Wayne Angel Named Illinois Men's Track And Field Coach
June 5, 2003 | Men's Track & Field
June 5, 2003
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois Director of Athletics Ron Guenther today announced the hiring of Wayne Angel as the school's 11th head men's track and field.
Angel, who will also serve as the head cross country coach for the Illini men, comes to Illinois after a one-year stint at the University of Iowa where he was the head women's cross country coach and assistant track and field coach for the Hawkeyes.
"I am very excited and honored to come back to Illinois as the head men's track and field and cross country coach," Angel said. "My roots run deep here. I'm an Illinois guy having gone to high school in the state and to college there. It's a special feeling to be chosen to come back and carry on the tradition built by Gary Wieneke. I learned a lot as a coach from Gary and these are big shoes to fill, but I'll do my best."
During his brief stint in Iowa City, Iowa, Angel helped guide the Iowa women's track and field team to a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, the school's highest finish in nine years. Prior to his arrival, Iowa finished 10th at the Big Ten Championships on three occasions and ninth five other times. The Rantoul, Ill., native also coached Hawkeye senior Sarah Arens to a NCAA Championships berth in the steeplechase after she finished fifth at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships May 30-31.
"I am very excited to have Wayne Angel join our program," Guenther said. "Wayne is a graduate of the University of Illinois and grew up in nearby Rantoul. I feel he will do an exceptional job as head coach of our men's track and field and cross country program. He has the reputation as a tenacious recruiter and is a man of high integrity."
Prior to his year at Iowa, Angel spent three seasons at Wichita State University. After spending the 2000 season as an assistant track and field coach, Angel was promoted to head men's and women's cross country coach in 2001 and took a struggling Shocker cross country/distance program and transformed it into a regional power. In just his second season at the helm of the cross country programs, Angel helped the WSU women to team victories at the Kansas State/Woody Greeno Invitational and the Illinois Invitational. His women's team also finished an impressive second at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships and earned a Top 30 national ranking.
"The last time I handed Wayne Angel a baton, it was at the 1981 Big Ten Championships and he had three guys counting on him," former Illini coach Gary Wieneke said. "They won that relay. Now, he has many years of Illinois track and field tradition, a host of alumni and an entire state counting on him."
Angel's first collegiate coaching stint was at Tennessee-Martin where he helped student-athletes break 13 middle distance/distance school records. Seven of his athletes also earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors.
Before entering the collegiate ranks, Angel spent 1992-98 as the head coach at Pike High School in Indianapolis. Angel coached the Pike girls program to the 1997 state title and a Top 25 national ranking, while guiding the 1998 girls team to a runner-up finish at the Indiana State Championships. While at Pike, Angel coached three high school All-Americans, and 12 of his student-athletes earned Division I track scholarships.
Angel received his B.A. in physical education from the University of Illinois in 1982 while enjoying a successful track and field career. A two-time Big Ten Champion as a member of the 4x400 meter relay, Angel ended his one year Illinois career as the school-record holder in the 400 meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 50.56 seconds and currently ranks fourth on the school's all-time list in the event. A tri-captain for the Illini in 1981, Angel won his first Big Ten title at the 1981 Big Ten Indoor Championships in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:12.7 before claiming the same title outdoors with a time of 3:08.1. Angel also finished fourth for the Illini at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in the 500 meters and fourth in the 400 meter intermediate hurdles outdoors.
Angel is a former Army Airborne Ranger, and a distinguished honor graduate of the Army's Air Assault School. A two-time USTAFF and Junior College All-American, Angel was inducted into the Rantoul High School (IL) Hall of Fame in 1985.
Angel replaces Gary Wieneke who was head coach of the Illinois men's track and field team for the past 28 seasons and the men's cross country team for the last 36 years.
Wayne Angel's Coaching Career
School Post Years Pike High School Head Girls Track and Field Coach 1992 Pike High School Head Girls Track and Field Coach 1993 Pike High School Head Girls Track and Field Coach 1994 Pike High School Head Girls Track and Field Coach 1995 Pike High School Head Girls Track and Field Coach 1996 Pike High School Head Girls Track and Field Coach 1997 Pike High School Head Girls Track and Field Coach 1998 Tennessee-Martin Assistant track and field 1999 Wichita State Assistant Coach 2000 Wichita State Head cross country/assistant track 2001 Wichita State Head cross country/assistant track 2002 Iowa Head women's cross country/assistant track 2003
Honors
Guest Coach at the 2001 Track and Field World Championships
Captain All-Army Track Team 1980, 82, 84
1997 ISGA Coach of the Year
1997 ITACCA Coach of the Year
1998 District V Coach of the Year
Three Time Marion County Coach of the Year
Sprint Coach at the World Scholar Athlete Games in 1997 and 2001
Rantoul High School Hall of Fame Inductee in 1985
1981 University of Illinois Tri-Captain
Athletic Accomplishments
Olympic Trial participant in 1980 and 1984
Three Time World Military Games Gold Medalist
Seven-time Armed Forces Champion
Two-time USTAFF All-American
Two-time junior college All-American
Two-time Big Ten Champion in the 4x400 meter relay
Armed Forces 400 meter hurdle record holder (49.93)
###Illinois###
