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Men's & Women's Track & Field

 (630) 617-3276
 guta@elmhurst.edu

Erik Guta
Head Women's Coach

Erik Guta is entering his eighth year as the Head Coach for the women's track and field team. He has also coached the women's cross country team for nine seasons. He spent six seasons serving as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's track and cross country teams.

Guta was the 2002 NCAA Midwest Regional Cross Country 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 was the second time in three seasons that Guta has received the award.

The 2008 women's track and field team placed seventh at the CCIW outdoor championships, while the 2007 cross country team placed fourth.

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.

 630-617-3151
 akitaj@elmhurst.edu

Jim Akita
Head Men's Coach

Jim Akita will enter the 2008 season in his third year as head coach of the Bluejay men's track and field team. Akita also serves as the men's cross country coach at Elmhurst.

Last year, he guided the Bluejays to a seventh-place finish at the CCIW Indoor Championships, and an eighth-place finish at the CCIW Outdoor Championships.  Two of Akita's runners earned All-American honors, Brian McConnell in the 1,500 meters, and Mike Ptack in the steeplechase.

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 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 Illinois 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.