Willie Perry joined North Carolina Central University’s coaching staff in the fall of 2017 as the part-time men’s and women’s sprinters coach.
Within his first indoor season with the Eagles, 90 percent of his sprinters achieved their personal-best times. During the 2018-19 season, he had six sprinters to qualify for the MEAC Indoor Championships.
During the 2017-18 outdoor season, The men’s 4x100-meter relay team placed third in the COA heat at Penn Relays with a time of 39.94 seconds, the school's fastest time in the last 16 years. He had 10 athletes to qualify for 2018 Outdoor MEAC Championships from the men's and women’s teams collectively. In the conference championships, the sprinters earned two silver medals and a multitude of top-10 finishers from the women’s 100m dash along with the women’s 200m to the men’s 200m and 400m dash. He had two athletes to qualify for NCAA Regionals, one ranking in the top-10 in the East Region covering the women’s 100m. Perry also had athletes qualify in the 200m, and 400m.
Perry has coached the school’s first female sprinter to the finals of the NCAA Division I East Regional Championships in the 100m dash. To cap off Perry’s outdoor season, he had one of his freshman men qualify for the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 200m and 400m dash in Bloomington, Indiana. His student-athlete finished seventh in the 200m dash and 12th in the 400m dash, deeming him all-American honors.
In the indoor season, Perry had nine athletes qualify for the Indoor MEAC Championships, ranging from the 60m to the 400m dash and two relays, coming back with a bronze medal in the women’s 4x400m and a handful of top-10 finishers.
In 2019 outdoor, Perry had nine athletes qualify for conference outdoor championships, finishing with a bronze medal in the women’s 4x100m relay and three athletes finishing within the top-9 in their final heats, ranging from the 100m and 200m to the men’s and women’s 400m. Perry ended his 2019 outdoor season by qualifying two athletes for the Division I East Regionals in the women’s 100m (11.28) and women’s 200m (23.40), along with a 46.28-second 400m dash from his sophomore male sprinter. His athletes finished in the top-25, covering 100-400m, all running career best.
In 2006, Willie was named the fastest teenager in the world with a time of 10.12 seconds in the 100m and 20.39 seconds in the 200m at the age of 19. At the 2006 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he went on to win the 100m and 200m dash in the juniors section. Although a teenager running in the junior section, Perry’s time in the 100m was good enough for third overall in the nation.
Perry attended University of Florida, where he studied psychology from 2005-09. He was awarded the Goodwill Gator Community Service Award as a freshman, at the time the only freshman to do so. As a standout student-athlete, Perry earned numerous All-American and All-SEC honors and represented Team USA. In addition to the track, Perry also earned All-Academic recognition and obtained the team GPA award in his early years at UF.
In 2009, Perry began his career as a professional track and field athlete for Saucony, where he was able to travel all around the world and continue his career as a professional sprinter.
