Dec. 10, 2006
College Park, Md. -
After 17 years as a part-time assistant track and field coach at the University of Maryland, Roland Desonier has been named a full-time assistant by head coach Andrew Valmon.
In his new post, Desonier will be more involved with the team on a day-to-day basis, including working directly with the team's throwers and multi-event competitors. He will also be involved with the team's weight lifting program and recruiting.
"I'm very excited to have this opportunity," Desonier said. "As I am able to work with the athletes more and more, I think we are definitely going to improve as a team."
Desonier graduated from C.W. Post-Long Island University with a degree in psychology in 1976. He was a five-time All-American, placing second in the nation and third in the discus in 1974, and, in 1988, he was inducted into the C.W. Post Hall of Fame. He still holds the school records in the discus and the weight throw.
Looking forward to the upcoming indoor season, Desonier is hoping to continue the success the throwers had in last year's campaign and improve the multi-event competitors.
"The throwers had a really good indoor campaign last year and we are looking to repeat that success on both the conference and national levels," he said.
The Terrapins are returning senior Zakiya Shivers and juniors Jillian Anwah and Aysha Gregory on the women's side. All three athletes qualified for the ECAC Championships in the shotput last indoor season, with Anwah leading the trio with a fifth place finish at the event.
On the men's side, the Terps return sophomore Sal Delhierro, who had the team's top-five weight throws and placed ninth at the ACC Championships in the shot put.
As for the team's multi-event competitors, Desonier has already seen vast improvement.
"So far during practice, we have already seen dramatic improvement in strength and technical performance," he said. "We hope to continue to improve in order to have a successful indoor campaign."
The Terps open their 2007 track and field season at the Virginia Tech Invitational on January 12.
