Women's Cross Country
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- nsmith2@uscupstate.edu
- Phone:
- 864-503-5845
Natalie Smith is entering her fifth year as the head coach of the USC Upstate track & field program. Since joining the program in the fall of 2011, Upstate has reached new heights as she has begun to build all aspects of the track & field programs.
Since taking the reins of the Upstate men’s and women’s track & field teams, both programs have seen their highest finishes at the A-Sun Championships along with their highest team point totals at the conclusion of both the indoor and outdoor conference meets.
The Spartan women set two new program-bests in 2013-14 as they recorded their highest point totals at both the A-Sun Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Upstate also saw marks being set in new areas as the jumps, sprints, relays and multi crews recorded top-three finishes at the A-Sun Championships for the first time in the program’s brief history.
The women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Heaven Briggs, Dominique Nock, Essence Jackson and Ashley Edmond picked up the program’s first-ever gold at the 2013-14 A-Sun Indoor Championships while Brittany Walls became the first Spartan female to earn All-Conference honors in the indoor pentathlon. In the outdoor events, Upstate took home six medals with Walls receiving two of them. Walls was named Third Team All-Conference in the heptathlon for the second straight season, and then followed by becoming the first Spartan to earned All-Conference accolades in the high jump. Alexis Jacobs started the A-Sun Outdoor Championships by picking up the program’s first-ever All-Conference selection in the shot put. Michael Smith also became the first Upstate male to be named All-Conference in the triple jump after finishing third in the event. The women’s 4x100-meter relay combination of Nock, Briggs, Brenicke Johnson and Semaj Tolliver just missed taking top honors, but were still recognized as the school’s first All-Conference honorees after finishing second behind Kennesaw State by .14 seconds. Essence Jackson capped off the Outdoor Championships by being recognized as Third Team All-Conference in the 800-meters.
Overall in 2013-14, the Spartans found finalists in the relays, heptathlon, 10,000-meters, 800-meters, 400-meter hurdles, 200-meters, 100-meters, long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put, hammer throw and discus, with six of those events featuring a top-three medalist. The program broke 23 school records (10 indoor and 13 outdoor) on the women’s side, and five (two indoor, three outdoor) for the men. The 2013-14 season will go down as one of the best-rounded seasons in program history for the track & field teams.
In 2012, the Upstate men’s program boasted the A-Sun Indoor Most Outstanding Track Performer of the Year in Gilbert Kemboi and the Indoor Most Outstanding Field Performer of the Year in Kenny Sugishita, while Kemboi was also named the A-Sun Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Upstate carried that momentum into the outdoor season as several Spartans became conference championships at the 2012 A-Sun Outdoor Championships and the men once again finished with the highest point total in program history. Kemboi and Sugishita also snagged A-Sun Most Outstanding Track Performer of the Year and Most Outstanding Field Performer of the Year, respectively. Three Upstate athletes went on to qualify for the First Round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in its first year of eligibility.
During her first season at the helm of the Spartan track & field programs, Smith also saw both her men’s and women’s teams rewrite the Upstate history books. The men’s squad set over 15 school record during the indoor and outdoor seasons, while the women set 10 program records over the indoor and outdoor seasons. Along with setting records on the track and in the field, the Spartans also reached their highest marks in the classroom under Smith’s guidance since the program’s induction in 2006.
Smith came to Upstate after a five-year stint at Georgia Southern, leading the Eagles to the 2007 Southern Conference Outdoor Women’s Track & Field Championships crown. It marked the school’s first conference title in track & field. As a result, Smith was named the 2007 SoCon Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year.
She established Georgia Southern as a premier team in the SoCon in the areas of jumps, multi’s and sprints. In those three areas, Smith’s athletes claimed six different conference championships and numerous top-three finishes. During her time at GSU, her squads set a combined 14 school records, including 11 outdoor and three indoor.
In 2007, Smith became the first GSU track coach to have a female athlete qualify for the NCAA National Championships. Later that year, two of her athletes were named to the SoCon’s 25th Anniversary of Women’s Championships Team. Smith was chosen as the 2008 Georgia Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Female College Coach of the Year.
During Smith’s five years with the Eagles, her teams accumulated numerous academic awards. She had more than 100 student-athletes named to the SoCon’s All-Academic Teams. Smith coached 10 student-athletes who were honored by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for academic achievements. She also had three athletes chosen to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Team during her tenure at Georgia Southern.
Prior to working at GSU, Smith served two years at the helm of the Tarleton State, her alma mater, men’s and women’s cross country and track & field programs. She spent time as a graduate assistant coach and then as assistant coach before taking over the head coaching reigns at TSU, spending a total of five years as coach of the Texans. She coached 14 Division II All-Americans during her tenure with the Texans. In her first year, she led 11 student-athletes to national championship events at the D-II level. She was the first female in school history to coach a men’s program.
As a track & field athlete at Tarleton State, Smith was a national qualifier and an Academic All-American in 2001. She was a three-time MVP award winner for the Texans and a two-time Minority Athlete of the Year recipient for the university. Smith earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology from Tarleton State in 2001. She received a Master of Education in Physical Education from TSU in 2002.
Smith also served as a Facilitator for the Division II Leadership Academy from 2005-07.
