Hall of Fame
Back To Hall of Fame
Back To Hall of Fame
Diane Wright competed for the Southern Connecticut State University women’s track & field team in the javelin, before advancing to a manager position for Owls Hall of Fame coaches Jim Barber and Wilton Wright. She was instrumental in the day-to-day operation of the program as an undergraduate and also helped facilitate the New Haven Age Group Track and Adult Fitness Club as a Youth Athletics Coach.
Wright graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, a master’s degree in Urban Studies and certification in Early Childhood Education. She went on to become a physical education instructor at Richard C. Lee High School, Prince/Welch Annex Elementary and John C. Daniels Schools in New Haven, Conn.
In 1978, she was named the first female coach for a male sport in the State of Connecticut when she led the R.C. Lee Boy’s Track and Field team. In 1984, she became the cross country head coach at Sacred Heart Academy, where she also started the track and field program in 1986. Her most notable contributions to the sport came in 1983 when she became a USA Track & Field official.
Her experience at the youth, high school and collegiate levels led to national and international officiating opportunities that included the 1996 Olympic Games, the USA Olympic Track and Field Trials, Special Olympic World Games, multiple NCAA Championships as well as the Junior Olympics National Championship, Masters National Championship, Senior National Championships and the World Cerebral Palsy Games.
Wright has also held positions with the State of Connecticut Physical Education Curriculum Committee, the Connecticut High Schools Girls Cross Country Committee and the New Haven Public Schools Elementary Physical Education Curriculum Committee. She was previously honored as the CTAHPERD Elementary Teacher of the Year, the CTAHPERD Outstanding Program Award, the CTAHPERD Service Award and the New Alliance Bank’s Teacher Excellence Award.
Back To Hall of Fame
