Yvonne Wade was hired as the fourth head coach in UNLV Track & Field program history in July 2007. Given the task of turning the Rebel program around, Wade - in her first head coaching position - made it a priority to recruit student-athletes that were committed to striving for excellence both academically and athletically.
"UNLV has so much to offer its student-athletes. We have an incredible coaching staff that has so much coaching knowledge and competitive experience. We care about our student-athletes both on and off the track and we aspire for greatness in everything we do. Our goal is always to become Mountain West Champions, become ranked nationally and to graduate all of our athletes."
Wade has elevated the Rebel indoor and outdoor programs over the past five years, with a pair of MW Indoor Championships in 2018 and 2020 as well as runner-up indoor finishes in 2017 and 2019 to go along with four top-three showings in outdoor competition – runner-up in 2018 and third in 2017, 2019 and 2021. (NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MW did not hold 2020 Outdoor or 2021 Indoor Championships.)
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As a result of the Scarlet & Gray’s success, Wade has been named the MW’s Indoor Coach of the Year three times – 2017, 2018 and 2020.
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In 2020, Wade guided the Rebels to their second indoor conference title in program history with a staggering 161-point performance, besting second-place San Diego State (126.5) by 34.5 points. UNLV was paced by Cassondra Hall who was named the Female Outstanding Performer of the Meet after she chipped in 20 points individually with wins in the both the 60m and 200m, and helped amass another eight points with the 4x400m relay’s runner-up effort. Overall, the team posted 18 top-eight scoring performances, which included 15 podium finishes, and resulted in 11 individuals and one relay squad named to the All-MW Indoor Team.
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Unfortunately, the 2020 outdoor season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In 2019, the Rebels took second at the MW Indoor Championships behind wins from Destiny Smith-Barnett and Avi’Tal Wilson-Perteete in the 60m and 800m, respectively. The squad made a 90-point jump in the standings on day three, moving from sixth to second. UNLV had 22 top-eight showings with nine of those resulting in podium finishes, and six individuals and one relay squad named to the All-MW Indoor Team.
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Additionally, Smith-Barnett took fourth in the 60m at the NCAA Indoor Championships, running a time of 7.19 to earn USTFCCCA First Team All-America honors.
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At the 2019 MW Outdoor Championships, the Rebels finished third with help from 19 top-eight performances. Wilson-Perteete notched the only win (800m) for UNLV, while teammate Jasmyne Graham was a key performer, scoring 19 points individually in the 100m hurdles (second place), long jump (third) and 400m hurdles (fourth), and five more as a member of the 4x100m relay (fourth). The squad placed six on the All-MW Outdoor Team.
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Wilson-Perteete and Graham continued their outdoor campaigns into NCAA competition (West Preliminary and Championships). Both individuals earned All-America recognition, with Wilson-Perteete claiming USTFCCCA First Team honors with a third-place finish in the 800m, and Graham’s 14th-place showing in the 100m hurdles garnered Second Team recognition.
In 2018, the Scarlet & Gray claimed the indoor title with a 14-point advantage over Colorado State – a squad UNLV trailed by 3.5 points in 2017. In all, the Rebels posted 16 top-eight finishes, which included wins in the 400m (Najia Hudspeth) and 4x400m relay. By virtue of their top-three showings, seven individuals and the relay squad were named to the All-MW Indoor Team.
The Rebels carried over their success into the 2018 outdoor campaign with a second-place finish at the MW Championships. The team won the 800m (Wilson-Perteete) and 100m hurdles (Graham), and had 18 of its own in the top eight of their respective events. Six individuals as well as the 4x100m and 4x400m relays earned spots on the All-MW Outdoor Team.
Additionally, Wade mentored Wilson-Perteete to USTFCCCA Second Team All-America status in both the indoor and outdoor competition, as the freshman posted the second-fastest 800m time clocked by an NCAA student-athlete in 2018. Moreover, Wilson-Perteete finished third overall at the US Junior Outdoor Championships.
In 2017, the Rebels took second at the MW Indoor Championships – the program’s best showing since the conference’s inaugural meet in 2000. The team scored 99 points with its 16 top-eight finishes, and victories in the 60m hurdles (Taylor Pegram) and long jump (Ayana Gales). Seven Rebels and the 4x400m relay were tabbed to the All-MW Indoor Team.
The team tied its best placement at MW Outdoor Championships with a third-place finish – tying the 2012 edition. Kaysee Pilgrim claimed the high jump title with a UNLV-best and MW-best mark of 6-2.75 (1.90m), and was one of six individuals to earn All-MW status.
After she claimed USTFCCCA First Team All-America recognition following a third-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Pilgrim finished seventh overall at the USATF Outdoor Championships.
Smith-Barnett also claimed All-America status for the Rebels in 2017, as she was a Second Team performer in the 60m and 100m at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, respectively.
In her first season at the helm of the UNLV program, Wade helped mentor a 4x100m relay team that qualified for the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She followed that by coaching a pair of individuals to the 2009 NCAA Outdoors in the 200m and 100m hurdles.
In 2012, Wade led the Rebels to a third-place showing in the MW - the program's highest finish since the program was second overall in 2000. That squad was led by three individual champions (Amanda Bingson - hammer throw; Kelsey Williamson - 800m and Christine Lowe - 400m hurdles) and one relay titlist (4x400m).
