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Assistant Coach
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Dawn Mortensen, a former sprinter for the Wildcats, joined the Arizona coaching staff in the fall of 1997 and assists in the training of the sprinters and hurdlers. Mortensen, 28, graduated from Arizona in the summer of 1996 with a degree in exercise and sports sciences and was a four-year competitor for the Wildcats in the 100m and 200m.
Mortensen's technical knowledge of sprinting has helped Arizona develop one of the top programs in the nation for young sprinters. She had a strong involvement with the training of Brianna Glenn, who was a multiple event NCAA champion while she was at Arizona.
Under Mortensen's guidance, the Arizona sprint program brought home two national titles and 10 All-America honors in 2001. Patrick Nduwimana won the NCAA Indoor 800m title, while Glenn won a title in the 200m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The rest of the All-America honors went to Glenn (indoor 60m, outdoor 100m and 200m), Mike Kenyon (indoor and outdoor 400m), and the men's 4x400m relay team made up of Kenyon, Nduwimana, Matt Lea and Jules Doumbya.
Mortensen also coached the 4x100m relay team of Rori Kelly, Glenn, Nicole Thomas and Carolyn Jackson in 2000. The relay squad set a school outdoor record with a time of 44.74.
In 2002, Mortensen guided Glenn to All-America honors in the
As an athlete at Arizona, Mortensen was one of the Wildcats' top sprinters in 1993-96. She holds several top times on Arizona's all-time records lists, including a time of 11.77 in the 100m and 24.33 in the 200m. She was a team captain here junior year for the Wildcats.
Before becoming an assistant with the Arizona program, Mortensen worked as a personal trainers for a local health club. She was also a volunteer assistant coach with the Wildcat program under the direction of associate head coach Fred Harvey.
Mortensen won the Mary P. Roby Academic Award for excellence and was also named to the Academic All-Pac-10 team during her career at Arizona.
During her high school days at Santa Rita H.S. in Tucson, Ariz., where she earned four letters in both track and field and cross country, Mortensen was an all-state performer in the 400m during her final three years. Mortensen was born May 24, 1973 in Tucson.
