Cornell University Athletics

HONORS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• 2016 Ivy League Outdoor Mens Track and Field Champions
• Northeast Regional Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year (2016 and 2017) 
• Ivy League Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year (2016) 
• Has coached and aided in the development of over 50 Ivy League champions, eight Ivy League Championship MVPs and 12 All-Americans. 
• Has coached athletes to over 25 Cornell school records and seven Ivy League records. 
• Set the team scoring record at the 2016 Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Heptagonal Championship (211 points). 
• Was the number one ranked team in the Northeast Region during the 2016 and 2017 Men’s Outdoor Track and Field. 

COACHING EXPERIENCE
Head Coach, Cornell University (2015-present) 
Assistant Coach, Cornell University (2012-15) 
Assistant Coach, Florida A&M University (2010-12) 

EDUCATION
• B.S., Technology Support & Training Management, University of South Carolina (2006) 
• M.S., Recreation and Sport Sciences, University of Ohio (2014)

ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS
• Ivy League Representative on the USTFCCCA Track and Field Executive Board
• Men of Color CNG EBoard Member
• Cornell SCL Advisory Committee Member
• Cornell Employee Assembly Member

AT CORNELL
Adrian Durant, widely considered to be one of the top young track coaches in the country, was named The George E. Heekin '29 Coach of Men's Track & Field in July 2015. He earned the promotion after spending three seasons as an assistant on the Big Red staff, coaching one of the nation's top sprinting units.

Durant is going into his 10th season as The George E. Heekin '29 Coach of Men's Track & Field at Cornell.  In his time as head coach Durant has won an Ivy League Outdoor Championship, has been named the Ivy League Outdoor Male Coach of the Year, and has twice been named the Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year for the Northeast Region. 

In his inaugural year as head coach, Adrian Durant’s team clinched the 2016 Outdoor HEPS Championship title with a record score total of 211 points, becoming the only team in conference history to score over 200 points in a single championship.  In his first year, Durant earned Ivy League Head Coach of the Year and Northeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year honors.   

In 2016-17, the Big Red finished 2nd at both the Indoor HEPS and the Outdoor HEPS Championships. Durant’s sprinters and hurdlers were responsible for 67 of the team’s 149 points at the Outdoor HEPS Championship. The team concluded the year ranked as the top team in the Northeast Region and 26th on the National Rankings, the highest ranking out of any of the Ivy League Track & Field programs. Olympian Rudy Winkler became Cornell Track & Field’s first NCAA Champion since 2008, once again putting the Big Red on the national stage. Durant closed the season by being named the Northeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year. 

In his third year as head coach, 2017-18, the men's track and field team scored 58 points to place fifth at the 2018 Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Track and Field Championships and third at the Outdoor Heptagonal Track and Field Championships after accumulating 81 points. Their third-place finish marked the 16th-straight year that the Big Red has earned a top-three finish at the outdoor league championships. 

His fifth year of head-coaching was cut short as spring sports were cancelled to help in the efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the conclusion of the indoor season, Durant's men's track and field team gathered 56 points, with freshman Smith Charles (long jump) and the 4x800 relay team earning titles, for a fifth-place finish at the 2020 Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Track and Field Championships. 

Since returning from the COVID hiatus, Durant has led the Big Red to three top-three Heptagonal finishes, two coming in indoor (2022 and 2023) and another during the outdoor campaign in 2023. Throughout this time, Coach Durant has produced numerous Cornell and Ivy League record-breakers and champions. Tomas Kersulis ran the fastest time in Ivy League history in the 400-meter dash, as well as captured Heps titles in 200-, 400-, and 500-meter dashes within the same calendar year. 

The list of All-Americans has grown with Durant at the helm, with Rudy Winkler, Austin Jamerson, James Gowan, Kersulis, Rhys Hammond, and Perry Mackinnon earning first, second, and honorable mention since he has taken over.

