Mary Wood joined the Illinois track & field coaching staff in August 2021. Wood will coach the pole vault and decathlon.
Wood, who is a USA Track and Field Level II certified coach in the jumping events, comes to Illinois following a seven-year stint at Illinois State, including four seasons as associate head coach, where she also coached the horizontal jumps and pole vault.
In her seven seasons as a Redbird assistant, Wood coached 18 Missouri Valley Conference champions, 42 All-Valley performances, 14 NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifiers, five USA Junior National Qualifiers and six Illinois State record-holders. In addition, she helped the Redbirds claim 11 MVC team titles during her tenure, including four straight indoor championships with the Redbird women winning titles in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, as well as a title in 2016. The women also won the last three outdoor championships (2018, 2019, 2021), while the men won back-to-back indoor titles in 2018 and 2019.
During the 2021 campaign, Wood guided pole vaulter Kellen Kravik to his first MVC championship in the outdoor season. Kravik edged out teammates Eddie Winner and Ryan Ashenbremer for the pole vault crown, as the Redbirds swept the podium. On the season, Kravik also broke the school record in the pole vault at the Clark Wood Open with a mark of 5.26 meters (17-3 ft.), which would move him into qualifying range for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships for the second straight season. On the women's side, Wood led Nicole Bagwell to a second-place finish at the 2021 MVC Outdoor Championships, matching the highest finish of her career.
For two years in a row (2019 & 2020), Wood's pole vaulters swept the Valley indoor titles with newcomer Eddie Winner taking the crown on the men's side and Ariana Cranston winning her fourth-straight pole vault title between indoor and outdoor. Wood also guided jumper Charde Golliday to her first MVC title in the long jump and an All-Valley finish in the triple jump (third place).
The 2018-19 season was highlighted by Wood's pole vaulters who won three MVC titles and had eight All-Valley performances.
Over the course of the 2017-18 campaign, Wood led Cranston and Ashenbremer to Valley Championships. Cranston was crowned the 2018 MVC Outdoor Pole Vault Champion, after being named the runner-up at the indoor Valley meet. Ashenbremer reigned supreme in the pole vault competition at both the Indoor and Outdoor Valley Championships, bringing home the MVC title at both meets.
Wood led her men's pole vault squad to a completely dominating performance at both the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships. At the indoor meet, Wood helped Ashenbremer, Kravik, Nelson, and Sam Peschke finish 1-2-3-4, claiming 29 points for the eventual-champion Redbirds. Wood's men's pole vault group again swept the podium at the outdoor Valley meet, with Ashenbremer, Kravik, and Peschke placing 1-2-3 to each earn All-Valley honors.
In the horizontal jumps, junior Amanda McClain led the way for the Redbirds at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, claiming her third-consecutive indoor long jump title. McClain would then go on to win the outdoor Valley title as well, making her a five-time MVC Champion in the long jump. Wood has coached McClain to an already-decorated career, which includes breaking the 27-year-old Illinois State long jump record at the 2017 Indoor Valley Championships with a personal-best jump of 6.17 meters (20-3 ft.) and qualifying for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in 2016 and 2017. Her NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifying-mark of 6.20 meters (20-4.5 ft.) in 2017 ranks second on ISU's all-time list.
During the 2016-2017 season, Wood's athletes tallied 19 personal records, 13 Illinois State top-ten performances, and one Illinois State record. Wood's group of young men and women also combined to score 42 points at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
The 2016 season was marked by Emily Clay breaking the Illinois State outdoor record in the pole vault with a personal-best mark of 4.12 meters (13-6.25 ft.). During the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, the senior won the indoor title with a jump of 4.01 meters (13-1.75 ft.), helping the Redbird Women's Team to their first indoor team title since 1997. Clay won her second Missouri Valley title at the outdoor championships with a vault of 4.11 meters (13-5.75 ft.).
Wood came to Illinois State from Gardner-Webb University where she served as the coach of the men's and women's horizontal jumps, pole vault, combined events, sprints, and hurdles from 2007 to 2014. Wood coached 10 Big South Conference Champions with the Bulldogs, while her athletes amassed 47 All-Conference Honors.
During her seven years at GWU, Wood's athletes broke six school records and one conference record. Tyler Craig earned the Big South Freshman of the Year Award for his performance in the pole vault. Wood also sent two athletes to the USA Junior Championships, Sarah Perkins (400 meter Hurdles) and Johnathon Parks (110 meters Hurdles). She also qualified four athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Wood graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 2005 with Bachelor's degrees in history, social science and education. During her athletic career at EIU, Wood was a team captain, three-time Ohio Valley Conference champion in the pole vault, and broke both indoor and outdoor school and conference records. She earned her Master's degree in Sport Science and Pedagogy from Gardner-Webb University in 2009.
