson (discus), Lynne Layne (sprints) and Cleo Tyson (sprints), have performed well for Team USA, while ex-Lady Vols Rose-Anne Galligan (distance/XC), Toyin Olupona (sprints) and Patricia Hall (sprints) are fine representatives for Canada, Jamaica and Ireland, respectively.
World success showered the Big Orange in 2004, as college junior Trotter ran on the victorious U.S. Olympic 4x400m relay unit and grabbed fifth in the open 400 meters before becoming the first underclass Lady Vol to turn pro. Clark also moved four of his pupils into the 800m finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where Bennett and Cook finished fourth and seventh, respectively. He advanced two (wife Jearl Miles-Clark and sister Hazel Clark) to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where Miles-Clark wound up sixth in her fifth trip to the Olympiad, while a freak accident prevented Clark from advancing beyond the prelims in her second visit to the Games.
During his autumns, Clark has also produced an extreme makeover of the cross country team, pointing that unit to victory in four of the past six seasons at the NCAA South Regional as well as producing five consecutive NCAA Championship appearances (2002-2006) and three straight triumphs at the SEC Championships from 2003 to 2005. Those three SEC-winning editions posted school bests for victories, with the 2005 unit fashioning a 125-32 record. He also has developed a total of 14 athletes who have combined for 24 All-South Region awards and 17 All-SEC recognitions. Among that group of honorees are Jackie Areson, Bowman, Leah Soro and Katie Van Horn, all of whom should bolster Tennessee’s distance corps on the oval in 2008.
By pushing his overall career mark to 622-181-1 at UT, he tightened his grasp as the school’s all-time winningest coach in cross country. He also joins Pat Summitt, who has won six NCAA titles and possesses the most coaching victories in NCAA basketball history, as one of the most decorated coaches at Rocky Top despite his exceedingly brief tenure.
In addition to the four leadership recognitions he received in track & field in 2005 and the SEC Indoor and USTFCCCA Indoor South Region Coach of the Year nods in 2007, Clark has been named SEC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year five times (2003-2005 at UT/1996-97 at UF) and NCAA South Region Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year on five occasions (2002-2005 at UT/1997 at UF). That’s 16 times in his 16 seasons as a college coach, including an astounding 13 awards in his first 5 ½ years in Knoxville.
Clark’s impact has been felt beyond the programs he coaches, as well, as his squads’ SEC and NCAA finishes have fueled the most extensive department-wide spree of female sport success in the history of UT Women’s Athletics. The Lady Vols were declared the SEC women’s all-sports winners in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group. Though the Lady Vols and Tennessee finished second in the SEC all-sports standings in 2006-07, the women’s and men’s programs combined to place seventh nationally in the U.S. Sports Academy Director’s Cup standings, marking UT’s highest ranking in history.
One of the most respected distance coaches in the nation, Clark enjoyed 10 successful seasons as an assistant from 1992 to 2002 at the University of Florida and spent the 1991-92 year there as a graduate assistant. Clark helped transform a dormant women’s middle distance/cross country program into one that was respected, both nationally and internationally. In fact, his group of athletes played a key role in Florida’s SEC Indoor and Outdoor track & field titles in 1997 and 1998, its indoor crown in 2002 and its third-place national finish indoors in 2002. It has been estimated that his charges accumulated more than 650 points in SEC action and 110-plus at the NCAA level during his 10 seasons as a full-time aide at UF.
Known as much for his character as his coaching ability, Clark’s sterling reputation for a near perfect graduation rate and a habit of developing student-athletes into champions and confident young ladies has been well received by recruits and their families. Those traits enabled him to attract several of the nation’s number-one prospects in a variety of events to his former school and continue to serve him well as he builds a perennial championship contender at Tennessee.
During his tenure with the Gators, Clark groomed two athletes who combined for three SEC Athlete of the Year awards in cross country and track, and developed competitors who racked up 44 NCAA All-America citations and 32 conference championship plaques. Among those were his sister, Hazel Clark, a three-time national champ in the 800 meters and the SEC Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and Becki Wells, a two-time victor in the mile/1500 meters and the 1996 SEC Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Both own the school records in their respective events, part of a total of 12 such marks accomplished by Clark-tutored athletes at Florida.
