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Jim Akita
Head Men's Coach
Jim Akita is entering his fifth year as the head men's cross country coach at Elmhurst College. Akita also serves as the head coach for the men's track and field team.
Last season, Akita led the Bluejays to a fifth-place finish at the CCIW Championships. Over the past two seasons, three Bluejays, including Pat Austin in 2008, have qualified for the NCAA Championships.
In just three seasons as the head track and field coach for the Bluejay men, Akita's student-athletes have earned five All-America honors.
Prior to joining the Bluejays as head coach, Akita served as a graduate assistant coach at Rockford College. He aslo served as an assistant coach at Elmhurst during the 2002 season.
Akita, who completed his bachelor's degree from Elmhurst in 2004, was a stand-out member of the Elmhurst College cross country and track and field teams.He was a two-time captain of both the cross country and track teams and earned eight all-conference honors between the two sports. He was an NCAA Division III national participant during the 2001 and 2003 outdoor track season. In 2001, he won the College Conference of llinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) 5,000 meters title. An academic all-conference selection in 2000, Akita set five school records in track and field.
A graduate of York High School, Akita still resides in Elmhurst.
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