Track and Field Coaching Staff

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Clendon Henderson

Assistant Coach

College: Liberty ('08)
Start Date: 8/1/2008
Email: clhenderson@liberty.edu

Clendon Henderson begins his second year on the Liberty track & field staff as an assistant coach, after becoming the second Flames track & field athlete ever to become both an All-American and an Academic All-American. The other double honoree, Heather Zealand, is also a part of the current Liberty track & field coaching staff.

Henderson, who works primarily with Liberty's throwers, helped guide John Talbert to the 2009 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the discus. Talbert was one of only two true freshmen to throw the discus at the national meet.

Henderson earned an All-American certificate during his final college meet, the 2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. The senior recorded a third-place finish in the discus final, becoming the first thrower in Liberty history to win All-America recognition.

During his senior season of indoor track & field, Henderson qualified for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, placing 14th in the shot put. He ended his career with three Liberty and Big South records, including indoor shot put (61-10.5), outdoor shot put (61-3) and discus (204-3).

Henderson, who graduated with a 3.72 grade-point average in kinesiology in May 2008, garnered many academic awards, headlined by a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America notation. He was additionally a two-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic team member and won two Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. Henderson was also presented with the inaugural Dr. Jerry Falwell Leadership award.

At Meadow High School, also the alma mater of Liberty associate head track & field coach Lance Bingham, Henderson starred in both track & field and six-man football. He then began his collegiate career under Bingham's tutelage at South Plains College. As a sophomore at South Plains in 2005, Henderson was a junior college All-American, after placing second in the discus at the NJCAA national meet.

Henderson married Coach Brant Tolsma's daughter Brenda in June 2007, and the couple resides in the Lynchburg area. He is still training, with the aim of competing in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. Last year, Henderson placed fifth in the discus at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.