NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers promoted
Benjamin Dalton to head coach of the men's and women's track and field and cross country programs, announced the department of athletics on Wednesday.
"I am excited to be able to implement my vision for the track and field and cross country program at New Orleans," said Dalton. "We have the resources to be successful and I am really excited and thankful to have this opportunity. I am just looking forward to building on what we already have established and moving the program forward to where I know it can be."
Dalton came to the Privateers in the Spring of 2013 and helped guide the program to a season that saw its first Nationals qualifier in school history. With Dalton, the Privateers also had three Regional qualifiers and set three school records in the men's 200-meter, men's decathlon, men's 400-meter hurdles, and women's heptathlon.
Dalton specializes in the sprints and hurdles events, and used his tutelage to help guide
Alexia Fortenberry,
Constant Pretorius and
Darius Roy to successful first seasons at New Orleans that included qualifying for Regionals. Pretorius posted two of the three fastest times in the 400-hurdles in school history and was second in the same event at the Southland Championships, while both Fortenberry and Roy set school records in the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, respectively.
In his stops before joining the Privateers, Dalton has been an assistant at Texas and started his career in the United States with LSU in 2009. A native of England, Dalton has several accomplishments that include being the travel coach for Lolo Jones during her 2010 Indoor World Championship Gold Medal winning season in the 60-meter hurdles.
At Texas, Dalton helped guide the Longhorns to a 9th place finish at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships and a 7th place finish at the Indoor Championships. In 2011 at LSU, Dalton helped guide the Tigers to SEC Championships in the Indoor and Outdoor season.
