North Carolina Central University

CROSS COUNTRY

     HAMPTON, VA -- North Carolina Central University head coach Michael Lawson has been voted as the 2003 CIAA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association announced Wednesday (Nov. 12).
     The Eagles placed second at the 2003 CIAA Cross Country Championship and fifth at the 2003 NCAA Division II Regional Cross Country Championship, both finishes were the best in school history.
     Now in his 15th season as the head coach for men's and women's cross country and track & field at NCCU, this is Lawson's first conference coach of the year honor for men's cross country. He was selected as the CIAA Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2001, and earned the CIAA Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year award in 2002.

     In his 14 seasons as the head coach for the men's and women's cross country and track & field program at North Carolina Central University, Michael Lawson has produced 55 individual All-Americans, nine All-America relay squads, seven individual National Champions, a National Champion relay team, and three qualifiers for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
     Himself a U.S. Olympic qualifier and All-American track & field student-athlete at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, NC, Lawson coached at Durham High School and Duke University before joining NCCU in August 1989.
     Since that time, he has conducted a track & field clinic in the Bahamas, served on the planning committee for the NCAA Division II Track & Field National Championships and the Pan-Africa/USA International Meet, and worked with the 1996 Atlanta Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.
     In 1999 and 2001, he was honored as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. In the Spring of 2002, Lawson was voted as the CIAA Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year. In the Fall of 2003, he was named the CIAA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
     In the Spring of 2001, Lawson was selected as the U.S. Track Coaches Association (USTCA) Southeast Regional Men's Outdoor Coach of the Year.
     In the Winter of 2002, he was recognized as the USTCA Southeast Regional Indoor Coach of the Year for both men and women. In 2003, he repeated as the men's USTCA Southeast Regional Indoor Coach of the Year.