Track & Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Sprints, Relays
- Email:
- callen@athletics.ucla.edu
Curtis Allen begins his sixth season as an assistant coach at UCLA, coaching sprints and relays.
During the 2022 season, Allen guided the Bruin sprinters and relay runners to impressive finishes in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. At the Pac-12 Invitational in February, the quartet of Myles Misener-Daley, Ismail Turner, Chase Wells, and Cameron Reynolds combined to run 3:05.80 to break UCLA's previous indoor record of 3:06.48, set back in 2006.
Chinyere Okoro took a victory in the 200m with a time of 24.00 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala. UCLA capped its 2022 indoor campaign with an appearance in the 4x400m relay at NCAAs, as Catherine Leger, Makenzy Pierre-Webster, Kate Jendrezak, and Shae Anderson finished sixth overall.
At the outdoor Pac-12 Championships, the same women’s 4x4 took home gold with a winning time of 3:31.49. Misener-Daley, Seth Holloway, Turner, and Reynolds finished in second place in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:03.53, a season-best effort and the ninth-fastest time in program history. Reynolds (45.47) and Turner (45.65) finished second and third in the individual 400m race. Anderson (51.43) picked up a silver medal at the conference championship, and she combined with Leger, Pierre-Webster and Maddy Doane for a third-place finish in the 4x100m relay.
Turner and Reynolds competed in the 400m race and finished 11th and 15th, respectively, at the NCAA Championships in June. The 4x100m relay team of Leger, Pierre-Webster, Doane and Anderson returned to run at NCAAs, clocking a time of 43.39 to place 11th overall and set a new program record. Anderson finished her stellar year with a sixth-place finish in the 400m.
Under Allen, 11 Bruins earned All-America honors at the 2022 NCAA Championships -- nine on the women’s side and two on the men.
The 2021 outdoor season was historic for the Bruin sprinters and demonstrated Allen’s coaching prowess. Impressively, Allen guided UCLA’s women’s 4x400m relay squad (M. Rodney, M. Pierre-Webster, K. Jendrezak, S. Anderson) to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships with a school-record time of 3:25.01, the eighth-fastest time in collegiate history. Allen also helped lead the women’s 4x100m relay to an appearance at Nationals.
Ahead of the 2021 National Meet, Ismail Turner broke out and ran a lifetime-best time of 45.64 in the 400m at NCAA West Prelims, earning a spot at Nationals with the 10th-fastest time in school history. Earlier in the year, Shae Anderson ran 22.96 in the 200m at the West Coast Classic, good for the seventh-fastest time in program history. Kate Jendrezak flew to a time of 2:04.46 at Pac-12s, the fourth-fastest time in program history in the event.
Anderson ran 50.84 in the 400m at the U.S. Olympic Trials to earn a spot in the Relay Pool for Team USA, while Meleni Rodney qualified to compete in the 400m for Grenada. Anderson’s 50.84 was the second-fastest time in program history. Myles Misener-Daley also qualified to compete in the 400m at the 2021 Canada Olympic Trials.
The 2020 indoor season saw impressive performances up and down the sprint roster. Shae Anderson led the way for the Bruin women in the 400m, twice setting the indoor record in the event this season and notching a personal best of 52.07 at the Don Kirby Elite Invite (Feb. 14). Allen also helped guide Anderson and the rest of the 4x400m relay squad -- Meleni Rodney, Makenzy Pierre-Webster, and Catherine Leger -- to a school-record time of 3:30.28 at the MPSF Championships. Anderson (400m) and the 4x4 squad qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships (eventually canceled).
Kenroy Higgins II had a breakout season in the 60m, clocking a school-record time of 6.59 at the MPSF Championships en route to NCAA Indoor qualification. Myles Webb and Harrison Schrage posted times of 6.69 (4th in UCLA indoor history) and 6.81 (T-4th), respectively, this past season. A trio of Bruin women -- Chinyere Okoro (7.42), Kenyla Miles (7.44), and Makenzy Pierre-Webster (7.45) -- all recorded Top-10 UCLA 60m times this past season.
Okoro also posted the No. 4 indoor 200m time in UCLA history this past season, going 23.83 at the New Mexico Collegiate Open. Fellow freshman Catherine Leger finished second at the Dr. Sander Invite with a time of 24.02. the No. 6 time in program indoor history. Pierre-Webster is currently No. 8 in program history at 24.14.
Allen also helped freshman Cameron Reynolds to a seventh-place finish at the league indoor championships in the 400m, as Reynolds’ time of 47.74 was good for the No. 10 time in UCLA indoor history.
Allen’s sprint squad started to truly take form in his second year with the Bruins. Allen helped guide Joe Herrera and Meleni Rodney to strong 400m finishes at the Pac-12 Championships. Hererra finished second overall in the men’s competition with a time of 46.25 while Rodney notched fourth place in the women’s race with a time of 52.06. Rodney’s mark was good for the eighth-fastest time in school history.
Allen helped guide the men’s 4x100m relay team to NCAA Outdoor Championship qualification. Leon Powell, Harrison Schrage, Kenroy Higgins II, and Seth Holloway each earned USTFCCCA All-America honors after combining to finish 22nd in the preliminary heats.
Rodney (400m) and Myles Webb (100m) each qualified to compete at the NCAA West Regional Championships, where they each placed in the preliminary heats. Allen also helped send the women’s 4x100m squad (S. Acolatse, J. Gruenwald, T. Moses, S. Moore) to Regionals, as the team finished 16th in prelims.
Allen served as the head track & field coach and assistant football coach at College of the Sequoias from 2002-17. He led COS track & field to unprecedented success, including a state championship in 2017 for the men’s program and Top 5 finishes for both men’s and women’s teams from 2014-17. Allen coached 2016 Olympian and 2017 USATF 200m champion Deajah Stevens to California Junior College championships in both 200 meters and 400 meters in 2015.
From 2005-10, Allen was the head football coach, compiling a record of 35-28 and leading the Giants to postseason bowl games in 2005, 2006 and 2010. He coached 48 all-conference players during his time as head coach, including five All-Americans.
A former Canadian Football League pro and an all-conference defensive back at Fresno State, Allen earned his BA from Fresno State in 1991 and his masters in Sports Science from the U.S. Sports Academy.
Allen and his wife Charlotte have six children.
