For the first time since being started in 1982 the Eastern Illinois Athletic Department inducted teams into its Athletic Hall of Fame.  The first team induction took place for the Class of 2024 as nine historic teams were the first to be inducted during the 2024 EIU Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, September 27 at Groniger Arena.

 

The teams inducted include the Panthers six national championship teams along with three AIAW era women’s teams that each advanced deep into their respective national tournaments.   Listed below is quick information on each of the teams that were inducted including the 1968 Men’s Cross Country, 1969 Men’s Cross Country, 1969 Men’s Soccer, 1974 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field, 1977 Men’s Cross Country, 1978 Football, 1980 Volleyball, 1981 Women’s Basketball and 1982 Softball teams.

 

1968 Men’s Cross Country

Under legendary coach Maynard “Pat” O’Brien, Eastern Illinois won its first national championship of any kind as the Panthers claimed the NCAA College Division National Championship held in Wheaton, Ill.  The Panthers scored 99 points to win the championship by 31 points over runner-up Minnesota State Mankota.  MIT was the third place finisher followed by Western Illinois and UC Davis.  The Panthers top finisher was Larry Mayse who finished in 7th place with a time of 25:37.

1969 Men’s Cross Country

The Panthers successfully defended their 1968 National Championship in 1969 as O’Brien again coached EIU to a dominating defense.  The Panthers scored 84 points to out-distance runner-up Eastern Michigan by 62 points.  Cal State Chico was third followed by Illinois State and Humboldt State.  The championship again held in Wheaton, Ill., featured top performances by Marty McIntire (3rd overall) and Dike Stirrett (4th overall).

1969 Men’s Soccer

It what proved to be a banner year for men’s sports at EIU, the Panthers soccer team under the guidance of head coach Fritz Teller captured the NAIA National Championship ending the year with a 13-2-1 record.  EIU ended the season with four consecutive shutouts including a 1-0 win over Davis and Elkins in the National Championship match.  Freshman Gerardo Pagnani scored the only goal in the championship knocking home the national championship winner in the waning minutes of overtime.

1974 Men’s Outdoor Track

Holding serve on its home track, Eastern Illinois won its fourth school national championship as the Panthers won NCAA College Division National Championship at Lincoln Stadium (now O’Brien Stadium) in Charleston.  The Panthers scored 51 points to edge Norfolk State and Cal Poly in the team standings.  The team was coached by Maynard “Pat” O’Brien giving him his third national championship at EIU.  Darrell Brown was the only EIU athlete to place first at the national meet winning the long jump with a leap of 25’07.25″ feet.

1977 Men’s Cross Country

Under head coach Dr. Tom Woodall, EIU returned to the national championship stage in cross country winning the title by one of the largest margins in NCAA history.  EIU scored just 32 points as four runners placed in the Top 14 lead by Joe Sheeran in second place and Casey Reinking in fifth.  The Panthers nearest challenger was South Dakota State with 151 points, a 119 point difference.  Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Minnesota State Mankota were tied for third.

1978 Football

A Cinderella story if there ever was one… The EIU football thought to be on its death bed and fighting not be eliminated as an intercollegiate sport made its first foray into the NCAA playoffs it’s most memorable.  Under first year head coach Darrell Mudra, EIU went from a 1-10 program in 1977 to a 12-2 team in 1978.  Poke Cobb rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and Delaware kicker Brandt Kennedy missed a 45-yard field goal with nine seconds left as EIU won 10-9.  The defense held the Blue Hens vaunted Wing-T offense to only 155 yards rushing while linebacker Ray Jeske made 21 tackles in the game.

1980 Volleyball

The EIU volleyball team made the Panthers first splash on the national stage as a women’s team when they posted a school record 43 wins advancing to the AIAW Division II National Tournament.  Under second year head coach Lynette Nevins, the Panthers received an at-large berth at the Midwest AIAW Tournament and then locked up an at-large bid to the National Tournament.  The team would go 1-2 in pool play with a win over College of Charleston before loses to Central Florida and eventual national runner-up Hawai’i Hilo.  The program would transition to the NCAA Division I level two seasons later winning 36 matches in their inaugural NCAA season.

