Track and Field | 7/20/2025 4:32:00 PM

Long-time Clinton Track and Field Head Coach Jonathan Perkins added another accolade to his resume on Tuesday, July 15.

Perkins was named as the 2025 Girls' High School Track and Field Coach of the Year for the state of Mississippi by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Clinton native is a four-time recipient of the 11th annual USTFCCCA state coach of the year award for girls' track, including 2014 (the inaugural year), 2022, and 2023.

"It's a culmination of the athletes and coaching staff working together to achieve great things," Perkins said about the award. "I want to say thank you to the athletes and the coaching staff that have worked together over a decade. This award is a team award more than an individual award, in my opinion."

One boys coach and one girls coach from 50 states -- as well as the District of Columbia -- were honored for their successes during the spring of 2025, as selected by a committee of experts from around the nation.

State-by-state winners were selected based on their teams' performances throughout the 2025 outdoor track & field season. Among the factors taken into consideration were team score and placement at the state championships, margin of victory, performance against rankings, if available, individual championships, and how their teams' performances stacked up to previous years (e.g. first title in school history, consecutive titles, etc.

Perkins' Lady Arrows' Track and Field team won their first-ever title in 2014 and have not relinquished the top of the podium since in Mississippi high school's highest classification, winning 12 consecutive titles. This year's Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 7A title exemplified the Lady Arrows' dominance, eclipsing second-place Ocean Springs High School by 77 points. The red and black amassed 150 team points, collected two individual state titles (Khamrin Harper -- 200m & Kaitlyn Jones 300m hurdles), and four team relay titles (4x100m relay (Karsen Goodwin, Camille Lewis, Ashley Hunter, and Khamrin Harper), 4x200m relay (Jade Evans, Kaitlyn Jones, Karsen Goodwin, and Khamrin Harper), 4x400m relay (Kamiah Mounger, Shekinah Jenkins, Noelani Chinn, and Khamrin Harper), and 4x800m relay (Shekinah Jenkins, Makenzie Speed, EC Fortenberry, and Olivia Lamier) during the MHSAA Class 7A State Meet.

The winners from each state are in consideration for the USTFCCCA National High School Track & Field Coach of the Year award. A panel of experts will select the respective winners and announce the national winners next week.