Outdoors, Clark coached two national champions and six SEC winners in the middle distance events. Those athletes contributed to Florida’s top-10 NCAA team finishes in 1992 (2nd), 1997 (6th) and 2002 (6th) as well as SEC crowns in 1992, 1997 and 1998 and a runner-up outcome in 1999. The middle distance crew also helped UF capture the Penn Relays 4x800m relay title for the third time since 1999.
Running down the list of SEC first-place outdoor finishers, the winners include Nona Allen (800m, 2001), Clark (800m, 1997-98/1500m, 1999), Tamieka Grizzle (800m, 2000) and Wells (1500m, 1997). Both Clark and Wells advanced to NCAAs and carried home the top prize, as Clark won the 800m in 1998 and Wells was victorious in the 1500m in 1997.
Indoors, J.J. Clark’s ledger includes three national titles and 15 SEC crowns, spreading across the 800m, mile, 3000m and distance medley relay. That talent was reflected in Florida’s taking of the conference hardware in 1992, 1997 and 2002 and achieving runner-up status in 1993, 1999, 2000 and 2001. In NCAA action, the Gators accumulated enough points to collect top-10 finishes in 1992 (1st), 1993 (3rd), 1996 (t4th), 1997 (5th), 1998 (6th), 1999 (4th), 2000 (t8th) and 2002 (3rd).
Among his individual indoor conference title-holders are Kamille Bratton (800m, 2001), Clark (800m, 1996-99), Grizzle (800m, 2000), Erin Merten (mile, 2002), Coralena Velsen (3000m, 1993), Wells (mile, 1997 / 3000m, 1996-97) and Marny Westphal (mile, 1993). Again, Clark (800m, 1998-99) and Wells (mile, 1997) both went on to capture NCAA championships.
In cross country, Clark led the school to its first-ever team appearance at the NCAA Championships in 1994. Since that season, UF was extended invitations four more times to the national meet, going in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 1999 and charting a top team finish of 16th on the third of its five trips. Clark also guided Florida to SEC titles in 1996 and 1997, and the Gators claimed NCAA regional titles in 1997 and 1998.
Among those drawing kudos for their standout cross country performances were Wells, the 1995 and 1996 SEC champion, and Hilary White, the 2000 SEC Freshman Athlete of the Year. Additionally, Wells and Velsen picked up All-America citations during their careers.
As mentioned previously, Clark’s influence also extends into the international arena, and his history of preparing athletes for competition is second to none. Proof of that was evident in 2000, when three of his pupils, sisters Joetta and Hazel and wife Jearl, finished one-two-three in the 800 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., and went on to represent the United States in Sydney.
During his time as head of “Team Clark,” the 1986 Villanova graduate prepared Joetta to compete in four Olympics prior to retiring, Jearl to make five appearances and win two Olympic golds and two world championships, and Hazel to make the finals in her initial trip to the Olympics in 2000 and qualify again in 2004. His spouse also maintains the American record she set in the 800m in 1999 and was the 2004 Olympic Trials champion and 2003 USATF outdoor victor in the 800 meters as well as the 2002 winner in the 400m.
In addition to the familial success, he also coached three-time Olympian Mark Everett to a No. 1 USA ranking and fourth-place world rating in the 800 meters. Nike recognized Clark for his work in continuing to develop world-class athletes, naming him the 1998 USA Elite Coach of the Year.
Clark’s abilities have also been noticed and rewarded by his sport’s national governing body. After serving as an assistant for the U.S. women at the 1999 IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Greece, he would receive the honor of being named head coach of the 2001 team in Edmonton, Canada. That squad would achieve one of the best medal counts ever charted by an American contingent.
A product of Maplewood, N.J., and a graduate of Columbia High School, Clark made trips to Knoxville during his teen years to watch his sister Joetta compete for the Lady Vols and saw her help Tennessee win the 1981 AIAW National Outdoor Championship. Those examples left an impression on the younger brother, and he blazed his own trail in track and field.
