ITHACA, N.Y. – Adrian Durant, widely considered to be one of the top young track coaches in the country, has been named The George E. Heekin '29 Coach of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country it was announced today. Durant takes the reigns from longtime coach Nathan Taylor, who retired in July.

"Over the past three years, I have fallen completely in love with Cornell track and field; the staff, the team, the alumni, and the zeal that you encounter on a daily basis," Durant said. "I am proud to now be at the helm of a program that has a rich tradition of being at the top of the Ivy League and I am enthusiastic and optimistic about the future and what it holds."

Durant, who has worked primarily with one of the nation's top sprinting units while at Cornell over his three years as an assistant, has been part of three Heptagonal championship teams and three more runner-up squads. Student-athletes he has worked with have won 17 Heps individual and nine relay crowns and have been named NCAA All-Americans six times (three individual, three relay). 

"I am excited to work alongside Adrian Durant in his new head coaching position," said Rich Bowman, the Alan B. '53 and Elizabeth Heekin Harris Women's Track & Field and Cross Country Coach. "His enthusiasm is so evident in all that he does and I know he will take the Cornell men's track program to even higher heights. He's a great choice and I'm looking forward to a fantastic year ahead."

This past season, Durant helped lead the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams to Heps titles during the outdoor season. Max Hairston won the 110 hurdles and finished seconds in the 400 hurdles at the Heps. Tobennah Attah was the runner-up at 400 meters both indoors and outdoors, while Brailin Paulino was the runner-up outdoors at both 100 and 200 meters. In addition, he assisted in the development of the 4x100 women's relay team that won a Heps title and posted a school record time of 45.21.

In 2013-14, Durant's sprinters contributed directly to the men's team victories at the indoor and outdoor Heps Championships and the indoor IC4A Championship. During the indoor season, several school sprint records were shattered, including the 60 record ( Bruno Hortelano- Roig- 6.69) and the men's 400 record (Hortelano-Roig - 47.04), both achieved at the Heps championship in a double that had not never been previously achieved. The 4x400 (3:10.14) and 200 record (Hortelano-Roig - 20.75) were both toppled during the year. Indoors, Hortelano-Roig became the first Ivy League athlete to achieve All-America status in the 200 in recent history, cementing himself as one of the Ivy League's all-time great sprinters.

During the 2014 outdoor season, Durant's sprinters continued their record-setting year, establishing new school bests in the 110 hurdles (Max Hairston – 13.74) and the sprint medley relay (3:21.01. The 4x100 relay also continued their success from the previous year, establishing a top 10 mark and one of the few sub-40 second performances in Ivy League history with a 39.98 at the NCAA East Preliminary round. At the Texas relays, Cornell's 4x400 shocked the field with their impressive 3:07.98, earning them third place in a highly competitive field and an NCAA East Preliminary round qualifying mark.     
 
In 2012-13, Durant made an immediate impact during his first year with the Big Red coaching several Heps champions and scorers; Hortelano-Roig (400, 200, 4x100, 4x400), Jedidiah Adarquah-Yiadom (60, 100, 4x100), Larry Gibson (400, 4x400), Ryan Hynes(4x100), Chris Bain (60), Kinsley Ojukwu (400, 4x100), Andre Anderson (500, 4x400, 400 hurdles), Cisco Olloqui (500) and Hairston (400 hurdles). Durant's athletes also set new school records and Ivy League records; Adarquah-Yiadom (school record in the 60 at 6.75), Hortelano-Roig (Indoor Ivy League record in the 200 at 21.18, outdoor school record in the 200 at 20.47), Ojukwu (Cornell No. 2 all-time indoors at 200 in 21.66). He also led the 4x100 relay to the NCAA Championship with an eye-opening time of 39.85, the fastest time in the Ivy League since 1978 and the first appearance by an Ivy League 4x100 relay team at the national meet since that same year. 

Prior to joining the Big Red, Durant was a member of the coaching staff at Florida A&M where he coached the jumps. He successfully coached four-time conference champion, All-American and U.S. Virgin Island national record holder in the long jump Leon Hunt (26-0). Durant also coached triple jumper Steve Emere, whose nation-leading jump (52-6) earned him a trip to the Indoor NCAA Championship where he earned All-America honors.

Durant has served as head coach of the U.S. Virgin Islands national team at the 2014 and 2015 NACAC games, the 2015 Pan American games and the upcoming 2015 Outdoor IAAF World Championships. His national team duties include organizing summer competition for the elite athletes, coaching the 4x100 relay team and running the summer training camp for national team athletes. He previously had served as an assistant coach of the national team under former Big Red coach Nathan Taylor.

Before his coaching days, Durant was a highly successful sprinter himself. As a member and captain of the USVI national team, Durant made multiple appearances on the world stage and holds multiple junior and senior records. Durant's participation in major competition includes appearances at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, two Pan-American senior and one junior championships, four IAAF world and one junior championship, a World University Games and a number of Central American and Caribbean Championships.

Durant's collegiate career was very much a Cinderella story. Starting out as a walk-on at South Carolina, Durant quickly rose to through the ranks becoming one of the top sprinters on the team (2003-07). He earned All-America status as a member of the 4x400m relay team in 2003. He also ran the opening leg of the 4x400m relay team that finished first that year at the SEC Championships with a time of 3:04.66. While a member of the Gamecocks, Durant earned multiple all-region and academic all-conference honors. He made multiple appearances at the NCAA Championships and boasted personal bests of 10.37 in the 100, 20.83 in the 200 and 6.69 at 60 meters.   

Durant is a native of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He is a USATF and IAAF certified coach, holds a degree in Technology Support & Training Management from South Carolina and earned a Master's in Recreation and Sport Sciences with a concentration in Coaching Education from the University of Ohio.