SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- BYU head track & field coach Ed Eyestone will be inducted into the West Coast Conference Hall of Honor on Saturday, March 8 at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas. Ten individuals, one from each member institution, will be honored as part of the 2014 WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships from March 6-11 at the Orleans Arena.
Past BYU inductees include Elaine Michaelis (2012, Volleyball) and LaVell Edwards (2013, Football). Along with Eyestone, the 2014 WCC Hall of Honor class includes: Gonzaga’s Kelley Cunningham Spink (Volleyball), Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer (Basketball), Pacific’s Keith Swagerty (Basketball), Pepperdine’s Mike Scott (Baseball), Portland’s Laura Sale O’Connell (Basketball), Saint Mary’s Tracy Morris Sanders (Basketball), San Diego’s Jose Luis Noriega (Tennis), San Francisco’s Ollie Johnson (Basketball) and Santa Clara’s Leslie Osborne (Soccer).
The Hall of Honor class will be formally inducted at the WCC Hall of Honor Brunch on Saturday, March 8 at 9 a.m. PT at the Mardi Gras Ballroom in the Orleans Hotel and will be honored during halftime of the men's semifinal games later that evening.
Tickets to the WCC Hall of Honor Brunch & Induction Ceremony are available to the public for $40 and may be purchased online using the Hall of Honor Ticket Form on WCCsports.com. Tickets must be purchased by Thursday, February 28.
Single game tickets for the 2014 West Coast Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will also be on sale at the Orleans Arena box office each morning. For more information on the tournament and where to stay, visit the WCC Tournament page.
Ed Eyestone became a 10-time NCAA All-American, and in 1984, went undefeated in NCAA cross-country events. Eyestone is one of only three runners, along with Gerry Lindgren and Suleiman Nyambiu, to capture the NCAA "Triple Crown" by becoming the 1985 NCAA Champion in cross-country, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. In 1985, the Academic All-American and recipient of the NCAA Top Six Award set a then-NCAA record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 27:41:05. He finished his collegiate career with four NCAA Championships and set the school record in the 10,000 meter, 5,000 meter, 3,000 meter and 2 mile races.
Eyestone claimed conference championship titles for BYU in 1983 and 1984 in cross country, in 1984 and 1985 for the 5,000, in 1984 for the indoor mile, and in 1985 for the indoor two-mile and 10,000. He was the first non-football player to win the WAC's Stan Bates Award. He also won the NCAA Top Six Award in 1986.
As a professional runner, Eyestone was a five-time U.S. Road Racer of the Year and won the San Francisco Bay to Breakers 12KM race and is the last American (and only since 1981) to win what is considered the world’s largest footrace. Eyestone has also served as a commentator for ESPN and Fox Sports Elite Racing for 12 years and has been a columnist for Runners World magazine since 1999. In 2008, Eyestone was the head distance analyst for NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics.
As the men’s cross country coach since 2000, Eyestone has guided the Cougars to eight Mountain West Conference Championships and two WCC Championships. Eyestone earned WCC Cross Country Coach of the Year accolades in 2011 and 2013.