February 28, 2007
Track and Field
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

McNICHOLS NAMED COACH FOR PAN AMERICAN TEAM

INDIANAPOLIS – John McNichols, head coach of the Indiana State University men’s track and field team and the head coach of the ISU cross country team, has been selected to coach at the Pan American Games, which will be held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July13-29. McNichols will be the sprint and hurdles coach for the U.S. track and field men’s team.

McNichols serves as the Hurdles Broad Event Chair for the USATF Men’s Development Committee and was the Hurdles Singles Event Chair from1989-2000. He has served as a meet official at the 1984 Olympic Games, 1987 Pan-American Games and the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials. He was head marshal for the 1996 Olympic Games.

Tonie Campbell from the U.S. Olympic Training Center, will be the head manager for the men’s team. Stanly Redwine from Kansas will be the head coach and in charge of the distance events, Nat Page from Georgia Tech will oversee the jumps, and Lance Deal from Oregon will be in charge of the throws.

Julie McKinney is the head manager on the women’s staff with Connie Pride-Smith of Southern Illinois will be the head coach and in charge of throws. Monica Gray of Purdue will be the sprints/hurdles coach, Annie Bennett of Wake Forest the distance coach, and Edrick Floreal of Stanford the jumps coach.

Relay coaches are Orin Richburg for the men and Latanya Sheffield for the women.

McNichols is in his 24^th year as the Indiana State men’s track and field and cross country coach and his 19^th year as the coordinator of the Sycamores’ combined men’s and women’s track and field and cross country programs.

During that time, ISU has won six Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field titles, four cross country titles including back-to-back championships in 2004 and 2005, and three Indiana Intercollegiate cross country titles. Under his leadership, the combined men’s and women’s programs have won 22 Missouri Valley Conference titles.

McNichols has been named MVC Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year seven times, NCAA District V Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year four times, and MVC Cross Country Coach of the Year four times.

In track and field, McNichols has coached 25 All-Americans, two NCAA National Champions and six runner-ups. Among his accomplishments in cross country was the design and development of the nation’s finest cross country course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. The course served as the site for the 2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships and will host the championship through 2007. Additionally, the course has served as the host of four NCAA Great Lakes Regional and two Missouri Valley Conference championships.

The St. Charles, Iowa, native, graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in 1972 and his master’s in 1977. Before coming to ISU in 1983, he was the head boys track and field coach at Bloomington North High School in Bloomington, Ind.