Jeff Chakouian has been named as an assistant coach with the UCF track & field program, head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert announced Monday. Chakouian has spent the previous three seasons at Illinois State University and will be responsible for working with the throwers at UCF.
“I am excited to announce this new addition to our staff,” said Smith Gilbert. “Jeff has strong experience as both a successful student-athlete and coach. We look forward to watching the student-athletes in our throwing program grow and succeed under Jeff’s tutelage.”
During his three-year tenure at Illinois State, Chakouian coached a pair of Missouri Valley Conference champions as well as 10 NCAA Division I Outdoor Regional participants and 13 all-conference performers.
“I am really excited to be here and to work for coach Caryl and work alongside coach Ty [Sanders],” said Chakouian. “I think there is a lot of potential here and they have done a great job already in building this program. I look forward to capitalizing on that potential and helping to take the program to the next level.”
Prior to his stint at Illinois State, Chakouian served as a volunteer assistant coach at both Kentucky and Brown. While at Kentucky in 2006, he helped coach one Southeastern Conference (SEC) champion and four all-conference standouts. Serving in the same position at Brown from Aug. 2005-March 2006, he coached one Ivy League champion and two all-conference performers.
Chakouian amassed an impressive resume of national and international competitive experience. A native of Seekonk, Mass., Chakouian was a six-time All-American in the shot put while a member of the track and field team at Kentucky. Chakouian, who received his undergraduate degree in education kinesiology and health promotions from Kentucky in May 2005, was a five-time SEC champion, an eight-time All-SEC selection in the shot put and was a team captain for three seasons.
Chakouian has competed in numerous international competitions in over a dozen countries. He finished fifth at the Junior World Championships (Santiago, Chile) in 2000 and first at the Junior Pan American Games (Sante Fe, Argentina) in 2001 while also being ranked No. 6 on the Jr. World Shot Put List.
A product of Seekonk High School, Chakouian was a junior national champion in both the shot put and discus in 2001 and was elected team captain of the USA versus Great Britain Junior World Tour. In 2006, Chakouian placed fifth at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships with the 17th-best throw in the world that year.