Custom Search The Central State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has selected Elliott Lightfoot to serve as CSU's next head coach for the sports of track and field and cross country.
"Coach Lightfoot has been successful at every stage of his career. He has recruited high achieving student-athletes while building championship caliber programs consisting of integrity and character," says CSU Director of Athletics Tara A. Owens. "His detail-oriented coaching approach and passion to compete will excite our student-athletes as we continue to develop a championship culture at CSU."
Lightfoot brings over 25 years of coaching experience and a national championship pedigree to Central State.
Lightfoot
Lightfoot has spent the last five seasons as a multi-sport coach in track and football at Cuthbertson High School in Waxhaw, North Carolina. During his time coaching the Cuthbertson track and field program, Lightfoot was part of a staff of three who built an upstart program and increased participation from 40 in 2016 to over 200 student-athletes by 2020. The Cuthbertson girls' program have won four consecutive Indoor State Championships. The Cuthbertson boys claimed back-to-back state titles in the 4 x 200 meter relays (2019, 2020) and a 2019 state title in 4 x 400 meter relays with an individual, Aidan McNally, winning and individual title in the 300-meter dash. Prior to the cancellation of the Spring 2020 State Championships due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Cuthbertson had set several school records and had over 30 qualifiers set to compete in the state meet.
Lightfoot spent the 2012 to 2015 seasons serving as the head track and field coach at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Lightfoot developed 39 All-Conference performers and 12 individual conference champions in addition to seven All-Americans, including Heather Gearity, who won back-to-back NCAA Div. III outdoor national titles in the 400 meter hurdles in 2012 and 2013.
Lightfoot's best overall team performances while coaching at Montclair State came in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Coach Lightfoot will officially begin his duties at Central State University on February 1.
~CSU Sports Information