Lennox Graham

Lennox Graham: a Coach and a Mentor

Lennox Graham is entering his sixth season as the Tigers’ long sprints and hurdles coach.

In 2021-22, Graham coached the trio of Giano Roberts, Lafranz Campbell and Devon Brooks to Nationals appearances in both indoor and outdoor track. Each man earned second-team honors at indoors, while Roberts and Lafranz finished fourth and fifth respectively at outdoor championships to earn nods to the first team.

The 2020-21 season marks Lennox Graham’s fourth season as an assistant coach at Clemson after nearly a 10-year stint as the head coach of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Graham — who works closely with Tiger hurdlers, sprinters and relay teams — has developed a culture of excellence, as his athletes have combined for 21, top-10 program times between the indoor and outdoor seasons his first three years.

The 2019-20 season was one of notable success for Graham’s group, as Graham’s athletes accounted for the addition of three top-10 marks to Clemson’s record book. Graham oversaw the development of Devon Brooks and LaFranz Campbell as they became two of the top 60-meter hurdles in the NCAA during the season. Brooks and Campbell earned the No. 4 and No. 5 marks, respectively, in Clemson history for the 60-meter hurdles this season. Brooks, who was in his first season as a Tiger, opened the indoor campaign with a personal best of 8.03 seconds in the event before running 7.71 just two months later. In the longer events, Deonte Tolbert ran the program’s fourth-best time in the men’s 300 meters early in the season with his performance of 33.46 at the Clemson Orange & Purple Elite.

Brooks and Campbell, as a result of their excellent performances, qualified for the NCAA Div. I Indoor Championships in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, making Clemson one of just three schools to have multiple athletes scheduled to participate in the event at the meet.

Graham’s second season at the helm of the hurdlers and long sprints group was one of great success. Lakeisha Warner was a national qualifier for the Tigers’ in the 400mH, along with the 4x400m comprised of Kendra Clarke, Mallard, Andrea Foster and Kamryn McIntosh. Both relays garnered All-ACC accolades at the outdoor championships. Campbell recorded a second-place finish at the ACC indoor championships in the 60mH. Four top-10 marks were recorded by athletes under Graham’s direction in the men’s 110mH and the women’s 60mH, 100mH and 400mH.

In his first year, Graham guided the Tiger men’s 4x400m relay its 10th indoor conference title at the Clemson-hosted 2018 ACC Indoor Championships, where the Tigers achieved the fourth-fastest 4x400m time in program history. Then-seniors Jeffrey Green and Cordell Lamb, also members of Graham’s ACC champion 4x400m group, placed first and second, respectively, at the indoor conference championship meet. Graham then led the Tigers to one of their largest outings in program history at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships. In addition to the men’s 4x400m, then-senior Deron Gordon also represented the Tigers on the national stage. Gordon achieved Second Team All-America accolades in the 400mH after placing 16th overall. Gordon also turned in the program’s No. 6 time (as of June 9, 2019) in the 400mH with a time of 50.28 seconds, which he achieved at the 2018 East Prelims. Alongside the men’s 4x400m and Gordon, then-junior Markeeta Thomas and then-sophomore Lakeisha Warner represented the Tiger women in the 400mH at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, where Thomas earned Second Team All-America honors. Additionally, Graham guided Warner to runner-up and First Team All-ACC status in the 400mH at the outdoor conference championships.

The 1984 graduate of Alabama State University is also a nine-time CIAA Coach of the Year recipient. Graham guided the Johnson C. Smith women’s team to four NCAA Division II Championship top-5 team finishes in 2011 (outdoor), 2013-14 (outdoor) and 2014 (indoor). He has coached a combined 25 NCAA Division II national indoor/outdoor champions. While at Johnson C. Smith, Graham saw five NCAA Division II national records set by his student-athletes in the women’s 60-meter hurdles (2008-09), the women’s 200-meter dash (2013), 400-meter hurdles (2013) and the 4×100-meter relay (2013). Additionally, Graham has guided 164 All-Americans in indoor and outdoor track & field competition.

Outside of NCAA competition, Graham has coached in several international events including the 2018 Continental, 2016 Olympic Games, 2014 Commonwealth Games and three World Championships in Athletics. Graham coached hurdler Danielle Williams, who won both the 2015 World Championships and 2015 World University Games Championship in the 100mH. In the 2012 Olympics held in London, Graham guided Leford Green to a seventh-place finish in the 400mH. At the 2009 Pan-American Junior Championships, Graham coached the top-two finishers in the 100mH in Shermaine Williams and Rosemarie Carty.