LAS VEGAS (March, 8, 2014) — BYU men’s track and cross country head coach Ed Eyestone was one of 10 individuals inducted into the West Coast Conference sixth Hall of Honor class Saturday, at the Orleans Hotel.
"This year we welcome yet another remarkable group of inductees into the West Coast Conference Hall of Honor," WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said. "These 10 individuals are some of the best and brightest to ever represent our conference and their respective institutions."
The 2014 WCC Hall of Honor class included: BYU's Ed Eyestone (Cross Country), 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).
Eyestone became a 10-time NCAA All-American, and in 1984 won every meet he entered in cross-country, including the NCAAs. He is one of only three runners, along with Gerry Lindgren and Suleiman Nyambiu, to capture the NCAA “Triple Crown” by becoming the 1984 NCAA Champion in cross-country and the 1985 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters NCAA Champion in track. 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 two 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 an Olympic marathoner twice, first in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, and then in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain. Eyestone has a career-best marathon time of 2:10:59. , 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 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. He earned WCC Cross Country Coach of the Year accolades in 2011 and 2013. Eyestone was named BYU’s head track coach in 2013.