Paul Brown returns for his fourth season with the UCF track and field and cross country programs after joining the Knights[apos] coaching staff in the summer of 2010. Brown serves as the primary coach for cross country and middle and long distance runners as well as jumpers during the track and field seasons.
As a member of the coaching staff, Brown has helped lead UCF to six track and field Conference USA championships and has mentored his athletes to national recognition.
In 2013, he guided the team to its fourth-straight outdoor C-USA championship -- a feat unmatched by any women[apos]s program in conference history. UCF also thrived at the NCAA Championships with two top-5 finishes, picking up the first top-5 finish at the outdoor championships by a non-BCS program since 2000.
His athletes thrived throughout the year. Junior Jen Clayton earned bronze in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for UCF[apos]s best performance ever at the meet by a jumper. Rookie standout Alexis Faulknor was named the C-USA Freshman of the Meet at both the indoor and outdoor championships and became the first freshman in C-USA history to win gold in the long jump (outdoor). She was also named Co-High Point Scorer of the Meet. All-Conference selection Anne-Marie Blaney was unstoppable throughout the year, claiming every freshman and school distance record as her own.
In 2012, he coached long jumper Sonnisha Williams to an appearance at the 2012 USA Olympic Trials. Williams along with fellow long jumper Jacqueline Gilchrist both earned All-Conference USA and All-American honors during the season. He also guided Ne[apos]Ausha Logan to a remarkable performance in the 800 meters at the C-USA outdoor championships as she captured her first gold medal in the event.
In the fall of 2011, Brown guided freshman Jamie Perzanowski to the highest finish by a UCF runner at the C-USA cross country championships in five years. For her efforts, Perzanowski received All Conference-USA Third Team recognition.
Earlier that same year, he also helped UCF sweep the indoor and outdoor track and field conference championship titles one year removed from winning its first ever C-USA championship in outdoor track. Under his tutelage, Williams emerged as a USTFCCCA Indoor All-American in the long jump before she went on to capture the C-USA crown in the event in the outdoor season.
Brown comes to UCF after five years as an assistant track and cross country coach at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando. During his time at Oak Ridge, Brown assisted with the girls cross country team as it qualified for three consecutive 3A-State Championships (2007-2009), while helping to lead the girls track team to the 2007 and 2008 3A-State title. He also was a part of four consecutive regional championships, four consecutive district championships and four consecutive Metro Conference Championships.
Prior to joining the Knights[apos] staff, Brown had coached nine athletes to 24 top-eight finishes at the 2007-2010 Class 3A-State Championships. Brown[apos]s athletes garnered 13 All-America honors. In 2007 and 2010, his long jumper (Odeika Bent) and his triple jumper (Juna Esperance) won the Class 3A-State titles, respectively. Esperance was ranked in the Top 30 nationally among all triple jumpers.
A former University of Florida runner, Brown was a Junior All-American in 1999. Running in the 110-meter hurdles, he served as a sprints captain from 2001-03. Brown qualified for the National Championships in 2003 in his final season in Gainesville, while earning his B.A. in English.