1981 Women’s Basketball

The EIU women’s basketball program caught fire in the latter part of the 1981 season as they won 18 of 19 games including capturing the Illinois AIAW Tournament Championship as they earned an at-large berth to the AIAW National Tournament.  The Panthers won three straight games to win the IAIAW Championship and then placed second at the Midwest AIAW Regional.  Earning an at-large tournament berth, EIU beat Colorado College in the opening round of the tournament 77-69 before losing to William Penn in the Elite Eight round.  EIU finished the season with 25-8 overall record under the direction of head coach Barbara Hilke.

1982 Softball

In the final year of AIAW membership the EIU softball team made the deepest national tournament run by a Panthers women’s team as they posted a school record 45 wins as they finished third in the nation.  Head coach Deanna D’Abbraccio led the team through the loser bracket which included a 21-inning win over Portland State to get the consolation bracket final.  EIU would lose that game bringing home the 3rd place national finish.  At the World Series EIU picked up an opening round win over Central State before losing to eventual national champion Northern Iowa.  EIU added elimination game wins over Ithaca College, Nicholls, Nevada and Portland State before being eliminated by SIUE.

 

2024-25 Year In Review

No. 14 – EIU Hires Five New Head Coaches

No. 13 – EIU Beach Volleyball Wins First-Ever OVC Tournament Match 

No. 12 – Baseball Wins Longest Game In OVC History

No. 11 – Cooper Willman Sets EIU Single Game Receiving Record

[SINGAPORE] Not long after sundown on Thursday (Jul 10), President Tharman Shanmugaratnam declared the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore open, kickstarting 24 days of action that will, in all likelihood, see some record-breaking feats in the pool.

At the opening ceremony held at the Esplanade’s Singtel Waterfront Theatre, he spoke of how the world of aquatics has seen “remarkable advances” in recent years, as records that were long unbroken – and even regarded as unbreakable in some instances – have been surpassed.

The 22nd World Aquatics Championships is also an opportunity to celebrate the “quiet but profound” way in which sport can unite people, even as we root for different teams.

“In a world increasingly divided, sport reminds us that we can strive together even as we compete, that we can demonstrate our common humanity,” said President Tharman.

Among the 500-plus guests in attendance were World Aquatics president and former Kuwaiti national swimmer Husain Al-Musallam, several Singapore ministers, and some of the athletes from all over the world.

The championships began on Friday morning with water polo and will finish with the final swimming and diving events on Aug 3.

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Here are six things to know about the World Aquatics Championships:

A first for South-east Asia

Singapore is the first country in South-east Asia to host this championships, which is considered the second most prestigious aquatics event after the Olympic Games.

It was back in February 2023 when it was announced that the Republic would stage the 2025 edition, taking over from Kazan, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Three competition venues

Swimming and artistic swimming events will take place at the new 4,800-seater WCH Arena, which was built earlier this year on a former open-air car park next to the Leisure Park Kallang mall, a short walk from the National Stadium.

The other two competition venues are the OCBC Aquatics Centre, where diving and water polo will take place; and Palawan Green in Sentosa, where spectators can catch the open water and high diving events.

Record participation

There will be over 2,500 athletes from 206 countries and territories competing across a record 77 medal events in six aquatics disciplines: swimming, artistic swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, and water polo.

In a speech at the opening ceremony on Thursday, Husain also revealed that, for the first time, there will be more female swimmers than males at the global meet.

Singapore is fielding a total of 72 athletes, its largest contingent to date. The group includes 32 athletes who are making their debut at the championships. 

Plenty of stars

It is a star-studded affair in Singapore, with Paris 2024 gold medal winners Leon Marchand, Summer McIntosh, Katie Ledecky, Thomas Ceccon and Kaylee McKeown all set to race in the pool.

Keep a lookout for Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky, the current world and Olympic champion in the men’s 10 km open water swimming. For the women, Australia’s Moesha Johnson is one to watch. She won a silver in the 10 km open swim in Paris and is one of the favourites to claim her first individual world title in Singapore.

