Tolbert Named Portland State Track & Field Program Director
7/9/2003 2:57:56 PM | Cross Country, Track and Field
Tolbert has been on the SU staff for the past three years. His primary responsibilities were to direct all aspects of the jumps and multi-events program for men and women, in addition to serving as a recruiting coordinator for the Syracuse program.
Tolbert, who began at SU in 2000, coached two NCAA qualifiers, one USA Track and Field qualifier, one All-American and seven athletes to 11 school records with the Orange program. While serving as the recruiting coordinator for sprints and hurdles for two years, Tolbert recruited four high school/junior college All-Americans and two national team members.
Portland State Director of Athletics Tom Burman has announced the hiring of Tolbert on July 9.
"Kebba's areas of expertise will immediately improve upon the recent successes we have had in the sprints, hurdles and jumps," said Burman. "He has had great coaching experiences at Syracuse, as well as at smaller colleges. I expect his knowledge and skills will translate very well here as we continue to build our program in the Big Sky Conference."
Tolbert replaces former Coach Tony Veney, who moved on to become the Assistant Track Coach at UCLA. A 1994 graduate of Colby College, where he was twice his track team's Most Valuable Athlete, Tolbert earned a degree in Philosophy. Tolbert earned a masters degree in Exercise and Sports Studies from Smith College in 1996. During his time at Smith, Tolbert served as the assistant track and field coach.
In 1996, Tolbert was hired as the head track and cross country coach at Iowa Wesleyan. He guided his women's team to a third (indoor) and fourth place (outdoor) finish at the 1998 NAIA National Championship. His team won five events at nationals. Tolbert moved to McKendree College to become the associate women's track coach later in 1998. His student-athletes won three team national titles.
