Sheffield at a Glance
Coaching Experience
Head Coach: San Diego State, 1991-present
Assistant Coach: San Diego State, 1984-1991
Coaching Highlights
71 NCAA Qualifiers
16 All-Americans
U.S. Junior National Team assistant coach at the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships
Recognized five times by U.S. Olympic Development Committee as top hurdle/sprint coach
Developed [quote]rotation[quote] hurdling technique recognized by ODC
Three-time conference coach-of-the-year (1991 WAC; 2001, 2003 MWC)
2003 USTCA West District Coach of the Year
Rahn Sheffield[apos]s name has become synonymous with San Diego State track and field and he has played an integral part in writing the school[apos]s track and field history books.
A graduate of SDSU with a bachelor[apos]s degree in industrial arts and a champion track competitor himself, Sheffield has gained a reputation as one of the best at taking athletes with raw talent and developing them to their full potential.
Sheffield[apos]s most well-known coaching job began close to home when he directed his sister, LaTanya, in the 400 hurdles. LaTanya Sheffield, who did not begin hurdling until her sophomore year at San Diego State, went on to run the fastest time in the world, establish an American record, an NCAA record and an NCAA meet record. She set that collegiate meet record in defeating a stellar field that included Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Sandra Farmer, the former American record holder.
LaTanya Sheffield capped a brilliant career by advancing to the 400-meter hurdle finals at the 1988 Olympic Games, establishing an American Olympic record in the process.
Another standout who developed under Sheffield[apos]s coaching wing was Renee Ross, SDSU[apos]s record holder in the 800 meters (2:02.88). In 1985, Ross missed the world 500-meter indoor record by a mere second at the Michelob Indoor Invitational. More recently, Sheffield tutored another former Aztec, 2000 Sydney Olympic participant Marla Runyan, who holds seven world records and claimed four gold medals at the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. Runyan became the first visually impaired athlete to become a member of the US Olympic Team, She also holds the American Record in the Heptathlon 800 meters (2:04.70).
Another of Sheffeld[apos]s charges, Miesha McKelvy, twice earned All-America honors (1997 and `98) and competed at the 1998 Goodwill Games before representing the U.S. twice at the World Championships, earning a bronze medal in the 100 hurdles in 2003. That same year, McKelvey also ran the third-fastest time ever in the 100 hurdles with a 12.51 clocking at the Nike Prefontaine Classic.
SDSU[apos]s first two years in the WAC saw Sheffield produce two-time athlete of the year, Darla Vaughn, a three-time NCAA outdoor championships qualifier and a two-time NCAA Indoor Championships qualifier. She was one of six Sheffield athletes to qualify for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials, two of whom advanced to the finals.
Sheffield[apos]s trip to the Olympic Trials has become a tradition, with two athletes participating in 1984, eight in 1988, six in 1992, 1996 and 2000, and seven in 2004. Among these notable athletes are Olympic Festival 400-meter hurdle record holder Schowanda Williams and multiple Olympic Festival gold medalist Tim Williams.
In 2004, Sheffield coached Brenda Taylor, the seventh-ranked 400 hurdler in the world, to a spot on the U.S. Olympic team after she ran the second fastest time ever on American soil with a 53.36 performance. He also guided Megan Addy (eighth) and Tanisha Mills (10th) to national rankings in the 400 hurdles, while leading Miesha McKelvy-Jones to a ninth-place U.S. ranking in the 100 hurdles.
Another athlete to join the list of great Sheffield hurdler[apos]s is Jenny Adams, who in 2007 ran her 2nd fastest time (12.63), and had the most consistent year of performances ever.
Sheffield[apos]s coaching talents are not limited to the hurdles, however, as he coached American athlete, Paul Greer, to become only the 168th man to break the 4 minute mile (3:59.79) in 1989.
After the 2006 season, Sheffield traveled to Beijing, China, where he was an assistant coach for the U.S. Junior National Team at the 11th annual IAAF World Junior Championships. While there, he helped the U.S. earn 11 medals, the third most among the 44 competing countries at the event. Of the 11 American medalists, two were Sheffield-coached athletes who earned a silver in the 400 hurdles and a bronze in the 100 hurdles.
Sheffield[apos]s coaching ability has gained him worldwide recognition. He has been chosen as one of the top hurdle/sprint coaches five times by the United States Olympic Development Committee. Sheffield[apos]s unique hurdling technique, the [quote]rotation,[quote] has changed the perspective on hurdling.
As a sprint/hurdle coach, Sheffield has been sought out by athletes across the nation and as far away as Canada and Holland. Among the Canadian athletes that have relocated to San Diego to train with Sheffield, are Tara Perry, three-time Olympian and LaDonna Antoinne, also a three-time Olympian who was a semi-finalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 400 meters (50.92).