In diving, China made a clean sweep of all the gold medals at the Paris Games and at last year’s world championships. If all goes according to plan, the likes of women’s four-time 3-metre springboard world champion Yani Chang and the men’s 10-m champion Hao Yang will take gold in Singapore too.

In artistic swimming, Olympic champions China will probably dominate the team competitions once again. For the men’s solo and mixed duet categories, check out the teams from the US, Japan, Ukraine and Spain who are all expected to do well.

Emergence of more swimming medallists

At the last championships held in Doha last year, 29 countries won swimming medals, which was the deepest medal table in the event’s history. World Aquatics executive director Brent Nowicki is expecting to see that number surpassed in Singapore.

“The sport is really at that point where general dominance of individuals or countries is dissipating,” the American said at a press conference on Thursday. 

“We are seeing more rising stars. Will we see more than 30 world records? I don’t know. Will we see more than 29 medallist countries? Yeah, maybe that’s what I expect. If we can pull that off, that would be a real testament to the growth of our sport.”

In Doha last year, the US won eight gold medals out of 20 overall in swimming, while China was second with seven golds from 11 medals.

More prize money

The Singapore edition will see athletes competing for a slice of a record prize money pool of more than US$6 million, with an additional US$30,000 world-record bonus in swimming. Last year in Doha, the total amount awarded was US$5.6 million.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit the official website for details

T&F7/11/2025 10:59 AM | By: Cal Athletics

15 Women, 14 Men Earn Outdoor Track & Field Honors

Twenty-nine members of the California track & field team were named to the 2025 All-ACC Academic Team, the conference announced Friday.
 
To be eligible for consideration, athletes must have earned a 3.00 GPA for the immediately preceding semester, maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher and have participated in either the ACC Indoor Championships or NCAA Championships.
 
 
California Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Leah Anderson             Jr.               Legal Studies
Torre Anderson            Jr.               Sociology
Asjah Atkinson             Sr.              Cognitive Science
Adrianna Coleman       So.             Legal Studies
Yuki Hamachi              Sr.              Global Studies
Jayden Hill                   Sr.              Legal Studies
Audrey Jacobs              Jr.               Molecular & Cell Biology
Caisa-Marie Lindfors    Gr.              M.A. – Cultural Studies of Sport in Education
Georgia McCorkle        Jr.               Environmental Sciences
Giavonna Meeks          Jr.               Interdisciplinary Studies
Jade Neser                   Gr.              Grad Certificate – Business Entrepreneurship
Amanda Spear             Gr.              Grad Certificate – Business Administration & Entrepreneurship
Mari Testa                    So.             Media Studies
Amelia Wardle-Stacey So.             Mechanical Engineering
 
California Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
Mykolas Alekna            Sr.              Psychology
Kai Barham                  Fr.              Undeclared
Jeremiah Bolaños        So.             Undeclared
Kai Burich                    Jr.               Interdisciplinary Studies
Caden Carney              Jr.               Economics
Charlie Dang                Sr.              Psychology
Johnny Goode              Jr.               Sociology
Garrett MacQuiddy      Gr.              Grad Certificate – Business Administration & Entrepreneurship
Aidan Orias California   Fr.              Undeclared
Jason Plumb                Jr.               Economics
Justin Pretre                So.             History
Avinash Schwarzkopf    So.             Cognitive Science
Will Siemens                Jr.               Mechanical Engineering
Parker Terrill                Jr.               Molecular & Cell Biology
 
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For complete coverage of Cal track & field, follow the Bears on X/Twitter (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).
 

Academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0-grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career. In addition, student-athletes must compete in at least 50 percent of their team’s contests.

2025 Women’s All-ACC Academic Track and Field Team

Yasmine Abbes, Gr., M.S. Sports Administration

Anna Becker, So., Management

Kylee Bernard , So., English

Aoife Dunne, Gr., M.S. Sports Administration

Ella Fadil , So., Psychology

Molly Hudson, Gr., M.S. Leadership

Abby Lewis, Fr., Management

Abby Loveys, Gr., M.S. Student Athlete Development

Natalie Millerova, So., Management

Emily Rohan, Jr., Communication

Roshni Singh, Gr., M.S. Student Athlete Development