Coach Adrian Durant has a strong track record of producing athletes in the sprints and hurdle events. Notably among the men, Max Hairston is regarded by many as the best hurdler in Ivy League history, being a multi-time Ivy League champion and MVP. Christian Martin is another multi-time Heps Champion that was trained by Durant and sits at the top of the Cornell record book in the 110-meter hurdles.

Among women sprinters and hurdlers developed under Durant, Ama Boham stands out after breaking the 60-meter hurdles Cornell record in 2023 en route to claiming the Ivy League crown in the event. Brooke Overholt was another standout Cornellian woman under Durant who was able to earn a Heps title, coming in the 400-meter hurdles.

NOTABLE STUDENT ATHLETES UNDER DURANT
Bruno Hortelano-Roig ‘14 - Hortelano-Roig is the sole sprinter Durant has sent to the Olympics. A member of the Spanish Team, Hortelano-Roig broke the national record in the 200m (20.12) and placed 10th overall at the 2016 Olympic Games. Two years later, in 2018, he broke his own record in the 200m with a 20.04 run, as well as breaking the 400m Spanish National record (44.69).

Before competing in the Olympics, Hortelano-Roig broke several school and league records as a member of the Cornell track and field team. He holds the school record in the 60m (6.69), 200m (20.75), 300m (33.46) and the 400m (47.04) for indoor and the 200m (20.47) and the 400m (46.60) for outdoor. He was also on the Sprint Medley Relay team that holds the school record (3:21.01). Finally, he holds the Ivy League record in the 60m (6.69) and the 200m (20.82) for indoor track and field.

Rudy Winkler ‘17 - After beating the school and Ivy League records in the weight throw (76’6.25”) and the hammer throw (251’10”), Winkler competed in the hammer throw in the 2016 Olympic Games on the United States team. Winkler had a historic senior season (2016-17) for the Big Red becoming the NCAA Division I Champion in the hammer throw following a toss of 243’ 2”. He won seven collegiate track and field meets including the weight throw at the Ivy League Indoor Track and Field Championships and the hammer throw at the Outdoor Heps. Additionally, Winkler was fourth in the weight throw at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships with a mark of 73’ 2”.
  
Austin Jamerson ‘17 - Jamerson holds the school and Ivy League record in the heptathlon with 5,756 points. He was also a member of the Shuttle Hurdle Relay team that holds the Cornell record (57.65).

Perry Mackinnon ‘23 - Mackinnon was a standout cross country and distance track talent. Perry holds the Cornell record in two outdoor track events, the 5000- and 10,000-meter run. Over the course of his Big Red career, he has paced his way to seven top-10 Ivy-League Heptagonal Championship finishes and three NCAA Championship final bids. Perry bookended his Cornell stint with a 20th-place All-American Honorable Mention finish in the 10k at the NCAA Championships.

Udeme Akpaete ‘18 - Akpaete was one of the Big Red's strongest sprinters from the time she walked onto the team as a freshman, earning two NCAA All-America honors. She earned nine Ivy League Heptagonals titles — four individually and five as a member of a relay team—and has accumulated 15 All-Ivy nods. She was named the Heps Most Outstanding Performer outdoors in 2015 after winning the 200 and 400 meter races and anchoring the 4x100 and 4x400 championship relays.

She set schools records in the 200 and 400, an Ivy record in the 4x100 and a meet record in the 4x400 during the meet. With her incredible speed, Akpaete helped Cornell's 4x400 team to indoor and outdoor ECAC championships, appearances at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in 2014 and 2015 and second-team All-America honors at the 2015 NCAA Championships. She graduated with seven school records – the 400 meters and 4x400 relay indoors and the 200 and 400 meters and the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays outdoors.

