Coaches Que Mcmaster and James Blackwood will oversee men's and women's track and cross country teams that include over 80 student athletes in six sports.
UTSA Names Men's and Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches
(Aug. 17, 2001)--In a reorganization of the University of Texas at San Antonio
track and field/cross country programs, it was announced Monday by Athletic
Director Lynn Hickey that Que McMaster, the 2001 Southland Conference Men's
Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year, will continue to lead the men's
programs in 2001-2002, while James Blackwood has been named head coach of
the UTSA women's cross country/track and field programs.
The 2001-2002 season will be the fifth at UTSA for McMaster, who led the Roadrunners
to a school-first men's outdoor track and field conference championship last
season. In his first four seasons at UTSA, McMaster has coached one all-American,
two NCAA Championship qualifiers and watched his teams establish three indoor
and 13 outdoor school records.
McMaster came to San Antonio in 1997 with extensive college coaching experience
at both Baylor University and Odessa College. While at Baylor, he coached
Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Michael Johnson. As assistant
track and field coach at Baylor from 1974 to 1989, McMaster helped lead the
Bears to the Southwest Conference (SWC) Indoor Championship in 1976 and to
third place at the 1988 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
At Odessa, McMaster was the head men's and women's track and field coach from
1991 to 1993. He was named NJCAA "Coach of the Year" in 1991 after
leading the Wranglers to the runner-up position at the Men's National Outdoor
Championships. In 1993 he led Odessa to the Women's National Indoor Championship.
In 1992, McMaster saw the Wranglers finish second nationally at the Women's
National Outdoor Championships, while claiming third at the Women's National
Indoor Championships.
He also has had high school coaching experience at San Antonio Sam Houston,
where he led the Cherokees to district track and field championships in 1969,
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974. Sam Houston also won the regional championship
in 1973 and was undefeated in San Antonio invitational competition from 1969
until 1973. He came to UTSA from the head track and field coaching position
at Milano (Texas) High School, where he was beginning his first year in 1997.
A 1966 graduate of Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, McMaster played
both football and golf for the Lobos. Associate head coach for both the men
and women the last two years at UTSA.
Blackwood has an extensive background in Texas college and high school coaching.
He has coached 58 NCAA Division I All-Americans during his distinguished 35-year
coaching career. He came to UTSA from the University of Southern Mississippi,
where he was head cross country and assistant track and field coach from 1997
until 1999.
Blackwood, who has served as the associate director of the Texas Relays in
Austin for past 28 years, began his coaching career in 1965 at Corpus Christi
(Texas) W.B. Ray High School, where he was assistant track and cross country
coach. From 1967 to 1970 he moved across Corpus Christi to Richard King High
School, where he was head track and assistant football coach. From 1970 until
1972, he assumed the same duties at Dallas (Texas) Richardson High School.
He began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Texas in 1972,
when he was named assistant track and field/cross country coach with the Longhorns.
He also became associate director of the Texas Relays in 1972. In addition
to the All-Americans produced by the Texas track and field/cross country program
during his stay, Blackwood's teams also captured 13 Southwest Conference championships
and produced one Olympic silver medalist in Patrick Sang, who captured the
medal in 1992 in the steeple chase.
He remained in this capacity until 1986, when he was named recruiting coordinator
for the Texas football team. After five years, Blackwood was named academic
counselor at Texas. In 1996 he left college coaching to work with Major League
Baseball's Houston Astros. Blackwood returned to college coaching in 1997,
when he was named head cross country and assistant track and field coach with
Southern Mississippi.
"With the size and scope of our cross country and track field programs
involving six sports and over 80 student-athletes, this move allows us to
maximize our efforts in programs that have achieved great things at the national
level over the years," Hickey said. "After leading us to our first
men's conference outdoor track and field championship last season, Que will
be able to solely concentrate on keeping us at that level, while James will
be able to step in and devote himself full-time to trying to raise the bar
on the women's side as well."
For more on UTSA sports go to UTSA Roadrunners
Official Athletic Web Site