The Eastern Illinois Panthers track and field program represents Eastern Illinois University in the sport of

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) and the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cham ...

(OVC). The Panthers host their home indoor meets in the Lantz Field House and their home outdoor meets at O'Brien Field, both located on the university's campus. The Panthers track teams are currently led by head coach Keith Roberts.

History

The Eastern Illinois men's track and field team was organized in 1912 and got its first official coach in 1933 in Winfield Angus. Before 1933, coaching duties were assumed by a male faculty member; the Panthers women's team was formed in 1974–75. Eastern Illinois joined the

(OVC) in 1996, and the Panthers track team began to compete in the OVC in the winter of 1996. Historically, the Panthers have been a force in the OVC, and have won a total of 51 conference team championships since 1996-97. The Panthers men have won seventeen OVC outdoor championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021), and nineteen indoor championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2023). The Panthers women have won eight OVC outdoor championships (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017), and seven indoor championships (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017).

NCAA individual event champions

Individual Champions: *1955: Ray White, NAIA Long Jump *1967: John Craft, NAIA Triple Jump *1969: John Craft, NCAA College Division Triple Jump *1972: Rodney Jackson, NCAA College Division 400 hurdles *1973: Rodney Jackson, NCAA College Division 400 hurdles *1974: Darrell Brown, NCAA Division II Long Jump *1975: Toni Ababio, NCAA Division II Long Jump *1975: Toni Ababio, NCAA Division II Triple Jump *1976: Ed Hatch, NCAA Division II 400 Meter Dash *1979: Robert Johnson, NCAA Division II 110 hurdles *1981: Augustine Oruwari, NCAA Division II 110 hurdles *1988: Jim Maton, NCAA Division I 800 meter run (Indoor) *1992: Dan Steele, NCAA Division I 400 hurdles Group Champions: *1981: 4x400 Relay, Women’s Track & Field AIAW II

Eastern Illinois Olympic medalists

Dan Steele Dan Steele (born March 20, 1969) is an American bobsledder and track and field athlete who competed from the early 1990s to 2002. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the four-man event at Salt Lake City in 2002. He was re ...

, Bronze Medalist at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

Retired Jersey

Notable former athletes

Track

John Craft John Melvin Craft (born March 24, 1947, in Laurel, Mississippi) is an American former triple jumper who placed 5th in the Men's triple jump at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He attended Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a ...

, placed 5th in the Men’s triple jump at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Sandy Osei-Agyemang Sandy Osei-Agyemang (born 19 July 1949) is a Ghanaian former sprinter who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: Münch ...

, advanced to the second round in the Men's 100 metres and Men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the

, track All-American, 400-meter National Champion, and Bronze Medalist at the

Darrin Steele Darrin Steele (born March 20, 1969) is an American bobsledder. He competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics. A native of Sherrard, Illinois, Steele graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in economics. S ...

, competed at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

and the

References

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