For three years (2003-05), Sheffield also oversaw the Aztec football team[apos]s speed and conditioning program, drawing on his expertise as a specialist in the world of the National Football League. Pro football players from across the nation come to Sheffield as a conditioning coach in the off-season and have excelled on their teams as a result. The most notable being former Arizona Cardinals safety Robert Griffith and former San Diego Charger Ronnie Harmon, who was twice named team MVP while under Sheffield[apos]s tutelage. Sheffield[apos]s expertise is not limited to track and field and football however, but includes time training the San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball and work on conditioning for Oscar de la Hoya, with the Boxing Federation.
Since his arrival on Montezuma Mesa, Sheffield[apos]s athletes have rewritten SDSU[apos]s outdoor top-10 lists, claiming 21 school records. The Aztecs also dominated the PCAA, Big West Conference, Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference, setting six of eight records in the sprinting events.
In 1991, his first year as head coach, SDSU won four events, set three conference records and placed second at the WAC outdoor championships. All of this earned Sheffield coach-of-the-year honors in the conference.
Last season, Sheffield guided the Aztecs to one of their most successful years as they finished fifth at the NCAA West Regionals where he took a school-record 16 athletes to the meet, won the Cal-Nevada and San Diego City Championships and sent eight qualifiers to the NCAA Championships. Overall, the 17th-year head coach has helped 71 athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Decontee Kaye became SDSU[apos]s 16th All-American and the program[apos]s first in a jumping event when she placed fourth in the triple jump at the national meet. The sophomore leaped a personal-best and school-record 44-4.25 after finishing second at the West Regionals and claiming the Mountain West Conference outdoor crown in San Diego.
Earlier in the year during the indoor season, freshman Stephanie Bagan advanced to the national meet in the pole vault after a record performance at the MWC Championships. Bagan won the title with a vault of 13-5.25 and later earned the league[apos]s outstanding performance award. At nationals as an unprecedented freshman, Bagan finished 14th and second among her classmates with a leap of 13-1.50.
SDSU[apos]s victory at the Cal-Nevada Championships was also unprecedented as it finished ahead of defending champion UCLA to claim its fourth title in its last five seasons in which it took part. At the end of the meet, Sheffield was honored with the coach of the meet award for the fourth time.
In 2006, Sheffield helped the Aztecs qualify for seven events in both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships and guided a then school-record 15 Aztecs to the NCAA regional meet, the most since 2003.
Senior Erin Asay[apos]s program-best indoor pole vault performance (14-00.50) at the Albuquerque Invitational automatically qualified her for the national indoor meet, where she became SDSU[apos]s first indoor All-American and the 15th All-American during Sheffield[apos]s tenure at SDSU.
Besides helping Asay earn national recognition, Sheffield also coached Kristin Olafsdottir to a pair of Icelandic records. The freshman set her native country[apos]s standard when she earned 3,843 points in the pentathlon at the MWC indoor meet and then broke Iceland[apos]s 21-year old record in the heptathlon with 5,402 points at Mt. SAC, a performance she tied later in the year at the league championships. Adding to her list of accomplishments, Olafsdottir became the first athlete in MWC history to be named freshman of the year and win the high point award at the conference outdoor event.
In 2005, seniors Heather Heron and Shayla Balentine became the 13th and 14th athletes under Sheffield[apos]s tutelage to earn All-America honors, lifting the Aztecs to a top-30 team finish at the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row.
Balentine finished as the runner-up in the pole vault at the NCAA meet, the highest finish by an Aztec since Laura DeSnoo (discus) and LaTanya Sheffield (400 hurdles) won national championships.
Heron, meanwhile, finished eighth in the 100 hurdles and recorded the sixth-fastest time (13.25) in school history during the semifinals.
At the MWC outdoor championships, Balentine and Heron were also victorious in the pole vault and 100 hurdles, respectively, while Heron placed second in the 400 hurdles and was also a member of the runner-up 4x400 relay team along with Nicole Carmier, Larnie Boyd and Brittani Dudley.
Balentine captured the pole vaulting crown at the MWC indoor meet with a leap of 14-0, setting a conference, meet and school record. For her efforts, Balentine earned the MWC female outstanding performance award.
In 2004, Sheffield led the Aztecs to a No. 14 national ranking and their highest team finish (27th) in his tenure at the NCAA meet, highlighted by senior Tonette Dyer[apos]s two All-America finishes. Dyer placed fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 100, making her one of only two Aztecs to earn All-America honors four times or more in their career at SDSU (Laura DeSnoo (1982, 84-86) was the other). Dyer was an All-American in both 2003, as a member of the team[apos]s eighth-place 4x400 relay, and in 2002, with her ninth-place finish in the 400 meters. Dyer had the world[apos]s fastest time (22.34) in the 200 for the majority of the 2004 outdoor season and was also ranked nationally in the 400 (eighth) and 100 (12th).
