BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Former high school and NCAA Division I Track & Field All-American Janine Davis was named the head women's cross country coach at LIU Brooklyn, it was announced on Monday by director of athletics John Suarez. After a two-year hiatus, the cross country program will start anew under the direction of Davis in the fall of 2014.
Davis, who ran track & field for both the University of Texas and the University of Arkansas during her collegiate career, will also join head track & field coach Simon Hodnett's staff as an assistant.
"We are excited to have Janine join our staff and restart the women's cross country program," Suarez said. "Her experience as a coach, administrator and an All-American athlete makes her a great fit for our University and department."
As a high school senior at Queen of Peace High School in New Jersey, Davis broke the national high school record for the 600-meter run with a time of 1:29.2. Her 2005 performance bettered the prior record of 1:29.69, set in 2002 by Stacy Ann Livingston of Boys & Girls High School, and still stands as the top high school time in the event.
She was a two-time Track & Field News High School All-American, posted the fastest times in the state of New Jersey in the 200, 300, 400, 600 and 800-meter runs as a senior, and led the Golden Griffins to back-to-back state championships.
At Texas, she finished second in the 600-meter run at the Big XII Indoor Championships as a freshman, and helped the Longhorns to a 4x800-meter relay title at the 2006 Penn Relays. She earned NCAA Indoor All-America honors as a member of the 4x400-meter relay team as a freshman, and was named to the Big XII Commissioner's Honor Roll as a sophomore.
After transferring to Arkansas, she was a member of the Razorbacks cross-country team that won the 2008 Southeastern Conference title. She was named Second Team All-SEC in the 800-meter run and once again earned All-America status as a member of Arkansas' 4x400-meter relay team that finished seventh at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Following graduation, Davis served as a graduate track & field assistant coach at Rutgers-Newark from 2010-11 and was most recently the associate director of track & field and educational development at The Armory Foundation in New York.
Davis earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from Arkansas in 2009 and earned a master's degree in the same field from Rutgers-Newark in 2013.