Lacena Golding-Clarke - Staff Directory

Lacena Golding-Clarke

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Phone:
915-494-2998

Lacena Golding-Clarke joined the Middle Tennessee track and field staff in 2026 as an assistant coach working with the men’s and women’s sprints and hurdles.

Golding-Clarke came to Middle Tennessee after spending four seasons at Auburn, where she coached the women’s sprints and hurdles. During her time with the Tigers, she coached All-American Vimbayi Maisvorewa, who competed at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships while also breaking a 13-year-old Auburn indoor 400-meter school record.

Golding-Clarke also coached Deborah Oke, who established the Auburn freshman outdoor 400-meter record. Maisvorewa and Oke became two of the top five 400-meter performers in Auburn history and helped Auburn’s 4x400-meter relay post the second-fastest indoor time and fourth-fastest outdoor time in program history during the 2024 season.

Prior to Auburn, Golding-Clarke spent ten seasons as an assistant coach at UTEP, where she directed the Miners’ sprint and hurdle events. During her tenure, she coached 13 All-Americans, 32 NCAA regional qualifiers, 32 Conference USA individual champions and athletes who established eight school records. Her athletes also received end of year recognition, she has four conference athletes of the year award and a freshman of the year honor.
Golding-Clarke was named USTFCCCA Mountain Region Coach of the Year three times, earning the honor during both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2014 and again in 2017.

At UTEP, Golding-Clarke mentored Tobi Amusan to three consecutive All-America honors. Amusan captured the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 100-meter hurdles, breaking her own school record with a time of 12.57 while helping the Miners win the first women’s outdoor conference championship in program history.

As a freshman, Amusan finished second at the NCAA Championships and named Conference USA Track Athlete of the Year, C-USA Freshman of the Meet and C-USA High Point Scorer. She later competed at the IAAF U20 Championships and the 2016 Olympic Games and became the 2022 World Champion in the 100m Hurdles and World Record Holder.

Before joining UTEP, Golding-Clarke spent five years at the University of Texas at Austin, under the tutelage of Coach Beverley Kearney where she served as an assistant volunteer coach collaborating with the women’s jumps and hurdles.

She also spent seven years as a volunteer coach at Auburn from 1999-2006, assisting with the hurdles and multi-events. During that time, she helped guide the Auburn women to the program’s first NCAA team championship in 2006 and coached three SEC champions.
Golding-Clarke graduated from Auburn in 1999 after an outstanding collegiate career. As a Tiger, she was a six-time All-American and finished second in the long jump at the 1998 NCAA Championships. She was also a four-time SEC champion, set the Auburn school record in the women’s 55-meter hurdles and was the recipient of the SEC Women’s Commissioner’s Trophy in 1998.

Golding-Clarke represented Jamaica at three Olympic Games in 1996, 2000 and 2004, competing in the long jump and 100-meter hurdles. At the 2004 Olympic Games, she finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.73. Her personal best in the event was 12.65.
She competed professionally for 11 years and participated in six consecutive World Championships. Golding-Clarke won the 100-meter hurdles at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and earned a bronze medal at the 2004 World Athletics Final with a time of 12.69.