Rutgers University Athletics

CHRIS SAGNELLA ‘96
Hall of Fame Class of 2007
A three-time NCAA first-team All-American in the javelin, Chris Sagnella is the school record-holder in the javelin with a Rutgers-best mark of 244’ 10”. An IC4A, Penn Relays and Big East Champion, Sagnella established a one-time meet record at the Big East Championships in the javelin. He was a two-time Metropolitan Conference Champion and competed at the 1996 United States Olympic Trials, securing an eighth-place finish. Sagnella was the number nine ranked javelin thrower in the United States by Track and field News in 1996. That included all college and professional javelin throwers in 1996.

RON SPEIRS ‘75
Hall of Fame Class of 2005
A 1975 All-American in the mile, finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships, Speirs helped lead Rutgers to the Metropolitan outdoor team title in 1975, finishing second in the mile and 880-yard runs. Still the owner of the indoor (4:05.9) and outdoor (4:00.8) mile records “On the Banks,” Speirs was an all-IC4A honoree in 1975, finishing as the runner-up (4:00.8) to Eamon Coghlan, the future world record holder. Speirs also helped lead Rutgers to a Metropolitan cross country title in 1974, and was awarded the Robert Collett Award as team MVP in 1973 and 1974. He was an all IC4A cross country honoree in 1974, and a three-time competitor in the NCAA Cross-Country Championships, finishing 31st in 1973, the highest ever by a Scarlet Knight. While obtaining his Master’s Degree at Rutgers and serving as graduate assistant track and field coach, Ron went on to run 3:56.9 in the mile in 1977, the fastest time ever run by a Rutgers graduate. A finalist at the 1976 British Olympic Trials, Speirs went on to found and serve as president of RU FAST (Friends and Alumni of Scarlet Track), and founded the Lester C. Wallack, Jr. Scholarship for men’s track.

BALAZS KORANYI ‘97
Hall of Fame Class of 2002
Koranyi was a track and field standout at Rutgers from from 1993 through 1997. He was a four-time All-American and three-time BIG EAST Champion in the 800 meters, while also winning five Metropolitan Championships. He currently holds the school record in both the indoor (1:47.93) and outdoor (1:46.53) 800m run. Koranyi was a First Team Academic All-American in 1996 and earned the 1997 Leslie Coursen Award as Rutgers’ outstanding senior male athlete. Beyond his collegiate competition, Koranyi competed at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics for his native Hungary, reaching the semifinals of the 800m run each year. He is the national record holder in Hungary as well with a time of 1:45.39.

BORIS?PENDERGRASS ‘85
Hall of Fame Class of 2000
Boris Pendergrass was a standout track and field competitor at Rutgers from 1982-85, emerging as the dominant hurdler in the east from 1984-85. Participating in the 55 and 110 hurdles, Pendergrass won the 1984 55m Metropolitan Championship, establishing a meet record that stood for 13 seasons. Pendergrass also captured three IC4A Championships, during the 1984 outdoor season and in both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 1985. In addition to qualifying for the NCAA Championships on three occasions, Pendergrass was a national semifinalist in the U.S. Open Champion-ships in 1984 and 1985. He also was a member of the school-record holding hurdle relay team, a team which posted the third fastest time in the world and the fifth-fastest indoor time ever in 1984.

ELIJAH MILLER ‘67
Hall of Fame Class of 1998
A 1967 All-American in the high jump, Elijah Miller is the sixth men’s track and field star to be named to the Olympic Sports Hall of Fame. In 1967, Miller finished fourth in the NCAA High Jump Championships, earning his All-America status. In 1967 and ‘68, he won the indoor and outdoor IC4A Championships in the high jump. He was also the first Rutgers athlete to high jump seven feet.

ROBERT AMABILE '87
Hall of Fame Class of 1997
Amabile was considered to be one of America’s top javelin throwers in his time at Rutgers. In 1987, he finished fourth at the NCAA Championships, earning All-America status. That effort capped a year in which he was ranked as the top javelin thrower in college. Also in 1987, he won the javelin event at the prestigious IC4A Championships and the Penn Relays Carnival. He was a four-time Metropolitan Champion as well as a three-time All-East performer. Amabile also won the 1984 Pan American Junior Championships. Amabile, who collected a host of meet championships throughout his career, held the school record in the javelin for nearly a decade. Amabile’s best throws were 246’11” (old javelin) and 238’7” (new javelin).

