Name: Terry Anders
UW-Stout graduation year: 1998
Major: Early Childhood Education
Sport: Track and Field
Years Competed: 1993-1997
Hometown (High School): Cornell, WI (Cornell)
Currently Reside: Fall Creek, WI
Why did you choose to be a collegiate student-athlete at UW-Stout?
Steve Terry took the time to come watch me in high school. He recruited an amazing group of guys to come in that same year and he just has that personality you want to be around.
What did you like most about competing in collegiate athletics?
I had great teammates and coaches who pushed me to be the best I could be. I also enjoyed traveling around the United States. I had never been on an airplane before college.
What is the greatest lesson you learned from being a collegiate student-athlete?
I learned that mental preparation is as important as the physical preparation. I ran the races over in my head 50 times so when I stepped out on the track I felt like I could win every time. So much of athletics is having confidence and believing you can achieve. You may not win every time, but you better step out there thinking you can or you are already defeated.
Who was the most influential person in your athletic career?
My father, he worked three jobs and still found time to work with me. He taught me the value of hard work, and he never missed an athletic event. I always wanted to make him proud.
What is your most memorable or favorite sports moment at UW-Stout?
That's a tough one…I won the national titles in 100, 200, and 400 dash at the 1996 Outdoor Championships and was named United States Division III Track and Field Athlete of the Year. No one had ever won all three in the same national meet before so that was an incredible feeling. However, I think the best moment may have come my senior year when Mike Hallingstad, Jesse Witcraft, John Boldt, and I won the 4x200 meter relay at the Drake Relays in front of 15,000 people. We won watches, T shirts, and even got to take a victory lap!
How did your teammates describe you as a person and a student-athlete?
I think my teammates would have described me as humble, hard-working, and a competitor. I worked hard in practice, but many of my teammates out worked me. In a competition I seemed to find another gear though… maybe it was the adrenaline.
Are you in contact with any former Blue Devil student-athletes? (If so, who?)
Yes, Rich Vargas, Mike Hallingstad, and Jesse Witcraft.
Outside of athletics, what other activities were you involved in at UW-Stout?
I mostly played intramural sports and was involved with various education groups.
Give us a brief synopsis of your life since graduating from UW-Stout, include job and family?
Since graduating from Stout I have been teaching second grade in Fall Creek for 16 years. I have coached football, track, volleyball, and basketball at different levels. I am married to Joell Anders (another Stout grad) and we have two children. Our son Taylor is 12 and I have been coaching him in basketball, football, and track. He has hopes of being a Blue Devil someday. We also have a nine year old daughter, Jenna, who I coach in basketball and she is starting to be a runner. I see glimpses of my competitive nature in her, and she has my stride. I have had the honor of going into the UW-Stout Ahtletic Hall of Fame, as well as being in the first-ever WIAC Hall of Fame class. We usually make a trip or two back to Stout each year. It is fun to bring my children back and share those memories with them.
You and your teammates made up a very impressive 4 x 400 relay team, how did your teammates push you and how did you push your teammates?
My teammates worked extremely hard. Rich Vargas became our coach as sophomores and rarely was there a day that someone was not throwing up because of the workout. Many people don't realize how many talented teammates I had. Many of them broke school records in the same race as me, they just happened to be behind me so they didn't get the credit they deserved. Unfortunately, everything usually went wrong in the 4x400 relay so we were not able to win a national title together. That would have been the best national championship victory of all, if I could have stood with them on the number one spot on the podium because they deserved it.
You were also an Academic All-American, talk about what that meant to you.
In high school I mainly focused on sports, but I was very proud to add the drive and success in the classroom in college. The success on the track gave me the confidence and the drive to work hard in the classroom. I also figured I had to pay back student loans, so I needed a good job.
