DAVID HARDEN/Arizona Daily Wildcat First year track and field coach Fred Harvey shouts instructions during practice earlier this season.

Fred Harvey had his work cut out for him this season as the first-year head coach of UA track and field took the reins after 15 years as a Wildcat assistant.

Harvey had the dubious task of replacing a UA sports icon, former head coach Dave Murray. After 35 years of dedication to UA track and field, Murray's tenure as an Arizona coach was the third longest in school history. The only two coaches with longer stays at UA was legendary basketball skipper Fred Enke (36 years) and former Athletic Director J.F. "Pop" McKale, who manned the front offices of Arizona for 35 years as well.

Past success and popularity with his athletes made Harvey a perfect fit for Arizona's young track and field squad. After a decade and a half working with Wildcat runners, Harvey has gained worldwide acclaim. The coach is preparing himself for a stint this summer heading up the United State's 2003 Pan Am Games squad.

Harvey's first season report card goes as follows ·

Grade:

A

Solid recruitment is the cornerstone to any great program. Harvey began his tenure as head coach with one of the finest recruiting classes in the program's recent history. Arizona's recruitment spans the globe öö his current batch of athletes hail from as near as Tucson to as far as Kenya and Senegal. Half of Harvey's 76 athletes are either freshmen or sophomores.

Grade:

B+

Talent will only take you so far, and then coaching becomes vital. One of Harvey's first moves as head coach was to bring in Dr. James Li from Washington State. Li is arguably one of the top distance coaches in the nation, having coached Olympic medallist Bernard Lagat while with the Cougars. Lagat is the older brother of Wildcat freshman Robert Cheseret. Cheseret, like his older brother, is a talented distance runner who will benefit under the tutelage of Li.

Harvey kept vaulting coach Tom Hays and sprint specialist Dawn Mortensen in addition to former University of Florida throwing coach John Frazier and newcomer Eric Boxley. Boxley doubles as a jumper's coach and the team's sport psychologist. The five coaches combine for dedicated staff that Harvey refers to as one of the best in the nation.

Grade:

B

This group of exciting young speedsters is lightning quick and can compete with anyone in the nation. Seynabou Ndiaye is the leader of this group, running the 100- and 200-meter dashes for Harvey's Wildcats. The senior from Dakar, Senegal has enjoyed an outstanding career at UA after transferring from Central Arizona University. The future of Arizona's women's sprinters relies on the feet of three of their up-and-coming stars. Sophomores Chelsea Powell and Sharifa Jones are joined by freshman Angel Perkins to create one of the most dangerous racing lineups in the country. Toward the end of the outdoor season Harvey added Cocoa Sanford to the mix, joining Perkins, Powell and Jones on the 4 by 100 and 4 by 400-meter relays. Sanford, a multi-sport athlete, joins the sprint squad from the women's basketball squad.

Grade:

A

Harvey's specialty before becoming head coach was his sprinting expertise. His men's squad of runners is a testament to his passion. As is the case with the women's sprinters, the men are a young a talented group of speedsters as well.

Jeff Hunter has emerged as a leader of the men's team in just his sophomore season. He leads-off 4 by 100 and 4 by 400 squads that rank among the nation's best. Senior Matt Lea, junior Jevon Mason and sophomore Adrain Thomas round out the relay squad with blinding speed. The quartet is running at the top of its game and is looking toward the NCAA regional championships to flex its muscles.

Grade:

A

Considered one of the premier pole-vaulters in the nation, Amy Linnen is tops among this group. Currently Linnen holds the NCAA record for pole-vaulting. This outdoor season has been a disappointing one for the junior from Mt. Sinai, N.Y. While Linnen was sidelined for a majority of the campaign, her teammates stepped up. Newcomer Connie Jerz made a lasting first impression, winning her first three meets including a victory over stiff competition at the Rafer Johnson/ Jackie Joyner Kersee Invitational at UCLA on April 4. The strength of the Wildcats' pole-vaulters was apparent this weekend as Arizona took the top seven spots in the Arizona tri-meet against Arizona State and Northern Arizona.

Grade:

B

Sean Shields, the sophomore thrower coming off an incredible freshman campaign, has had a consistent season that ranks the thrower among the nation's elite. Scott Sharpe and Richard Legarra have turned in solid performances this season following Shields in the shotput and discus throws. Arizona's number one men's pole-vaulter is Kevin Opalka. The junior heads a nicely mixed group of experienced and novice vaulters. The strength of this squad is in its depth. Juniors Chris Chappelle and Mike Mortensen have played major roles for the Wildcats this season.

The Wildcats enter postseason competition on May 17-18 in Los Angeles. The Pac-10 Championships will be held on the UCLA campus. Harvey will be looking to accomplish a feat that Murray was never able to do in his three plus decades as head coach ÷ guide Arizona track and field to a national championship.