Oregon track and field assistant coaches Andy Powell and Robert Johnson have been promoted to associate head coaches in charge of the men’s and women’s programs, associate athletic director Vin Lananna announced Wednesday.
According to a media release, Powell and Johnson are responsible for “managing the daily operation of the women’s and men’s track and field teams” and “developing and managing the plans necessary for achieving the program’s athletic success, including oversight of the teams’ athletic preparation and competition strategies, the recruitment of high-caliber student-athletes, and administrative tasks that support the program’s athletic goals.”
Both coaches will continue their traditional duties.
Johnson oversees the sprinters, hurdlers, and long and triple jumpers for the Ducks. A two-time triple jump All-American at Appalachian State, he is in his fifth year assisting the Oregon program. Johnson was named the National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association after helping guide the Duck women to their first indoor track and field national title this winter season.
Powell is an ex-Stanford distance runner who won an NCAA outdoor title as a member of the Cardinal. Also in his fifth season with Oregon, his primary focus is the male distance corps. The Duck men have won three national championships — two in cross country and one in indoor track and field — during his tenure.
The announcement comes five weeks after Lananna was forced to stay home from the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., because of complications with high blood pressure. Johnson oversaw the women’s team — which won the national championship — while Powell oversaw the runner-up men’s team as Lananna communicated with both from Eugene during the meet.

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