Steve Lemke Promoted to Associate Head Coach, Track & Field
Friday, April 9, 2010 | Track and Field
Steve Lemke, who has directed one of the finest throws corps in the nation at the University of Florida over the past five years, has been named associate head coach of the UF track and field program, head coach Mike Holloway announced Friday.
A 20-plus-year veteran of the coaching ranks, Lemke has quickly developed the Gator throwers into an impressive group that has been extremely successful on the national stage. At Florida, he is responsible for coaching the men's and women's throwers, as well as the men's pole vaulters.
“Steve has done a wonderful job with our throwers and is very deserving of this promotion,” Holloway said. “In Steve, I am blessed to have one of the best throws coaches in the nation on our staff and really, really appreciate his extreme dedication to this program. He has been a key part of our success with the combined men's and women's program the last three years.”
Lemke has been responsible for the development of senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili, a 2008 Olympian and a four-time NCAA Champion. In 2010, she became just the second woman in NCAA history to win the NCAA Indoor Shot Put championship in three consecutive seasons and Kevkhishvili also captured her first NCAA Outdoor Championship last year. In her junior campaign, Kevkhishvili went undefeated against collegiate competition and was named the 2009 USTFCCCA Indoor South Region Female Field Athlete of the Year.
Lemke's athletes earned three All-America honors at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., where the men's team won its first NCAA title in program history and the women's team posted its highest finish (fourth) since 2005. Kevkhishvili won her third straight NCAA indoor shot put title, while junior thrower Kemal Mesic, who entered the meet ranked eighth in the nation in the men's shot put, turned in the second-best performance in school history to win his flight and finish second overall. Lemke also has tutored redshirt freshman Jeremy Postin to the school record in the men's hammer throw this season.
Lemke's impact was certainly felt during the 2009 SEC Outdoor Championships, as female athletes he coached accounted for 34 of Florida's 135.5 points en route to the SEC title. The highlight of that group included a 1-2 finish in the women's shot put by Kevkhishvili and freshman Keely Medeiros, and an SEC title by Evelien Dekkers in the javelin.
Lemke mentored his group to a combined five All-America honors for the second consecutive year in 2009. Mesic, in his first year with the Gators, claimed indoor and outdoor All-America recognition, placing third outdoors and fifth indoors in the shot put. Lemke also assisted with the development of decathlete Gray Horn, who captured the first-ever SEC decathlon title in school history.
In 2008, Lemke tutored five athletes to All-America honors, highlighted by Adam Montague's third-place showing in the javelin at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. His pupils Beau Burroughs and Shawneise Williams each claimed SEC Indoor Championships in their respective events during the 2008 campaign.
Lemke's first two seasons in Gainesville saw him develop three All-Americans. In 2007, Kevkhishvili, as a freshman, finished sixth in the shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, adding on to the All-America honor she claimed earlier in the year with an eighth-place showing at the NCAA indoor meet. Lemke produced a pair of All-Americans in 2006, as Rachel Longfors earned the distinction in the weight throw and the discus and Jyn Wynn did the same in the hammer throw.
Lemke's passion and knowledge of the sport have led three of the world's most sought-after throws prospects to put their development in his hands over the last four years, as current Gators Dekkers (The Netherlands), Kevkhishvili (Georgia), Medeiros (Brazil) and Montague (Australia) all have come to Gainesville from points across the globe to study under his direction.
For all of the latest information on Florida track and field, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/trackfield or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField.
The Lemke File
Hometown: Fargo, N.D.
Education: Bachelor of Science, South Dakota State, 1983; Coursework toward Master's in Physical Education, Southeast Missouri State
Coaching Career: 1983-85, Head Boys and Girls Coach, Washburn High School; 1985-86, Graduate Assistant Coach, Southeast Missouri State; 1986-89, Field Events Coach, Yale; 1989-1993, Field Events Coach, UTEP; 1993-96, Field Events Coach, Arizona State; 1996-98, National Senior and Junior Throwing Coach, Norway; 1998-99, 2001-02, Head Coach/National Throws Coordinator, Western Australia Institute of Sport; 2002-04, Head Coach/National Throws Coordinator, Queensland Academy of Sport (Australia); 2005-2007, Associate Head Women's Coach, Florida; 2007-2010, Throws Coach, Florida; 2010-Present, Associate Head Men's and Women's Coach, Florida.
1996 Olympic Qualifiers: 4
2000 Olympic Qualifiers: 4
2004 Olympic Qualifiers: 3
2008 Olympic Qualifiers: 1
Top Athletes: Oliver Dziubak (2004 Javelin Olympian, Australian Javelin Junior Record Holder); Pal Arne Fagernes (Two-Time Olympian, 1996 NCAA Javelin Champion); Nick Hysong (2000 Olympic Pole Vault Gold Medalist, 1994 NCAA Outdoor Javelin Champion); Mariam Kevkhishvili (2008, 2009, 2010 NCAA Indoor Shot Put champion, 2009 NCAA Outdoor Shot Put Champion); Mika Laaksonen (1992 NCAA Weight Throw Champion, 1992 NCAA Hammer Throw Champion); Rachel Longfors (2006 Weight Throw All-American); Kim Mickle (2001 World Youth Javelin Champion); Alex Papadimtrious (Three-Time Olympian); Stella Tsikovna (Three-time Olympian); Marko Wahlman (1996 Olympian, 1993 NCAA Weight Throw Champion); Simon Wardaugh (Australian Hammer Throw Junior Record Holder); Jyn Wynn (2006 Hammer Throw All-American).
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