Sheffield coached the team to second-place efforts in both the outdoor and indoor MWC championships in 2004. SDSU earned all three non-coaching awards for the second straight season at the outdoor meet. Senior Nicole Ireland repeated as the meet[apos]s high point award-winner, while Dyer received most outstanding performance honors for her record time of 51.15 in the 400 meters. Heptathlon champion Janine Polischuk was also named the conference[apos]s freshman of the year.
The Aztecs won the 2004 Cal-Nevada Championships and Sheffield received the meet[apos]s coach of the year award for the second consecutive year and third time in the last four seasons.
In 2003, Sheffield guided SDSU to one of the program[apos]s finest seasons ever, when a record six Aztecs earned All-America honors. Newcomer Nicole Ireland placed fourth in the 400 hurdles, senior Leslie Miller took sixth in the heptathlon and the 4x400 became the school[apos]s first relay to earn All-America accolades with its eighth-place finish.
The NCAA meet was just a cap to the Aztecs[apos] milestone 2003, as Sheffield led SDSU to its first-ever MWC outdoor team championship, breaking Brigham Young[apos]s nation[apos]s best streak of 21 straight league outdoor titles, dating back to 1983.
Senior Melinda Smedley was named the MWC outdoor meet[apos]s most outstanding performer with her sweep of the 100 and 200 meters. Ireland garnered the high-point award, after winning three individual events and running a leg on the two first-place relays. Shanon Meyer earned conference freshman-of-the-year honors at both the indoor and outdoor meets and would later go on to claim the heptathlon at the USA junior nationals in mid-June before taking fourth at the Pan American Junior Championships.
As a team in 2003, SDSU took first at the San Diego City Championships and the Cal-Nevada Championships, elevating to as high as third in the U.S. Track Coaches Association (USTCA) power rankings.
For his efforts, Sheffield earned three major coaching awards in 2003. He was named both MWC and the Cal-Nevada Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons and followed that with USTCA West District Coach-of-the-Year honors.
In 2002, with Sheffield[apos]s guidance, Dyer placed ninth in the 400 meters at the NCAA outdoor meet, running the sixth-fastest time (53.98) by an American entrant in the finals.
Just two weeks prior, Dyer, who was joined by teammates Miller (heptathlon) and Balentine (pole vault) at the NCAA meet, helped the Aztecs place third at the MWC championships for the second consecutive season. Under Sheffield[apos]s direction, three school records fell during the 2002 campaign alone. Smedley raced to a school-record time of 23.32 in the 200 meters after running the anchor leg on the fastest ever 4x100-meter relay (44.24) in both school and MWC history. Balentine and teammate Patricia Gutierrez, meanwhile, combined to set the first school record of 2002 in the indoor pole vault (12-9.50).
In 2001, SDSU had two athletes earn All-America honors in the same season for the first time since 1986. Aja Makaila Frary took third in the heptathlon and Daveetta Shepherd placed among the top eight American entrants in the 100-meter hurdles.
SDSU also took first at the Cal-Nevada meet and third at the MWC outdoor meet to earn Sheffield coach-of-the-year honors at both competitions.
In 1999, Sheffield worked his magic once again, coaching Felicia Stone to a qualifying berth in the NCAA 100-meter hurdles.
SDSU finished fourth at the Western Athletic Conference Championships that year, the second-best finish since 1991, and pole vaulter Aimee Crabtree earned All-America honors.
The foundation for Sheffield[apos]s coaching achievements can surely be traced back to his own days as an athlete who had the talent and the heart to win. These are the traits that Sheffield tries to instill in his athletes. His career started at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles when he won the AAU Age-Group Nationals. This was followed by a stellar career at East L.A. Junior College, where he became conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles and pole vault. He entered SDSU and wasted no time in winning the PCAA crown in the 400-meter hurdles, defeating Dee Dee Cooper, the second-ranked hurdler in the world. Sheffield later became one of only five Aztecs to become a two-time All-American and at one time ranked seventh in the nation and 21st in the world.
Sheffield[apos]s athletic expertise is not limited to track and field. He was also a member of the three-time conference champion Crenshaw High football team. There he was named MVP and awarded the Mitchell Watson Memorial Award - the highest honor accorded to athletes at Crenshaw. He also played on a state champion football squad at East L.A. Junior College. Considered the best athlete ever coached by Jim Brown at Crenshaw, Sheffield expects nothing less than 100 percent from his athletes.
Although the list of athletes coached by Sheffield is long and varied, one common thread runs through them all - a heart and a desire to succeed. With these two ingredients, Sheffield has had repeated success stories and a look into SDSU[apos]s history books is a testament to the gift that he possesses.
All-Time SDSU Coaches Chart
Coach Years Best Conf. Finish Best NCAA FinishMary Alice Hill 1977-78 2nd (1978)Fred LaPlante 1979-83 1st (1982) 10th (1982)Jim Cerveny 1984-90 2nd (1986) 9th (1985)Rahn Sheffield 1991-Present 1st (2003) t27th (2004)