Later that year, Bingson - a three-time MW hammer throw champion - went on to qualify third at the 2012 US Nationals and earned a spot on the US Olympic Team that competed at the London Olympics.
In 2013, after a second place showing at the MW Outdoor Championships (44.54) the Rebels' 4x100m relay team made another appearance to the NCAA Preliminary Championships and then qualified for the NCAA Championships and, in turn, earned USTFCCCA All-America Second Team status. Sprinter Emily Blok led the Rebels that year earning All-MW Honors in the 100m (11.32) and the 200m (23.25) and a trip to the NCAA West Preliminary in both events and as a member of the relay. Blok went on to qualify for the NCAA finals in the 200m.
Since her inaugural year leading the UNLV track & field program, Wade and her coaching staff have overseen a total of 128 individual (63 indoor and 65 outdoor) and 28 relays (indoor: nine 4x400m relay and one Distance Medley Relay; outdoor: 11 4x100m relay and seven 4x400m relay) earned all-conference team recognition. Delving deeper, the indoor and outdoor accolades were compiled by 34 and 37 individuals, respectively. The most decorated Rebel was Blok, who recorded All-MW status 10 times (six outdoor and four indoor) and was a member of nine relays that garnered all-conference recognition.
She has sent 44 individuals (96 times) and two relay teams (12) to NCAA Outdoor Preliminary meets. Fourteen of those individuals (20 times) and two relays (six) advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Bingson and Chelsea Cassulo both earned USTFCCCA All-America First Team status for the hammer throw in 2011, while the former duplicated the feat a year later in 2012. Pilgrim was a First Team performer in 2017; one year after she was on the Second Team. Wilson-Perteete earned First Team honors in 2019 after she was Second Team in 2018. Additionally, Jasmyne Graham (2019/100m hurdles), Smith-Barnett (2017/100m), Brett Zorich (2012/800m) and the 2013 and 2017 4x100m relays took home Second Team honors.
Eleven indoor events in UNLV's record book have been reset under Wade's tenure: 60m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 3000m, 5000m, 60m hurdles, Distance Medley Relay, High Jump, Weight Throw and Pentathlon.
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In outdoor competition, the hammer throw and high jump were broken numerous times by Bingson and Pilgrim, respectively, while the Steeplechase, 100m hurdles, 4x100m relay, 4x800m relay, Distance Medley Relay, Pole Vault and Shot Put have been upgraded, as well.
In addition to the success on the track, Wade takes great pride in the accomplishments her Rebels have achieved in the classroom. Her student-athletes have earned 168 Spring Academic All-MW honors and 73 MW Scholar-Athlete Award recipients. More impressively, the squad has been named to the USTFCCCA's Division I All-Academic Track & Field Team eight times; most recently, in 2020.
Before Wade entered the world of collegiate coaching, she was a member of the Japanese National Team from 1996-2004. Born in Tokyo, to a Japanese mother and a Jamaican father, she was able to represent her birth country in back-to-back Summer Olympics in 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney, Australia). At the 2000 Summer Games, she reached the semifinals of the 100m hurdles.
In all, she was an eight-time Japanese national champion, winning the 100m hurdles six consecutive years (1995-2000) and then twice more in 2002 and '03. Wade also competed in several IAAF World Championships and was the Asian Champion in 2002, which allowed her the opportunity to compete in the World Cup in Paris. She still holds the distinction of being the Japanese national record holder in both the 60m and 100m hurdles.
As a student-athlete at the University of Colorado, she earned All-American honors in 1996 and was a three-time Big Eight Conference outdoor champion in the 100m hurdles. In 1996, she set the school record in the 100m hurdles (12.98) en route to becoming an NCAA All-American. That same year, she recorded the second-fastest 100m time (11.68) in CU history. Wade (formerly Scott) was a member of the Buffaloes' 1996 Big Eight Championship team that broke Nebraska's 16-year winning streak.
In 2014, Wade was inducted to Colorado's Athletics Hall of Fame.
Before moving to Las Vegas, Wade spent six years as an assistant coach at Sacramento State and Long Beach State. While at LBSU, she coached standout sprinter Brent Gay to numerous school records (indoor 60m:6.90, indoor 200m:21.14, outdoor 100m: 10.24; outdoor 200m: 20.51) and a Big West Conference Championship and NCAA All-American status in 2007. Wade also help coach LBSU to its first Big West Conference Men's Title in almost a decade which included Big West Athlete of the Year Award for Gray and Big West Freshman Athlete of the Year Alex Goldberg (400m). On the women's side, Wade captured another school record in the 4x100 relay (44.86) and sent this squad to a NCAA appearance.
Wade earned her bachelor's degree in sociology with a minor in ethnic studies from Colorado in 1996. She then returned to the classroom some years later to earn her master's degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports administration from UNLV in 2010. In 2011, Wade was awarded the Nell C. Jackson Award for outstanding contributions towards women and girls in sport. In 2015, she was selected to the UNLV Provost's Leadership Academy.
She is married to Larry Wade, a former elite hurdler and member of both Texas A&M's and Big 12 Conference's respective Halls of Fame. Larry joined UNLV's track & field coaching staff in 2013. They have two sons Jordan and Brandon.
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