Jan. 27, 2009
SAN DIEGO - Larry Wade, a five-time NCAA All-American, has been named San Diego State's newest addition to the track and field program as an assistant coach. Wade, a Texas A&M graduate, will oversee the training and development of SDSU's sprinters and hurdlers.
Wade brings 10 years of professional athletic and coaching experience to Montezuma Mesa. Wade was most recently the head track and field/strength and conditioning coach at Pasadena City College. He was also the head coach, owner and founder of Double Pillar Athletics, where he trained numerous championship athletes. Some of the notable athletes Wade has coached include, Rodney Martin, an Olympic team member in the Beijing games who was a world champion in the 4x100; Dominique Arnold, American record holder and 110 national champion; and Carmelita Jeter, a world champion in the 4x100 and world champion bronze medalist in the 100 meters.
Wade also coached Shevon Studdart, an Olympic team member in the Beijing games for Team Jamaica and Maurice Greene and Inger Miller, both Olympic and world champions. In 2006, Wade was named the head coach for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia National Team, which competed in the Asian Games.
As a professional athlete, Wade was ranked as one of the top five athletes in the world in the 110 hurdles from 1999-2004. In 2003, Wade won the Pan Am gold medal in the 110 hurdles and was a world championship finalist in the 110. Additionally, he was a Goodwill Games bronze medalist in the 110 hurdles in 2001, and in 2000, was an Olympic Trials finalist in the 110 hurdles.
A 1998 graduate of Texas A&M University, Wade finished his career as a five-time All-American in the 110 hurdles (1994-98). In 1998, he completed his career with national titles in the outdoor 110 hurdles and the indoor 60 hurdles. That same season, Wade was also the Big 12 Conference champion in the same two events. In 1995, Wade was the 110 hurdle champion and outdoor record holder of the Southwest Conference.
For his collegiate athletic achievements, Wade was inducted into the Texas A&M Hall of Fame in 2006, and was later a part of the Big 12 Conference Hall of Fame Class of 2007 a year later.
Meanwhile, 16th-year coach Jennifer Nanista and fifth-year coach Mike LoBue have been named interim co-head coaches following the retirement of long-time head coach Rahn Sheffield.