Completed Event: Track & Field at NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 11, 2025 , , M: T-35th/72 (8.5) || W: T-34th/68 (8)
/
Final
Track & Field
at NCAA Outdoor Championships
Wilbourn Named Director of Duke Track & Field and Cross Country
4/6/2021 1:00:00 PM | Cross Country, Track & Field
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White announced Tuesday the promotion of Shawn Wilbourn to the position of director of track & field and cross country effective June 1, 2021. Wilbourn has served as the program's interim head coach since last summer.
"Supreme congratulations to Shawn for earning this promotion, following a successful tenure as the program's interim head coach," White said. "With his keen understanding of Duke – especially the extraordinary value of the student-athlete experience – and unwavering commitment to excellence, coupled with his ACC, NCAA and international successes, Shawn's championship vision will continue to enhance the profile of the track & field program for years to come."
A member of the Blue Devils coaching staff since 2008, Wilbourn assumed interim head coaching duties in July 2020 following the retirement of long-time head coach Norm Ogilvie. In Wilbourn's decade as the team's associate head coach, he was recognized several times, including being honored as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016.
"I am ecstatic about leading Duke track & field and cross country into the next chapter of its celebrated history," Wilbourn said. "Duke is truly a special place and the potential for this program is limitless. This university has outstanding student-athletes, great support, and a clear vision of the road to excellence. I would like to thank Dr. White for this opportunity, and I appreciate his vision for the future of Duke track & field and cross country as I transition from interim, to the permanent position."
With Wilbourn at the helm this past season, the men's and women's teams combined to earn seven medals at the ACC Indoor Championships and qualified two women for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2018. One of those two women was senior Erin Marsh, who under Wilbourn's oversight, took home a bronze medal in the pentathlon and set a program record with 4,344 points. Marsh became the Blue Devils' first medalist since another one of Wilbourn's proteges – Megan Clark – claimed a silver medal in the pole vault in 2016.
While his responsibilities during his tenure in Durham have included overseeing combined events, horizontal jumps and hurdles, Wilbourn has most notably transformed Duke into a national powerhouse in the women's pole vault. In addition to her 2016 silver medal performance, Clark picked up ACC Women's Field Performer of the Year honors in 2015 after winning gold at both the indoor and outdoor conference meets and followed it up with a silver medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Wilbourn's recruiting prowess allowed for the Blue Devils to enjoy the decorated careers of vaulters like three-time All-American Madison Heath and two-time NCAA Championship participant Laura Marty.
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Wilbourn arrived at Duke following stints at Cortland State University where he spent two years as the director of track & field and cross country, and at the University of Georgia where he coached combined events and the pole vault. Earlier coaching stops included the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and his alma mater, Long Beach State University.
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As an athlete, Wilbourn was a 1996 Olympic Trials finalist in the decathlon and competed at the World Championships for the United States in 1997, recording a career best in the decathlon of 8,268 points. Wilbourn was also selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He spent time under contract with the San Francisco 49ers during the 1992 NFL campaign as well.
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Wilbourn, who graduated from Long Beach State in 1993, earned a master's degree in kinesiology from Long Beach State in 2003. He is married to Nicole Wray and has two children – a daughter, Justice, and son, Braeden, as well as a stepdaughter Mackenzie.
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#GoDuke
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"Supreme congratulations to Shawn for earning this promotion, following a successful tenure as the program's interim head coach," White said. "With his keen understanding of Duke – especially the extraordinary value of the student-athlete experience – and unwavering commitment to excellence, coupled with his ACC, NCAA and international successes, Shawn's championship vision will continue to enhance the profile of the track & field program for years to come."
A member of the Blue Devils coaching staff since 2008, Wilbourn assumed interim head coaching duties in July 2020 following the retirement of long-time head coach Norm Ogilvie. In Wilbourn's decade as the team's associate head coach, he was recognized several times, including being honored as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016.
"I am ecstatic about leading Duke track & field and cross country into the next chapter of its celebrated history," Wilbourn said. "Duke is truly a special place and the potential for this program is limitless. This university has outstanding student-athletes, great support, and a clear vision of the road to excellence. I would like to thank Dr. White for this opportunity, and I appreciate his vision for the future of Duke track & field and cross country as I transition from interim, to the permanent position."
With Wilbourn at the helm this past season, the men's and women's teams combined to earn seven medals at the ACC Indoor Championships and qualified two women for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2018. One of those two women was senior Erin Marsh, who under Wilbourn's oversight, took home a bronze medal in the pentathlon and set a program record with 4,344 points. Marsh became the Blue Devils' first medalist since another one of Wilbourn's proteges – Megan Clark – claimed a silver medal in the pole vault in 2016.
While his responsibilities during his tenure in Durham have included overseeing combined events, horizontal jumps and hurdles, Wilbourn has most notably transformed Duke into a national powerhouse in the women's pole vault. In addition to her 2016 silver medal performance, Clark picked up ACC Women's Field Performer of the Year honors in 2015 after winning gold at both the indoor and outdoor conference meets and followed it up with a silver medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Wilbourn's recruiting prowess allowed for the Blue Devils to enjoy the decorated careers of vaulters like three-time All-American Madison Heath and two-time NCAA Championship participant Laura Marty.
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Wilbourn arrived at Duke following stints at Cortland State University where he spent two years as the director of track & field and cross country, and at the University of Georgia where he coached combined events and the pole vault. Earlier coaching stops included the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and his alma mater, Long Beach State University.
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As an athlete, Wilbourn was a 1996 Olympic Trials finalist in the decathlon and competed at the World Championships for the United States in 1997, recording a career best in the decathlon of 8,268 points. Wilbourn was also selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He spent time under contract with the San Francisco 49ers during the 1992 NFL campaign as well.
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Wilbourn, who graduated from Long Beach State in 1993, earned a master's degree in kinesiology from Long Beach State in 2003. He is married to Nicole Wray and has two children – a daughter, Justice, and son, Braeden, as well as a stepdaughter Mackenzie.
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#GoDuke
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/ Track & Field
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