Georgia assistant track and field coach Tonya Lee will be one of five individuals named to the Lady Vol Hall of Fame tonight in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Mount Holly, N.J., native, competed for Tennessee’s track and field team from 1988-92. She will be honored at a dinner tonight before being recognized during Tennessee’s home football game with Auburn on Saturday night.

“This is truly a great honor,” said Lee, who was an Olympic Trials finalist in the 400-meter hurdles in 1996. “Tennessee and the Lady Vol Athletic Department have played a significant role in developing me into the woman I am today. My experiences as a student-athlete and the opportunities provided to me have guided me through my 15 years as a collegiate track and field coach. I am thankful and honored to be in a class with some of the greatest female athletes that have come through the University of Tennessee.”

After staying within the Tennessee program until 1996, Lee had coaching stints at Kent State (1996-99) and Penn State (1999-2002) before arriving at Georgia in 2002. She coaches the Lady Bulldog sprinters and hurdles.

Lee, who graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Tennessee in 1993, had one of the most prolific track and field collegiate careers in Lady Vol history. The four-time All-American set an American record (also an Southeastern Conference record) in the pentathlon (4,196 points) in 1991. Lee also set a new No. 1 mark in Tennessee’s record books in the indoor high jump (6 feet) before being named to three U.S. National teams.

At the conference level, Lee was a part of five SEC individual titles and one relay crown. She won back-to-back SEC titles in the pentathlon (1990-91), was the heptathlon champion in 1990 after taking runner-up honors in ’89 and sprinted her way to two straight championships in the 400 hurdles (1991-92). In 1992, Lee was a leg on Tennessee’s winning 4×400 relay at the 1992 SEC Indoor Championships.

Nationally, Lee finished second in the 400 hurdles at the 1991 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Her 4×400 relay team also grabbed third-place honors in the 4×400 relay at the 1992 NCAA meet.

- Georgia Sports Communications