Chris Courson is entering his fourth season as an assistant coach for the men's and women's track and field program.
His 2015-16 season accomplishments include indoor CCU school records from Desmond Wallace in the 60h (7.88) as well as Jerome Coaxum Jr., Deion Wellington, Tre Stanley and Braylon Wilkerson in the 4x400m (3:14.91).
Additionally, the women's team had a runner-up finish at the indoor Big South Championships.
Courson also helped the outdoor team set new CCU records in 2016, including Wallace in the 110h (13.65), Kahlim Denmark in the 100m (10.51) and Coaxum Jr. in the 400h (51.94).
The Chanticleer men produced two conference champions and numerous All-Big South members. On the women's side, Teka Simpson was the Big South champion both in the 100 and 200m, and Courson guided multiple other Coastal student-athletes to All-conference honors.
Under Courson's guidance, Coastal Carolina's men's and women's track & field teams both finished second in the Big South Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Liberty University's Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex in Lynchburg, Va.
Elsewhere in 2016, Courson coached several sprints, hurdles and relay stars to the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Desmond Wallace and Kevondre' Hunt qualified for the 110m HH, Coaxum Jr. competed in the 400h and Coastal's team of Denmark, Therius Styles, Ryan McCain and Chiason Tenkiang ran in the 4x100m. Styles also participated in the 100m at the NCAA East Preliminaries.
In 2014 Courson was an integral part of a coaching staff that saw the Chanticleer women claim the Big South's Triple Crown with championships in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field.
During the 2014 indoor season the Chanticleer women claimed conference championships in the 4x400m relay and the 400m dash where Christal Green set a new Big South and Coastal record with a time of 53.85 seconds. The outdoor season for the women saw conference titles in the 400m dash, 400m hurdles, and 4x100m relay en route to the team title that capped off the Triple Crown. Jessica Gelibert was also named the Big South Runner of the Year for her efforts during the 2014 outdoor season.
The Chanticleer men produced four conference champions as they finished second in the team standings in 2014, taking the title in the 4x100m relay, as well as a first, second and third place sweep in the 400m dash.
The Chants also qualified 10 individuals for five events at the NCCA East Preliminary Round where three Coastal records were set. DeAndre Lipscomb set a new CCU record in the 400m dash with a time of 47.02. Lipscomb then teamed up with Corey Hackett-Green, Alex Hass and Stevie Brunson to set a 4x400m relay record with a time of 3:08.12. Jessica Gelibert was the final record breaker with a 56.87 performance in the 400m hurdles.
During the 2013 indoor season the women notched another indoor Big South Conference championship defeating second place Liberty by 40 points. Among the six conference champions, and six all conference performances, the Chants also received two awards including Erica Peake as Most Outstanding Track Performer, and Jessica Gelibert took home the Freshman of the Year award. Later on in the season Erica Peake received All-American honors by placing ninth at the NCAA indoor Championships in the 200m dash with a time of 23.40.
During the outdoor season, the Chants sent 100m hurdler Christina Davis, 400m hurdler Jessica Gelibert, the men's 4x400m relay and the women's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams to the preliminary round of the NCAA Championships. The women's 4x400m and 4x100m relay both set new school records and advanced to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon where both squads received Honorable Mention All-America honors. Capping off a successful season was freshman Jessica Gelibert who earned a third place finish at the Junior Pan American Athletics Championships in Medellín, Columbia in the 400m hurdles where she represented her parent's native country of Haiti.
During the 2012 season the women achieved a runner-up finish during the indoor season, and an outdoor Big South Team Championship. Courson helped coach 11 Big South champions, 19 All Big South performers and 3 NCAA preliminary round qualifiers during the 2012 season.
Prior to coaching at Coastal, Courson worked at East Carolina University for three years, where he served as a volunteer assistant coach for the track and field program while completing work toward his Masters degree. During this time Courson helped coach freshman Aiesha Goggins to a USATF Outdoor National qualifying time of 51.94 seconds in the 400m dash where she finished the season ranked 4th in the NCAA. Goggins, along with the women's 4x400 meter relay, qualified for the NCAA championships that year where Goggins received second team All-American honors.
During his career at ECU, Courson helped coach 13 NCAA East regional championship qualifiers, six Conference USA Champions, one Conference USA meet team record, 21 All Conference USA performers, one Penn Relays champion relay team, and eight school record holders.
Courson received his Masters in exercise physiology from East Carolina University in 2010 and earned his Bachelor's Degree in exercise & sport science from UNC Wilmington in 2008. He was a member of the Division I Seahawks track and field team. During his competitive career at UNCW, Courson was a four-time NCAA East Regional qualifier as a member of the 4x400m relay team. He also received three IC4A All-East honors in the 400m and the 4x400m relay. Courson was a four-time CAA Conference Champion and was a part of three CAA team championships. Courson still holds school records in the 4x400, and 4x200 meter relays.
Courson married his wife, Rhonette, in June of 2013 and they now live in Conway, S.C.