First, he set his own standard of excellence in running, winning the New Jersey state title in the mile and two-mile as a senior in 1982. With that kind of effort, he then earned a scholarship to run at Villanova, where he would develop into a sub-four minute miler in his competitive days en route to qualifying for the 1988 U.S Olympic Trials.
After graduating from VU in May of 1986 with a B.A. in communications, he would return to his prep alma mater and serve as assistant track coach. While at CHS from 1986 to 1989, he worked with the girls’ and boys’ middle distance and sprints corps. Then, in 1991, he would make his transition into collegiate coaching, serving as a graduate assistant at Florida for one year before being hired full time there.
Clark, who resides in Knoxville with wife, Jearl, and son, Jorell, studied anatomy and physiology coursework in graduate school at UF. Bridging the gap between his high school coaching and college experience, he also took courses in nutrition and exercise physiology in 1990 at Kean College in Union, N.J., and became certified as a licensed sports massage therapist in 1991 from the Florida School of Massage in Gainesville. His father is Joe Lewis Clark, the bat-wielding principal of Paterson, New Jersey’s Eastside High School, depicted by actor Morgan Freeman in the 1989 movie “Lean on Me.”
CLARK’S HIGHLIGHTS
• Chosen as a women’s middle distance coach for 2008 U.S. Olympic Team
• Led UT to 2005 NCAA Indoor and 2005 & 2007 SEC Indoor Championships
• Directed the Lady Vols to 2005 NCAA Mideast Region title
• Named 2005 USTCA National & South Region Indoor Coach of the Year
• Also chosen USTFCCCA South Region Indoor Coach of the Year in 2007
• Selected 2005 and 2007 SEC Indoor Coach of the Year
• Picked 2005 USTCA Mideast Region Outdoor Coach of the Year
• Received 15 coach of the year awards during his collegiate career, 12 of them while in Knoxville
• Tennessee has produced 21 track & field All-Americans (earning 90 awards) since his arrival on campus
• His program has developed five NCAA champions and 21 SEC champions in four seasons at UT
• His program has produced gold medalists at the Olympics, World Championships, Pan Am Games, Pan Am Juniors, NACAC U-23 Championships as well as the USA Senior and Junior Championships
• Overseen athletes breaking 21 school records as well as several NCAA, SEC, collegiate, American collegiate, meet and facility records
• Collected three relay wins at the 2004 Penn Relays (4x800m/DMR/SMR) and followed with single baton-event wins in the SMR (2006) and DMR (2007)
• Coached four of the eight 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials finalists in the 800m
• Two of his pupils (Jearl Miles-Clark, Hazel Clark) made the 2004 Olympic Team, with JMC taking sixth
• Guided “Team Clark” 800m family trio to 2000 Olympic Games
• Coached UT cross country to NCAA South Region titles from 2002-05
• Directed cross country program to NCAA berths from 2002-06
• Led Lady Vols to the team title at the SEC Cross Country Championships from 2003-05
CLARK’S COLLEGE COACHING CAREER
SCHOOL YEAR SEC (IN) SEC (OUT) NCAA (IN) NCAA REG. NCAA (OUT)
FLORIDA 1992 1st 1st 1st N/A 2nd
(as a grad. assistant)
FLORIDA 1993 2nd 4th 3rd N/A t9th
(as an assistant) 1994 7th 8th N/A N/A t42nd
1995 5th 4th 11th N/A t47th
1996 4th 6th t4th N/A t12th
1997 1st 1st 5th N/A 6th
1998 3rd 1st 6th N/A 13th
1999 2nd 2nd t4th N/A t17th
2000 2nd 4th t19th N/A 30th
2001 2nd 2nd 12th N/A 20th
2002 1st 3rd 3rd N/A 6th
TENNESSEE 2003 9th 7th t23rd 7th t22nd
(as head coach) 2004 2nd 6th 4th 2nd t7th
2005 1st 3rd 1st 1st 4th
2006 t3rd 5th t18th 3rd 18th
2007 1st 4th 3rd 4th t27th
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