Dec. 19, 2006

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason men's track and field head coach Andrew Gerard announced today the hiring of Abigi Id-Deen as an assistant coach, raising the team's full-time staff to three members. Id-Deen will focus primarily on the sprints, jumps and hurdle events for the Patriots.

"The program will benefit greatly having someone of his enthusiasm and versatility," Gerard said. "Although he is young, he has already produced some great results at Richmond. Our athletes will benefit from working with him."

Id-Deen spent the past two years as a member of Richmond's track and field staff. In those two years, he guided his first recruiting class of sprinters at Richmond to nine school records.

In his first year he coached Ashley Bell to three Atlantic 10 Conference Championship titles in the long jump, triple jump and 200-meter dash. Her efforts earned her the conference's Outstanding Field Athlete Award at the indoor championships. In his second year at Richmond, he coached Jasmine Major to a pair of Atlantic 10 titles in the indoor 55-meter hurdles and the 100 hurdles. Major was named the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships' Most Outstanding Rookie and set a school record in the 100-meter dash.

He also coached freshman Jessica Young to the World Junior Championships and five school records in the 60, 200 and 400 indoors, and the 200 and 400 outdoors. Young was the first female sprinter in Richmond history to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 400 and outdoors she was the first female sprinter to qualify for NCAA Regionals in the 200 and 400.

Id-Deen coached Brett Walton to the 2005 Atlantic 10 Decathlon title, guided Joe Mallory to a school record in the triple jump and Adedayo Oladejo to the school record in the 300.

Before becoming a member of the Spiders' staff he served two years as a volunteer assistant under coach Willie Jones at Phoenix College (Ariz.). Id-Deen's primary responsibilities at Phoenix were the sprints, jumps and hurdles.

He also recently worked as a speed trainer, personal trainer and assistant coach for the Otown Sports Track and Field Club.

During the summer of 2003 and 2004, Id-Deen worked with the Cisco Soccer Club in Phoenix, Ariz. as its speed, conditioning and agility trainer. During those two seasons he was instrumental in developing two Arizona State Championship teams (U-13 and U-15) and a State Championship runner-up (U-14). He also attended the 2004 Nike Speed/Hurdle Coaches Clinic at the University of South Carolina.

In the 2001-02 seasons Id-Deen was an assistant at Dobson High School in Mesa, Ariz. (Class 5A - highest classification in Ariz.) and coached nine state qualifiers including both sprint relays. He looked over all jumpers and assisted with the sprints and relays while at Dobson, the third-largest school in Arizona.

Id-Deen competed in track and field at Central Arizona College from 1997-99 prior to transferring to Arizona State. He set a long jump personal best of 24-feet-6, ran the 200 meters in 21.30 and set a personal mark of 47.50 in the 400 meters.

A Level II USA Track & Field certified instructor, Id-Deen earned his bachelor's degree from Arizona State in 2002. The Staten Island, N.Y. native graduated from Shadow Mountain High School (Ariz.) in 1997 after a standout prep career in track and field and soccer.