Wayne Angel - Track & Field Coach - Abilene Christian Athletics

Wayne Angel

Title:
Assistant Coach - Distance / Cross Country
Email:
wwa26a@acu.edu

Wayne Angel, who has had a decorated 20+ year career as a head coach, is entering his first year as the cross country and distance coach at ACU. Angel comes to Abilene after a seven-season stint (2019-2026) as the head men’s and women’s track and field / cross country coach at Northern Colorado.

Angel coached the Bears to their highest places in conference history in men’s cross country, earning 5th place in the Big Sky (usually viewed as one of the top-10 NCAA Division I cross country conferences) and a 4th place finish in 2024 for men's indoor track. His triple jump squad in 2022 was the ranked #2 in the USTFCCCA event squad rankings.

During his years at Northern Colorado, Angel coached athletes to numerous school records. For the women, new records were set indoors in the 200, 400, 800, mile, 3000, 5000, 60 hurdles, triple jump and pentathlon. Outdoors new records were set in the 400, 800, 1500, 5000, 10000, long jump and triple jump. The most prolific record setter for the women was Regina Mpigachai, who in 2024-2025 set school records in the 800, mile, 3000, and 5000 indoors; plus, setting the records in the 800, 1500, 5000, and 10000 outdoors.

For the men, school indoor records were set in the 60, 400, 800, mile, 3000, 5000, 60 hurdles, long jump and triple jump; while outdoors records fell in the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 110 hurdles, long jump and triple jump. The most prolific record setter for Northern Colorado was Jerome Campbell, who set records in the 60 and 60 hurdles indoors and in the 100, 200, and 110 hurdles outdoors during the 2024 and 2025 seasons and was a four-time All-American in the 60 hurdles.

Angel was the head track and cross country coach at Tennessee Tech from 2014-19 where he guided the Golden Eagles to their first-ever men's indoor track and field championship in 2018, followed by their first-ever outdoor men's track title in the same year -- winning the Ohio Valley Conference championships by substantial margins. He also coached the men’s and women’s OVC champion for both men and women titles in 2016. While at Tennessee Tech, Angel won OVC Indoor Coach of the Year three times and the OVC Outdoor Coach of the Year twice.

Angel’s strong cross country teams at Tennessee Tech included Purity Sanga, who was named the OVC Women’s Freshman of the Year. Gilbert Boit also had a stellar career as both the OVC Men's Cross Country Freshman of the Year in 2016, and the OVC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2018. On the track, Na’Asha Robinson became the first female Golden Eagle athlete to qualify for NCAA Nationals, placing 15th in the 400 at the championship.

Prior to Tennessee Tech, Angel was the head men's cross country and track and field head coach at Florida A&M from 2010-14. At FAMU, Angel led the cross country team to 2 MEAC men’s championships. He coached two NCAA All-Americans in long jump and triple jump, and was named the MEAC Coach of the Year twice. His runner, Elias Chesire, was named National Cross Country Runner of the Week of the week two times in 2013.

Angel’s first taste of head coaching came when he served at as the head coach of men’s cross country and track and field at his alma mater, the University of Illinois, from 2003-2009. At Illinois, he emerged as a strong sprints/middle distance coach. Angel coached Gakologewang Masheto, who earned All-American and All-Big 10 accolades and represented Botswana in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as well as NCAA 110 hurdle national champion Andrew Riley, who ran in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics for Jamaica. His teams finished in the top 4 in the Big 10 four times during his tenure.

Additionally, Angel served stints for three NCAA Division I programs as head coach of women's cross country/assistant track and field coach: Iowa (2002-03), Wichita State (1999-2002), and UT-Martin (1998-1999) to begin his collegiate coaching career. At Wichita State, Angel coached Viktors Lacis to a berth on the Latvian Olympic team for the 27th Olympiad held in Sydney, Australia. Lacis returned from the 2000 Olympics to place 3rd in the NCAA Division I 400 hurdles for Wichita State.

A Rantoul, Illinois native, Angel earned his bachelor's degree from Illinois where he was a two-time Big Ten champion and former school record holder in the 400-meter hurdles and track and field captain for the Fighting Illini. He competed in two Olympic Trials (1980 in Eugene. Ore. and 1984 in Los Angeles). He is a three-time gold medalist at the World Military Games and a seven-time Inter-Service champion. He currently holds the Armed Forces record in the 400-meter hurdles (49.92). He is a member of three halls of fame - Parkland College Hall of Fame, Rantoul [Ill.] High School Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame. He has also been a member of the USTFCCCA Executive Committee. Angel is also a Distinguished Honor Graduate of the U.S. Army's Air Assault School. He earned the elite and coveted Army Ranger tab as well as his Airborne wings during his time in the U.S. Army.

Angel takes great pride in having coached six 800-meter runners under 1:50 (1:46.43; 1:47.80; 1:48.20; 1:47.81; 1:49.54; and 1:48.89) and three 400-meter hurdlers who have run 50 seconds or better (49.60; 49.81; and 50.01).

Before entering the college coaching ranks, Angel was a highly successful head track and field coach at Pike High School in Indianapolis, Ind., from 1993-1998. He led his 1997 girls team to the Indiana State High School Championship and a No. 17 national ranking. The team was state runner-up in 1998. Angel's Pike H.S. teams won three conference and four regional championships during his tenure. He also received numerous Coach of the Year honors during this period.

Angel is married to the former Tammy Johnson of Jefferson, City, Tenn. He has seven children – Brian, Danielle, Christie, Jason, Wayne, Geoffrey and Raven – and six grandchildren.