D'Andre "DeeDee" Hill (born April 19, 1973) is an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

coach and former athlete. She competed in sprint events, mainly in

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

. Her personal record in the event was 10.92 seconds. She represented her country over 100 m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and shared in a gold medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay at the

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi, Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from ...

, having run in the heats only. Hill was a three-time individual American collegiate champion at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

: twice in the 100 m and once in the indoor 60-meter dash. She also won three NCAA relay titles. She has since gone on to be a women's college track coach and head coach at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

(the first African-American head coach in the school's history).

Career

Sprinting

Hill was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and attended Mount Healthy High School while living there. She took up track and field and quickly established herself as a sprinter. She won three high school state titles and was the 100 m and 200-meter dash runner-up at the 1989 USATF Junior Olympics. She returned to that event the following year and was again runner-up in the 100 m. She gained an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to study

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

and, after skipping her first year of eligibility in 1993, she began to run for the LSU Lady Tigers track and field from 1994 onwards. At the 1994 NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships—her first major meet—she was a finalist in both the 55-meter dash and 200 m, earning

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in both. She began her outdoor season with runner-up finishes in the 100 m at the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (officially The Penn Relay Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012 ...

and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

Championships. At the NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships she shared in the NCAA title in the 4 × 100 m relay and placed third over both 100 m and 200 m.D'Andre Hill
LSU Sports. Retrieved on 2015-09-21. Her senior national debut followed at the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

and she reached the 100 m final, coming seventh overall.D'Andre Hill

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and 1 ...

. Retrieved on 2015-09-21. In Hill's second year of collegiate competition, she was again finalist in both short sprints at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She won both the individual and relay events at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships. Two further golds followed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as she helped the Lady Tigers defend their relay title and claimed her first individual collegiate title in the 100 m with a run of 11.11 seconds. She also managed sixth in the 200 m. She continued to rise in the national rankings with a fourth-place finish at the 1995 USA Outdoor Championships. This earned her a place on the United States relay team for the

. She was selected to run the heats only (being replaced by

Gwen Torrence Gwendolyn Lenna Torrence (born June 12, 1965) is a retired American sprinter and Olympic champion. She was born in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Columbia High School and the University of Georgia. She was offered a scholarship because of her ...

in the final) and anchored a team of Celena Mondie-Milner, Carlette Guidry-White, and Chryste Gaines to first in the qualifying heats. In the final the American women won the gold medal – an honor that Hill shared in as the competing alternate. In her third and final year with the LSU Lady Tigers, she again took NCAA All American honours in the short sprints available that year. She won the indoor 55 m title, and defended her outdoor 100 m individual and relay titles. Over 200 m, she also had her best finishes, coming second both indoors and out. She took a clean sweep of short sprint titles at Southeastern Conference level, winning the indoor 60-meter dash and 200 m races, as well as the 100 m dash and relay titles outdoors. Her final collegiate season raised her total NCAA titles to six – the second most in the LSU program's history after Dawn Sowell. Hill ran the best times of her career in 1996. These included times of 6.69 seconds for the 55 m, 7.21 seconds for the 60 m indoors, and 22.49 seconds for the 200 m outdoors. The 1996 United States Olympic Trials saw her improve her 100 m best four times consecutively, recording 11.00 seconds in the first round, 10.99 seconds in the next round, 10.97 seconds in the semi-final, before crossing the line in 10.92 seconds to place third in the final. Working with LSU coach Dennis Shaver, she placed her improvements down to her being in a competitive training group, which included hurdler Kim Carson, and sprinters

Sheila Echols Sheila Ann Echols (born October 2, 1964) is a retired track and field athlete from the United States who competed in the 100 metres and the long jump. She won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in the 4 × 100 m relay. She also won the ...

and Zundra Feagin. Her place at the trials earned her selection for the

United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics The United States (USA) was the host nation for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. 646 competitors, 375 men and 271 women, took part in 263 events in 31 sports. With a total of 44 gold, 32 silver, and 25 bronze medals, the United States return ...

. Despite her being one of the three individual 100 m runners (alongside

Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers ( ; born November 19, 1966) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the greatest and most decorated female sprinters of all time, she was ...

and Gwen Torrence), she was not picked for the relay team on the basis of her being a straight-away specialist (positions occupied by the more favoured Devers and Torrence). At the 1996 Atlanta Games she reached the semi-finals of the 100 m, but failed to improve in that round and was eliminated in sixth position. In 1996, she won the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

as the nation's best female collegiate track and field athlete. After she graduated from college, her professional track sprinting career never progressed and she ranked outside the nations top ten sprinters from the period between 1997 and 2001.

Coaching

Hill soon entered coaching after retirement from sprinting. She was the women's head track and field coach at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

from 2001 to 2004. She moved to

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

in December 2004, serving as assistant coach and leading the team's sprint and relay sections. Under her guidance, the

TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competi ...

women's 4 × 400 m relay team reached the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time in 2005. The team returned the following year and after breaking the school record they were finalists, placing seventh. Among others, she coached NCAA 200 m finalist Virgil Hodge. Over the course of her tenure the TCU Horned Frogs women's team moved up from 70th in the NCAA rankings to 27th.D'Andre Hill
. Vanderbilt Commodores. Retrieved on 2015-09-21. In 2007 Hill was appointed track and field head coach at

. This made her the institution's first ever

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

to reach a head coach position for the Vanderbilt Commodores athletic team.Milestones and Achievements
Vanderbilt University. Retrieved on 2015-09-21. She set about re-focusing the team to sprint events.

Personal records

– 10.92 seconds (1996) * 200-meter dash – 22.49 seconds (1996) * 55-meter dash indoor – 6.69 seconds (1996) * 60-meter dash indoor – 7.21 seconds (1996) * 200-meter dash indoor – 23.24 seconds (1996)

International competitions

National titles

* NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships **

: 1995, 1996 * NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships ** 55-meter dash: 1996

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, D'Andre Living people 1973 births Track and field athletes from Cincinnati American female sprinters African-American track and field athletes Dayton Flyers track and field coaches TCU Horned Frogs track and field coaches Vanderbilt Commodores track and field coaches American female sports coaches African-American sports coaches World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists LSU Lady Tigers track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships winners Olympic female sprinters NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportswomen