June 26, 2003

University of North Carolina track and field coach Michael Whittlesey was one of eight recipients of Mondo Assistant Coach of the Year awards, the Division I Coaches Association of the U.S. Track Coaches Association has announced.

This is the first year the coaches' association honored assistant coaches.

Women's assistant coaches of the year are Whittlesey (distance); Dennis Shaver of LSU (sprints and hurdles); Dennis Nobles of Florida State (jumps); and Larry Judge of Florida (throws).

Men's assistant coaches of the year are Vince Anderson of Tennessee (sprints and hurdles); Mike Curcio of Appalachian State (distance); Wayne Pate of Indiana (jumps); and Don Babbitt of Georgia (throws).

Whittlesey, in his sixth year as an assistant at UNC, coached NCAA individual champions Shalane Flanagan (3000 meters) and Alice Schmidt (800 meters) and the NCAA distance medley relay national champions. Flanagan also was NCAA cross country champion and won her third straight ACC cross country title.

Carolina won three distance relays at the 2003 Penn Relays, including the distance medley relay, the 4x800 and 4x1500.

Flanagan, Schmidt and Carol Henry (3000-meter steeplechase) all won All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.

Schmidt won the 800 meters for the second consecutive year.

The Morris, Conn., native is a 1990 graduate of The University of Connecticut. Prior to joining the UNC staff, he also coached for six years at UConn and two years at Charlotte.