Adrian Jones ‘17 - Jones started off her career at Cornell with a bang, reaching the finals in both the Indoor and Outdoor ECAC championships in multiple events. Jones continued her success in the sprints as a sophomore, earning the no. 6 spot on the Cornell all-time list in the 60 meters, finishing in 7.62 at the indoor Upstate Challenge. She also ran the ninth-best 200 in program history, crossing the line in 24.74 for 14^th at Indoor ECAC Championships. Outdoors, she picked up a personal best in the 100 with a time of 11.89, good for no. 6 on the program charts. Her 4x100 relay team set a new school and Ivy League record with an impressive time of 45.21 to win the outdoor Ivy League title in the event.

Jones had a stellar junior season in the short sprints for the Big Red. Indoors, she claimed an individual title in the 200 meter dash at the Indoor Upstate Challenge and then went on to finish third in the 60 meter dash and fourth in the 200 meter dash at the Ivy League Indoor Track and Field Championships as well as sixth in the 60 and seventh in the 200 at the IC4A/ECAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. She had a successful outdoor Heps, taking second in the 200 meter with a personal best 23.84, fourth in the 100, and third in the 4x100 meter relay before going on to finish fifth overall in the 100 at the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Brooke Overholt ‘22 - Overholt collected First-team All-American honors in the 400-meter hurdles as a junior and a two-time Heps champion in the event. She is the Cornell record holder in the 60 meter hurdles and the 300, she was second in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles for the Big Red. Following graduation, she was a first-team All-American ion the 400-meter hurdles at Vanderbilt, placing fourth at the finals. 

Max Hairston ‘16 - Hairston was an honorable mention NCAA All-American in the 110 high hurdles outdoors as a senior in 2016 after capturing second team honors in the event as a sophomore in 2014. He was a six-time individual Heps champion (outdoors in the 110 hurdles in 2014, 2015 and 2016; outdoors in the 400 hurdles in 2014; indoors in the 60 hurdles in 2013 and 2014) and two-time relay champion (4x400 relay outdoors in 2014 and 2015).

He also won an IC4A/ECAC title indoors in the 60 hurdles in 2014. He finished second in the 110 high hurdles at the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor meet as a senior. He closed his career with a school record in the outdoor 110 hurdles (13.62w) and was ranked second indoors in the 60 hurdles (7.83). He was also was part of a school-record 4x400 relay team indoors and the shuttle hurdle relay outdoors.

AS AN ASSISTANT
Durant joined the Big Red in 2012 and made an immediate impact during his first year as Assistant Coach. Several athletes to become HEPS Champions and HEPS Scorers including; 

• Bruno Hortelano-Roig (200m, 400m, 4x100m, 4x400m) 

• Jedidiah Arquah-Yiadom (60m, 100m, 4x100m) 

• Larry Gibson (400m, 4x400m) 

• Ryan Hynes (4x100m) 

• Chris Bain (60m) 

• Kinsley Ojukwu (400m, 4x100m) 

• Andre Anderson (400mH, 500m, 4x400m) 

• Cisco Olloqui (500m) 

• Max Hairston (400mH) 

Durant’s athletes that year set Cornell and Ivy League records; 

• Jedidiah Adarquah-Yiadom (60m school record - 6.75) 

• Bruno Hortelano-Roig (200m Indoor Ivy League record - 21.18, 200m Outdoor school record - 20.47) 

• Kinsley Ojukwu (200m Cornell #2 all-time indoor - 21.66) 

He also led the men’s 4x100m 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 4x100m relay team at the national meet since the same year.          
  
In 2013-14, Durant’s sprinters did not disappoint and 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; 

• Men’s 60m Ivy League record (Bruno Hortelano-Roig - 6.69) 

• Men’s 400m record (Bruno Hortelano-Roig - 47.04) 

• Men’s 4x400m record (3:10.14) 

• Men’s 200m record (Bruno Hortelano-Roig - 20.75) 

• Women’s 400m record (Udeme Akpaete - 54.02) 

• Women’s 4x400m record (3:36.63) 

  
During the indoor season, Bruno Hortelano-Roig became the first Ivy League athlete to achieve All-American status in the 200m in recent history, cementing himself as one of the Ivy League’s all-time great sprinters. In outdoor, Durant’s sprinters continued their record-setting year, establishing new school bests including: 

