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Men's & Women's Cross Country

 630-617-3151
 akitaj@elmhurst.edu

Jim Akita
Head Men's Coach

Jim Akita is entering his third 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.

Akita has guided the Bluejays to consecutive fourth-place finishes at the CCIW Championships. In 2006, Akita had a pair of runners, Drew Hatzold and Mike Ptack, qualify for the NCAA Championships.

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. After completing his athletic eligibility, he returned to served as an assistant coach of the team for the 2002 season.

Most recently, Akita has served as a graduate assistant coach at Rockford College while he was pursuing his master's degree. There he assisted in all aspects of the program, including recruiting.

While a member of the Elmhurst cross country and track and field teams, Akita had a stand-out career as a runner. 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.

 (630) 617-3276
 guta@elmhurst.edu

Erik Guta
Head Women's Coach

Erik Guta enters his eighth year as head coach for the women's cross country team after six years as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's teams. He is also an the women's track and field coach at Elmhurst.

Guta was the 2002 NCAA Midwest Regional Coach of the Year after Elmhurst won its third consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championship and qualified for the NCAA Championships. It marked the second time in three seasons that Guta received the award.

Guta's 2006 cross country team finished fourth at the CCIW Championships. Junior Marisa Mele palced second overall at the CCIW Championships and later earned all-region honor while qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

Guta is a 1992 graduate of Northern Illinois University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in corporate fitness/exercise physiology. He also holds a master's degree in corporate fitness from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Guta was a member of the track club at NIU throughout his four years there, serving as its president for two years. An alumnus of Elmhurst's York High School (Class of 1987), Guta was a member of the Duke's 1986 Class AA state-championship boy's cross country team.