PETE SCHUDER ‘68
Hall of Fame Class of 1996
Schuder was a two-time team captain in men’s track who was, in 1968, the first Rutgers runner to place at the NCAAs when he finished 7th in the 400 meters. He was a member of the first relay team (4x400) to qualify for the NCAA championships in 1967. Also that year, Schuder was the Metropolitan champion in the 600, and both the indoor and outdoor 440. He went on to defend each of those titles in 1968 when Rutgers won the team title. The winner of the 1968 Coursen Award, given to the top male graduating senior, Schuder placed second in the IC4A meet in both the 400 meters and 4x400 relay in 1967 and 1968 and was fourth in the 400 in 1968. In both of those seasons, Rutgers finished third as a team at the IC4A meet. A gold medal winner at the 1971 Hapoel Games in Israel in the 400 meters, he was a three-time AAU All-American in the 600-yard run in 1971 and as a member of the silver-medal winning national 4x440 relay team in 1969 and 1970.

ELLIOT QUOW '83
Hall of Fame Class of 1995
Elliot Quow was a three-time All-American and held the American record in the 300-meters. In 1983, he was the NCAA Champion in the 200 meters and the Athlete of the Year by Eastern Track. At the World Championships in 1983, he was a silver medallist. Quow finished fourth at the 1983 TAC Championships and was a double gold medallist at the 1983 Pan Am Games. He was an Olympic Trials qualifier, who was at one time ranked fourth in the World in 1983. In 1984, he placed fifth in the Olympic Trial. The three-time IC4A Champion holds four Rutgers indoor records (one relay) and three Rutgers outdoor records (one relay).

EUGENE NORMAN ‘84
Hall of Fame Class of 1994
Eugene Norman was a four-time All-American in track and field. He was an Olympic Trials qualifier in 1984. His specialties were the 55-meter and 110-meter hurdles. Norman, originally from Syracuse, NY, placed third at the 1984 NCAAs in the 55-meter hurdles and was fourth at the Atlantic Congress national indoor meet that year. A two-time IC4A champion in the 55-meter hurdles, he was twice ranked in the top 10 in the United States. His career best time of 7.10, ranked sixth in the world at the time, was run at the TAC meet at Madison Square Garden. His personal best in the 110-meter hurdles was 13.62. Still the holder of the Rutgers records in the 55-meters indoors and the 110-meter hurdles outdoor, he won three Metropolitan titles in the 110-meter hurdles.

MIKE ROCHE ‘75
Hall of Fame Class of 1994
Mike Roche earned international acclaim in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. A member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team in Montreal, he also earned All-American honors in his specialty in 1975 with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Roche was also the IC4A 3,000 meter steeplechase titlist in meet record time of 8:41.0 in 1975. His personal best time was 8:40.0 (all time best 8:30) The holder of several school marks, Roche was the first Scarlet track and field team member to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. Winner of both the most improved and the most valuable performer awards in both cross country and track, he was ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. with third being his highest position.

TOM ULAN ‘71
Hall of Fame Class of 1994
Tom Ulan was the first Rutgers track and field athlete to reach international stature. He was a three-time All-American and was a nationally-recognized middle distance runner. He won the Coursen Award in 1971 as Rutgers’ outstanding graduating male athlete. The 1971 NCAA Indoor Championships winner at 400 yards, Ulan was the World University Games titlist in 1970. An IC4A Champion at 600 yards in 1971, he was a 1972 Olympic Trials finalist in the 400 meters. He is still the Rutgers record-holder in the indoor 600 yards (1:08.5) at the IC4As and the 400 meters outdoors (:45.7) at the World University Games in Turin, Italy. Ulan, who was born in Westhampton, NY, also shared the school mark in the outdoor 4x200 meter relay (1:25.3). He was also the recipient of the McManus Award in 1970

SAM SEGOND '05
Hall of Fame Class of 2013
Sam Segond was a three-time NCAA First Team All-American in the discus and took home six BIG EAST championships for the Rutgers men’s track and field team during his Scarlet Knight career. He led RU to its first ever BIG EAST Outdoor Championship and IC4A Indoor and Outdoor Team Championships in 2005. Segond brought home eight All-BIG EAST honors, including winning four BIG EAST discus titles and earning conference titles in the shot put and weight throw. He also earned All-East recognition eight times as a three-time IC4A discus champion and IC4A shot put title holder. During his career, Segond set the school record in the shot put (61’ 8.25”) along with RU, BIG EAST and IC4A records in the discus (199’ 8.5’’).

1970 SPRINT MEDLEY TEAM 
Hall of Fame Class of 2013
John Herma, Jim Smith, Tom Ulan and Robert Kerr comprised the Rutgers sprint medley relay team that captured the Scarlet Knights’ first track national championship. In 1970, the Scarlet Knight quartet won gold at the AAU Championship at Madison Square Garden. Coached by the late Les Wallach, the Scarlet Knights captured the winning time of 1:53.4, surpassing competitors that included former Olympians, post-graduates and non-collegiate track runners. Tom Ulan ran the 440 yard leg, John Herma ran the 100 yard leg, Jim Smith ran the 220 yard leg and Rob Kerr ran the 300 yard leg. In the same year, the Rutgers relay team also captured the mile relay title at the prestigious Baltimore Sun Paper Games Indoor Track Meet.