Yanick Hart will work with sprinters and hurdles while Samantha Palmer will work with distance runners.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gators Track and Field has hired Yanick Hart and Samantha Palmer as Assistant Coaches, as announced by Head Coach Mike Holloway.
“I am very excited about the addition of Samantha Palmer and Yanick Hart to our coaching staff,” Holloway said.
Yanick Hart returns to Florida after previously being a part of the program as both an athlete and coach. Hart competed for the Gators from 2014-2017, earning USTFCCCA Indoor All-American honors in the 60-meter hurdles in 2016 and USTFCCCA Outdoor All-American honors in the 110-meter hurdles in 2015 and 2016. He also finished second at the 2016 SEC Indoor Championships in the 60-meter hurdles. Hart’s personal best time of 7.71 in the 60m hurdles is the fifth fastest in school history and his time of 13.58 in the 110m hurdles is the sixth fastest in school history.
During 2018 and 2019, Hart first began as a student assistant coach and then volunteer assistant coach with the Florida program. He primarily assisted Adrian Mann with oversight of the hurdles.
“Yanick [Hart] will assist me with the sprints and hurdles and will also play a role in helping Coach [Mellanee] Welty with our recruiting efforts. Being a Gator Great and having first-hand knowledge of the program makes Yanick an automatic impact hire for the program,” said Head Coach Mike Holloway.
Samantha Palmer enters her second season with the Gators, previously working as a volunteer assistant coach with the program. Palmer came to Florida from Alabama, where she spent the previous five years as a volunteer assistant coach working with distance runners. During her time at Alabama, the Crimson Tide Women’s cross-country team finished first at the 2022 SEC Cross Country Team Championship and third finish at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships. At the 2022 NCAA Championships, four Alabama runners finished in the top-20.
Prior to Alabama, Palmer was an Assistant Coach at the University of Toledo where she coached 17 NCAA East Prelims qualifiers and two All-Americans on the track. In Cross Country, Palmer help lead the women’s team to a MAC Championship and thirtieth place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2014 and a runner-up finish at the MAC Championships and a ninth-place finish in the Great Lake region in 2017. She was named the 2018 MAC Outdoor Track and Field Assistant Coach of the Year and has coached a total of 25 top-5 finishers.
As a runner, Palmer was a member of the Iowa State track & field team. She qualified for the USA Marathon Olympic Trials in 2016 and 2022 and the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials in the 10,000m in 2021.
“Sam [Palmer] will assist Coach Will Palmer with Cross Country and the distance events. She brings a great knowledge of the sport to the staff,” said Holloway.
With the addition of Hart and Palmer, Florida looks to add to their national title total during the 2023-2024 season.
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