A six-time track and field national champion, 13-time All-American, a 16-time individual Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC) champion and 7-time WSUC relay champion, the WSUC scholar-athlete and an academic All-American, Terry Anders may well lay claim to being the most decorated athlete to grace the Blue Devils' athletic doorsteps.
A sprinter with blazing speed from 1994-97, Anders held or holds school indoor records in the 55-meter, 200-meter, 4x200-relay and 4x400-relay; and outdoor records in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 4x100-relay, and 4x400-relay.
When Anders stepped onto the track, other competitors and spectators took notice. Anders won the 400-meter indoor titles in 1995 and 96, the same years he won the 400-meter outdoor championships. Anders was phenomenal during the 1996 NCAA outdoor championships at North Central College, winning the 100- and 200-meter championships to go with his 400-meter title.
Anders was named to the inaugural class of the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012, the same week he was also named to WIAC All-Time Men's Track & Field Team.
An early childhood education major from Cornell, Anders is currently teaching and coaching in the Fall Creek school district.
Anders enshrined in USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in 2022
MENOMONIE (May 25, 2022) - Six-time national track and field champion Terry Anders has been inducted into the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame.
Anders is the only athlete in NCAA Division III history with outdoor national titles in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters.
Would you believe that Anders won all three of those in the same year?
Well, back in 1996, Anders did just that – and if it wasn't for an appeal by UW-Stout's coaches, Anders wouldn't have been able to compete on Friday and Saturday at all. That's because Anders was disqualified in the triple jump – one of six events in which he was scheduled to compete – due to not reporting on time. An NCAA rule states that if an athlete doesn't compete in an event they have qualified for, they can't compete in the remainder of the national meet in any event. Common sense prevailed, allowing Anders his chance to shine.
"Terry loves the pressure," then UW-Stout coach Chris Hall told Mark Andrew Trapani of the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram before the meet. "It motivates him."
Anders relished – and took full advantage of – his second chance.
Just hours after being reinstated, Anders sprinted away from the pack to win the 200. Then, Anders defended his 400-meter crown from the previous year on Saturday and doubled back nearly one hour later to capture the 100. He won each race by an average of 0.30 seconds.
Those 30 points – and the seven he helped the Blue Devils amass in the 4X100 (sixth) and 4X400 relays (fifth) – propelled them to their best team finish in program history to that point (fifth). UW-Stout eventually reached the podium in 2012, finishing fourth, 15 years after Anders graduated.
All told, Anders won six NCAA titles and was a 13-time All-American during his legendary career. Anders found most of his success in the 400, an event in which he topped podiums in both 1995 and 1996, both indoors and outdoors. Anders was the first man in divisional history to place first in the 400 at the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships in consecutive years.
Anders currently holds individual school records in the indoor 200 (21.82/1997), the indoor 400 (48.33/1996), the outdoor 100 (10.53/1996), outdoor 200 (21.27/1996) and the outdoor 400 (46.81/1996).
In addition to his individual exploits, Anders earned five All-America honors in the relay - finishing sixth in the 4x400 indoor in 1995 with Jesse Witcraft, Mike Hallingstad and Chris Valois; sixth in the 4x400 outdoor in 1996 with Witcraft, Hallingstad and John Boldt; fifth in the 4x400 outdoor in 1996 with Witcraft, Hallingstad and Valois; sixth in the 4x100 outdoor in 1995 with Witcraft, Hallingstad and Joe Verstegen; and second in the 4x400 indoor with Witcraft, Hallingstad and Boldt. The 4x400 indoor time of 3:16.95 with Witcraft, Hallingstad and Boldt still stands as the school record.
Anders won 16 individual Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC) titles - the indoor 55 (1996, 1997), indoor 200 (1995, 1996, 1997), indoor 400 (1995, 1996, 1997), the outdoor 100 (1996), outdoor 200 (1995, 1996, 1997), outdoor 400 (1995, 1996, 1997) the outdoor triple jump (1996) - and was part of seven relay championships - indoor 4x400 (1995, 1996, 1997), outdoor 4x100 (1996), outdoor 4x400 (1995, 1996, 1997).
Anders was also the WSUC Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-American.
Anders is the first athlete from UW-Stout to be inducted into the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame.
Anders, a 1997 UW-Stout graduate in early childhood education, was inducted into the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006, the WIAC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012 and was selected as a member of the WIAC All-Time Men's Track and Field Team. Anders is a native of Cornell, Wis., and is in his 22nd year as a second grade teacher at Fall Creek Elementary School. Anders is the Fall Creek Middle School track and field coach, girls basketball coach and the strength and conditioning coordinator.
Anders was joined by Peter Kosgei of Hamilton College, Christina Scherwin of Moravian and Marcia Taddy of UW-Platteville into induction Wednesday, May 25, prior to the start of the 2022 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which are set to begin Thursday, May 26, in Geneva, Ohio.
