Fraley beginning to solidify 1st track & field coaching staff

New Montana track & field coach Doug Fraley has assembled the majority of his coaching staff, retaining Griz All-American Lindsey Hall and hiring Erica Fraley and John Kolb to his staff.

Erica Fraley, a world-renown pole vaulter, will work with Montana's vertical jumps groups, while Kolb will be the Grizzlies' throws coach. Hall – who is one of Montana's most-decorated athletes as a seven-time Big Sky champion, 20-time All-Big Sky performer, six-time school-record-holder and two-time NCAA Championships qualifier – returns for her second season back in Missoula and will specialize in the multi-events and hurdles. Doug Fraley will work with the Griz sprinters and relays, as well as with the jumps groups.

Still to be filled is a distance coach, which is currently being led by Doug Fraley and volunteer coaches Erin Clark and AJ Eckmann.

"The thing I'm trying to do is build a staff that has a lot of energy and one that brings validation to the program through their athletic or coaching achievements," Doug Fraley said. "I'm really excited about the expertise that Erica brings and the passion that John has, and I'm thrilled to death to be able to retain Lindsey, who means so much to Missoula and this University as an athlete and now a coach.

"I'm thrilled with the staff that we've put together so far, and I look forward to building it the right way, so that we can continue to increase our program's level of success over time."

Erica Fraley 2023 head shot

Montana's pole vaulters will be in good hands with Erica Fraley instructing them. After all, Fraley, the wife of head coach Doug Fraley, was a two-time Big XII champion in the pole vault while competing athletically at Texas A&M, before going on to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in the pole vault.

She has extensive experience as a coach, as well, most-recently serving as a volunteer assistant at Washington State, where she developed eight Pac-12 point-scorers, four All-Americans and the 2022 Pac-12 pole vault champion in Jacob Englar.

Previously, she was a volunteer coach at Southeastern Louisiana, developing Devin King into a school-record-holder, All-American and U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier.

Erica Fraley also has international experience, coaching at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Ukraine, and was named the 2014 USATF Club Coach of the Year by the National Pole Vault Summit. For more than a decade, she has owned and operated the Louisiana Pole Vault Compound, where she has trained and developed numerous state champions and high school All-Americans, including four high school national champions.

"Erica has a history of really high athletic success, both as an athlete and as a coach," Doug Fraley said. "She brings a lot to the table, and one of the biggest things is that she brings validation to the program and the recruiting process because she's experienced it all. She was an Olympian as an athlete, she's proven herself as a coach at a really high level from youth sports all the way up to athletes qualifying for NCAA Championships and Olympic Trials.

"All of her experience and knowledge brings a big piece of credibility to this program."

As an athlete, she was a two-time Big XII champion and three-time NCAA qualifier while at Texas A&M. She then twice qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, representing Team USA at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"I am excited to join the track & field coaching staff at the University of Montana," Erica Fraley said. "This staff has great cohesiveness and inspiring goals for the program. I am looking forward to working with the Griz athletes and bringing my expertise and experience in the vertical jumps to the team."

John Kolb 2023 head shot

Kolb is a former student-athlete of Doug Fraley's, with the two connecting at Washington State, where Fraley served as an assistant coach and Kolb was a standout thrower for the Cougs.

During his four-year career, which began at the University of Louisville, Kolb qualified for NCAA Regionals in the discus all four years. As a sophomore in 2018, he earned first-team All-ACC honors by placing second at the ACC Championships, and as a senior, while at Washington State, he again finished second overall at the Pac-12 Championships. His lifetime-best throw of 194-1 ranks sixth in Washington State history. He also has Louisville's second-best all-time discus mark.

"While we were together at Washington State, John and I got to talk a lot about coaching philosophies," Doug Fraley said of Kolb. "It was evident to me that this was a young guy who was going to make a really great college coach. He has a really good working knowledge of all throwing events, he has a really good working knowledge of training concepts and it was so evident that he has a passion to be a collegiate coach.

"He has a really good understanding of it all for someone of his age, and that made me believe that this young man was going to be an excellent college coach someday, and I really wanted to be the one who gave him a shot."

Kolb is a native of Kentucky, where he was a three-time state discus champion and two-time state champion in the shot put. He still holds the Kentucky Class A state discus record.

Kolb graduated from Louisville with a degree in exercise science and earned his master's degree in sport management from Washington State.

"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity as a young coach to work with such a talented group of athletes," said Kolb, who will be working with a group of throwers that has been Montana's strength over the past several seasons. "We have a strong mix of talented veteran throwers as well as some very promising newcomers. Griz track has a rich history in the throwing events, and I can't wait to become a part of that tradition."

The Montana track & field team began offseason training last month and will start its indoor season in January, with a schedule to be announced at a later date.

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Fraley beginning to solidify 1st track & field coaching staff

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