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David Andrews steps down as head coach of Webber track & field program; will stay on as assistant coach

by Richard Baptist

Babson Park, Fla. (08/11/2020) — After leading the Webber International University men's and women's track & field programs for the last six years, David Andrews has announced that he will be stepping down as the head coach of Warrior track & field to become the new Seventh Grade Reading Teacher at Frostproof Middle-Senior High School.

The resignation of Coach Andrews as head coach will become effective on August 14, however, Andrews will still remain on staff to help out the Warriors as an assistant track & field coach.

Including his time as an assistant coach prior to becoming the head coach at Webber, Andrews has been a part of the Warrior family for each of the last 10 years.

Coach Andrews reflected on his time as a Warrior so far, saying, "It doesn't seem like that long ago I was stepping onto this campus for the first time as the new assistant coach under Dr. Peter Ormsby. He and former Director of Athletics Bill Heath welcomed me into the Warrior family with open arms, and it didn't take long for me to figure out what kind of a place Webber was and what kind of a team we had here. I have been fortunate enough to have met some really great young men and women that have allowed me to coach and mentor them. Some have become a part of my family. I have also been fortunate to have made some good friendships with coaches from around the county. There are so many memories from the last 10 seasons that I hold dear to me."

Webber's current Director of Athletics, Brad Niethammer, said, "I would like to thank Coach Andrews for his commitment to Webber and his student-athletes during his time here. I wish him good luck with his new position at Frostproof, and we look forward to him staying involved with our track & field program here at Webber. Please join the Warrior family in thanking Coach David Andrews for his service and leadership over the past decade and in wishing him well at his new position."

During his second season as head coach in 2016, Coach Andrews was named both the NAIA South Region Women's Head Coach of the Year and the NAIA South Region Men's Head Coach of the Year during the indoor campaign, and then during the outdoor campaign, Andrews helped lead the Warriors' women's track & field team to its first Sun Conference Championship while the men's team finished as the runners-up.

Since then, the Warriors have continued to improve and make their mark both at the conference level, and on the national level.

In 2018, Andrews' Lady Warriors finished as the runners-up at the Sun Conference Championships while freshman Samantha Davila was named the TSC Women's Field Athlete of the Year and was also the TSC Women's Track & Field Freshman of the Year. Additionally, the Webber men's team finished third that year at conference. Then, at the 2018 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships that same year, the Warriors' men's and women's track & field teams combined to send 12 athletes to compete in four different events, the largest group sent to nationals under Coach Andrews.

Most recently, the 2020 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships served as the fifth and final All-American campaign for Dakari Hill, who Andrews coached up to being one of the most decorated Warriors of all-time. Hill earned five straight NAIA All-American honors in five tries in the high jump, three in indoor track & field and two in outdoor. He finished in fourth-place during all five of his national championship performances, and he is also the Webber school record holder in the high jump for both indoor (2.08/6'9.75"; 2019) and outdoor (6'8.75"/2.05; 2018) track & field.

Including his time both as head coach and as an assistant coach for the Warriors, Andrews coached 18 combined All-Americans between both indoor and outdoor track & field.

In all, the Warriors earned seven top-three finishes on the women's side and five top-three finishes on the men's side at The Sun Conference Championships during Andrews' tenure as both an assistant coach and as the head coach of Webber track & field. Additionally, the Webber women's team finished as the TSC runners-up four times under Andrews' tutelage while the men finished in second place three times. Coach Andrews' Warriors never finished lower than fourth in The Sun Conference on the women's side and were only lower than fifth on the men's side once.

"I am very thankful for the opportunities that my family and I have been blessed to enjoy here at Webber," added Andrews. "Everything from coaching a sport I love and becoming a head coach, to getting high quality degrees. My wife and I both received our Bachelor of Science degrees in business from Webber in the Class of 2015. Our daughter will receive her Associate of Science degree this December 2020. I also received my MBA from our sister school, St. Andrews University (Class of 2019). I would like to thank everyone in the 'Warrior Family' for their continued support that has been shown to me during my time at Webber. However, like I told my team the other day, I am not going anywhere, I am just stepping down as head coach. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to still be a part of the program going forward. The future of our program is very bright, and there are a lot of positive things going on that I am glad to be a part of. Moreover, I am very much looking forward to starting a new chapter at Frostproof Middle-Senior High School. This gives me the opportunity to be around my family more as they are walking into a new chapter in their lives as well. I feel that it is very important for me to be there for this time in their lives."

Webber Track & Field Accomplishments under Coach Andrews:

59 NAIA National Qualifiers

18 NAIA All-Americans

264 All-Sun Conference performers (Men and Women Combined)

48 Sun Conference Champions

2016 Women's Conference Champions

2016 NAIA South Region Indoor Women's Head Coach of the Year

2016 NAIA South Region Indoor Men's Head Coach of the Year

1 NAIA South Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year

1 NAIA South Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year

17 Academic All-Americans

28 Academic All-Conference

5 Sun Conference Champions of Character

2 World University Games (Marcela Solano-Walters- Chili; Jordan Clarke- USA)

Conference Results under Coach Andrews:

2011 Men- 2nd Women- 3th

2012 Men- 2nd Women- 3rd

2013 Men- 3rd Women- 4th

2014 Men- 5th Women- 2nd

2015 Men- 7th Women- 2nd

2016 Men- 2nd Women- 1st

2017 Men- 5th Women- 3rd

2018 Men- 3rd Women- 2nd

2019 Men- 5th Women- 4th

Media Attachments

David Andrews

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