• Men’s 11mH (Max Hairston - 13.74) 

• Men’s Sprint Medley Relay (3:21.01) 

• Women’s 200m (Udeme Akpaete - 23.71) 

• Women’s 400m (Udeme Akpaete - 53.24) 

• Women’s 4x100m (45.55) 

• Women’s 4x200m (1:36.76) 

• Women’s 4x400m (3:34.40) (Also set an Ivy League record and achieved All-American status) 

  
The men’s 4x100m also continued their success from the previous year, establishing another top 10 finish in the 4x100m 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 men’s 4x400m 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 2014-15 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. 
  

PRIOR TO CORNELL
Prior to joining the Big Red, Durant was a member of the Florida A&M University Coaching staff where he was charged with coaching the jumps. While with the FAMU Rattlers, Durant successfully coached four-time conference champion, All-American, and U.S. Virgin Island National Record holder in the long jump Leon Hunt (25’ 3”). 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-American honors. 
  

COMPETITION CAREER
Before his coaching days, Durant was a highly successful sprinter himself.  As a member and captain of the United States Virgin National Team, Durant has made multiple appearances on the world stage and holds multiple junior and senior records on the national team. Durant’s participation in major competition includes appearances at the following Championships: 

• 9th IAAF World Junior Championship, Kingston, Jamaica (2002) 

• 9th Central American & Caribbean Championship, San Salvador, El Salvador (2002) 

• 12th Pan American Junior Championship, Bridgetown, Barbados (2003) 

• 9th IAAF World Indoor Championship, Birmingham, England (2003)   

• 9th IAFF World Outdoor Championship, Paris, France (2003) 

• 19th Central American & Caribbean Championship, St. George’s, Grenada (2003) 

• 14th Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2003) 

• 28th Olympic Games, Athens, Greece (2004) 

• 20th Central American & Caribbean Championship, Nassau, Bahamas (2005) 

• 20th Central American & Caribbean Games, Cartagena, Colombia (2006) 

• 24th World University Games, Bangkok, Thailand (2007) 

• 21st Central American & Caribbean Championship, Cali, Colombia (2008) 

• 22nd Central American & Caribbean Championship, Havana, Cuba (2009) 

• 12th IAAF World Indoor Championship, Valencia, Spain (2008) 

• 12th IAAF World Outdoor Championship, Berlin, Germany (2009) 

• 20th Central American & Caribbean Games, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico (2010) 

• 23rd Central American & Caribbean Championship, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico (2011)              

• 16th Pan American Games, Guadalajara, Mexico 

Durant’s collegiate career was very much a Cinderella story.  Starting out as a walk-on athlete with the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, Durant quickly rose to through the ranks becoming one of the top sprinters on the team (2003-2007).  He earned All-American Status as a member of the University of South Carolina’s 4x400m relay team (2003).  He also ran the opening leg of the 4x400m relay team that finished first at the SEC Championships with a time of 3:04.66.  While a member of the Gamecocks Durant earned multiple All Regional and Academic All-Conference Honors. He made multiple appearances at the NCAA Championship and  boasted personal bests of 10.37 in the 100m, 20.83 in the 200m and 6.69* in the 60m dashes. 
  

PERSONAL
Coach Adrian Durant is a native of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and continues to work alongside former Cornell Head Coach Nathan Taylor as a member of the U.S. Virgin Islands Track & Field Federation. During the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Coach Durant had the honor of attending, as a member of the U.S. Virgin Islands Olympic team serving as the head track and field coach.  
 
In 2017, following the devastating destruction of Hurricane Irma and Maria, Coach Durant coordinated a fundraiser to bring power back to the U.S. Virgin Island. With the help of the Big Red family, 20 generators were sent to the United States Virgin Islands to aid in the recovery and rebuilding efforts.