University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Men's Track & Field

Illinois director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou announced the hiring of Eric Johannigmeier (pronounced JOE-han-ig-my-er) as the new head cross

Ashley Smith began at Illinois on Feb. 2, 2026, where she will assist in coaching the distance crew in cross country and track while also handling assistant director

Owens-Delerme represents Puerto Rico nationally and most recently competed in the decathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games where he placed ninth. The Nike professional

Deanna Price joined the Illini track and field coaching staff on a volunteer role in 2022 and has been promoted to an assistant coach for her second season in 2023

In his third year as the pole vault coach (2024-25) Mitchell led Cody Johnston to be the Big Ten Outdoor Champion in the pole vault with his voided meet record clearance

Dillon Yearby was hired as the track, field and cross country team’s director of operations on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Yearby comes to Illinois after spending

Director of Illinois track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou has announced the hiring of Olympian Garrett Scantling as an assistant coach on Tuesday (July

By the numbers All-Americans: 8    Big Ten Champions: 2    School Records (ILL): 15 All-Americans (MVC): 20    World Champions: 1    Conference Champions

Director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou has announced the hiring of assistant coach Jaimie Robinson to his coaching staff to start the 2025-26

2 Olympians BY THE NUMBERS Big Ten Champions: 3    School Records (ILL): 7    Top-10 Marks (ILL): 45 BIO In his third year at the helm

Two-time NCAA Championship coach Petros Kyprianou (pronounced KEEP-ree-on-oo) was hired on July 26, 2022 as the new director of the Fighting Illini track and field and cross country programs. From 2015-2021, Kyprianou served in the same capacity at the University of Georgia, where, in his six seasons as head coach, he led the Bulldogs to unprecedented success, including a pair of NCAA titles – the first in school history – three runner-up performances, and a total of 16 top-ten NCAA finishes. Kyprianou was a three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Coach of the Year, winning the award in 2017 (women outdoor) and twice in 2018 (women indoor and men outdoor). He also was a two-time National Assistant Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA (2014 and 2015 women indoors) during a seven-year stint as a Georgia assistant coach from 2008-15. Kyprianou coached athletes to a total of 28 NCAA titles during his 13-year Georgia tenure. Since electing to leave Georgia in 2021, Kyprianou has served as the director of sports performance at the Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Florida, while continuing to provide individual coaching to elite international athletes. Specializing in the jumps and combined events, Kyprianou has coached for four countries in international competition, including three different Olympics. Prior to joining the staff at Georgia, Kyprianou was an assistant coach at both Boise State University and University of Nebraska, Omaha