Beth Harrell - Head Coach - Women's Swimming Coaches - University of North Florida Athletics

Beth Harrell

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
bharrell@unf.edu
Phone:
(904) 620-1420

Beth Harrell, the only swimming and diving coach in University of North Florida history, founded the swimming and diving program at North Florida in 2000 with just 10 swimmers and one diver and has since cultivated the program into a contender.

In her coaching career, Harrell has instructed six top 50 Academic All-American teams, including three teams since taking over the reins at UNF. Harrell has coached a pair of NCAA Women of the Year – Kerry Fraas (South Carolina) and Jessica Nixon (South Carolina). In addition, she has directed three NCAA All-Americans, including a pair of women’s swimmers and a male swimmer. Carlos Santander (NC State) was not only an All-American under Harrell, but advanced all the way to the Olympics under Harrell’s tutelage.

Harrell has had swimmers record 12 NCAA “B” cut times with five of those times coming at North Florida. Shawna Bothwell (2001-05) recorded “B” cut times in both the 200 freestyle and the 200 backstroke in her final season in 2005. Lyn Ann Nelson (2007-10) registered a “B” cut time in the 200 freestyle as a sophomore at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Meet in 2009. Nelson added a pair of “B” cut times in 2010 at the CCSA Championships in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle.

Harrell has coached 133 All-Conference swimmers and divers. She boasted six All Conference selections in the Southeastern Conference, 25 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, 23 in the National Independent Conference, 40 in the Southern States Conference, 12 in the Pacific Coast Swimming Conference and 27 in the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association.

For the swimming and diving team, 2011-12 was another record breaking year in the pool. North Florida broke six school records on its way to a fourth place finish at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championships. The Ospreys finished the 2012 CCSA’s with new records in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley and the 800 freestyle relay. Sara Evans claimed three school records (200 breaststroke – 2:18.69; 200 IM – 2:03.70; 400 IM – 4:24.69) en route to All-CCSA accolades. Bridget Woods broke the 100 breaststoke record (1:04.27) in her inaugural season under Harrell’s tutelage. The 800 freestyle relay team of Christine Kemp, Woods, Maria Bernard and Natalie McCallum posted a time of 7:33.18 to break the school record.

Out of the pool, the Ospreys continued to succeed in 2011-12. The UNF swimming and diving team achieved Scholar All American Status for the Spring 2012 semester as announced by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The swimming and diving team notched a 3.12 cumulative grade point averages during the Spring 2012 semester led by Katie England, Gala Poon and Monica Rice who each notched 4.0 GPAs. Fourteen (14) of the 16 member team posted a 3.0 GPA or higher.

During the 2010-11 season, the Ospreys continued their record-breaking ways, taking down four records at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championships. Sprinter Kimberly Kuehl set the school record in the 50 freestyle, posting a time of 23.83. Sara Evans set three school records on the year in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.75), 200 individual medley (2:04.45) and 400 individual medley (4:28.63).

The UNF swimming and diving team finished the 2009-10 season with a 9-5 record in dual meets on the year. The UNF swimming and diving team concluded competition at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association in fourth place. During the three-day meet, the Ospreys set 10 school records, registered two NCAA B-cut times and had two coaches named Coach of the Year. Harrell was named CCSA Swimming Coach of the Year, while UNF assistant Melisa Hyams earned Diving Coach of the Year accolades. The Ospreys had five athletes earn individual All-Conference honors for their performances in the conference meet. In addition, North Florida picked up 10 swimming and diving Performer of the Week accolades throughout the season.

The UNF swimming and diving team outdid itself once again in 2008-09. The Ospreys broke 12 school records at the CCSA Championships. Nelson led UNF at the conference championships with new individual records in the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. She teamed up with Emily Shaw, Taylor Crosby and Caroline Poling to set a school record in the 400 medley relay. The 400 medley relay team finished third in the final and earned all-conference honors. Nelson teamed up with Megan Boudreau, Sara Taylor and Patricia Lanoue to set a new record in the 800 freestyle relay. Nelson’s time in the 200 freestyle helped her qualify for the NCAA “B” cut, and her 200 freestyle time also met the 2009 U.S. Open time standard. Lanoue added to Nelson’s four All-Conference honors with her own All-Conference performance in the 200 butterfly, finishing second in the event and breaking a UNF record in the process. Crosby capped off her strong debut with two new school records at the CCSA Championships. Kelly (Gillis) Park set another school record at the conference championships in the 400 individual medley. In addition to the team’s success in the pool, the Ospreys also got it done in the classroom under Harrell, being named to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Academic All-America team with a 3.09 team GPA.

UNF continued to rewrite the record books in 2007-08 as it began a new journey in the CCSA. The Ospreys set three new school records at the season-ending CCSA Championships, led by Poling, who set new plateaus in the 200 butterfly and 100 butterfly. Lanoue also out swam the previous record in the 200 butterfly and finished second in the final event to earn All-Conference honors. Nelson, who had set a new record in the 1,000 freestyle earlier in the season against New Orleans, broke the 500 freestyle record at the meet. She also placed first in the 200 freestyle on her way to earning First-Team All-Conference honors.

Harrell’s UNF teams made a big splash on the scene early, winning the 2002-03 and 2003-04 Southern States Conference meets. That helped Harrell earn SSC Women’s Coach of the Year honors following both seasons.

Harrell led her squad to the National Independent Conference Meet following that, bringing home a second-place finish at the meet in 2004-05. During that event, the Ospreys broke 14 different swimming and diving records and earned swimmer and diver of the meet.

Harrell, who came to UNF from the University of South Carolina, served as the Gamecocks’ head coach from 1995 until 2000. Her coaching achievements at USC included national top 25 finishes her last two years in the program and top 50 finishes prior to that. While at South Carolina, her teams excelled athletically as well as demonstrated dedication in the classroom and the community.

Prior to South Carolina, she was the interim head coach and assistant coach at NC State (1994-95) for both the men’s and women’s swim programs, as well as head coach of the Piedmont Aquatic Club (1992-94), which she founded. It was the first year-around age group swimming and diving program in the Triad area of North Carolina in decades.

Harrell earned her bachelor of arts in sociology from NC State, where she earned All-America honors in 26 events, leading the Wolfpack to a 36-4 record in her four years. She remains the record holder in the 100 butterfly at NC State, a record she set in 1979.

Harrell held the master’s swimming world record in the 50 and 100 meter butterfly. She was also a winner at the World Champion Masters Swimming meet in the 50 and 100 meter butterfly in 1992, and a former Olympic Trials Finalist in 1976. She was ranked in the top eight in the swimming World Rankings from 1976-79 and participated in the World University Games, held in Sophia, Bulgaria, in 1977 as a freshman. She also swam on the U.S. Team that competed in Russia in 1977.

At one time, Harrell was the American Record holder in the 200 freestyle relay and 50 butterfly. She is a member of the 50th Anniversary All-ACC Team and currently holds the 81st ranking on the list of the top 100 times ever swam in the 100 butterfly.