2025 USTFCCCA High School Track & Field National Coaches of the Year Presented by The Marines

Vestavia Hills (Ala.)’s boys said, “We’re back.”

Collierville (Tenn.)’s girls said, “We never left.”

The verbiage didn’t matter as much as the statement both of those programs made throughout the season, especially at their state championship meets. And because of that success, their respective coaches – Richard Anderson and Alisa Seymour – were named the USTFCCCA National High School Track & Field Coaches of the Year Presented by the United States Marine Corps. Anderson and Seymour will be feted in December at the annual USTFCCCA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.

Anderson’s Rebels had to beat their rival Hoover to win their first state crown since 2021. That would be no small feat, as the Buccaneers won six of the past seven titles dating back to 2017, including three in a row from 2022 to 2024.

Vestavia Hills used a team effort to spoil Hoover’s dreams at a four-peat. The Rebels qualified at least one athlete for every event at the state meet, except one. Vestavia Hills scored in 11 of those events – multiple top-eight finishers in seven – and amassed 109 points, 16 more than eventual runner-up Hoover. The Rebels topped the podium in three of those events: 200 meters, 4×100 relay, as well as the long jump, where they went 1-2 with Jack Stubbs and Nate Bradshaw.

Seymour’s Dragons annihilated the competition for the second year in a row.

Collierville set a Class AAA record for most points scored at the championship meet last year with its winning total of 131 points. The Dragons obliterated that mark in 2025 with 155 points, 24 more than the previous year and 12 points fewer than the overall state record of 167 from 1999.

Khari Webb and Ehi Aigbomian set an early tone for Collierville when they went 1-3 in the pentathlon held one week earlier. That led to near unprecedented dominance the next week where the Dragons won six more event titles – three more by Webb herself. Webb reigned in the 100-meter hurdles 300-meter hurdles, and high jump. Other winners included Ava Williams in the pole vault and 4×200 and 4×400 relay crowns. The 4×200 relay squad set a meet record of 1:37.66, narrowly missing its own state record of 1:37.35 set in sectionals.

Anderson is the second coach from Alabama to earn this award, joining former rival Devon Hind of Hoover in 2020, while Seymour is the first coach from Tennessee. All told, coaches from 24 states and the District of Columbia now have been honored on a national level by the USTFCCCA.

About the United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is proud to recognize the role of coaches, educators, mentors, and parents who inspire the fighting spirit found in current Marines and the future leaders of our force. Whether your interest lies in helping us identify high-achieving students and athletes or inviting us to help you motivate students and steer them toward success, we would like to get to know you. As you hear more about our purpose, you’ll find that becoming a Marine is a noble path and demanding journey reserved for those with the willingness to engage and determination to defeat all mental, moral, and physical requirements. In or out of uniform, it’s the fighting spirit found inside every Marine that drives them to victory.

To learn more about the United States Marine Corps, click here.