Arkansas State University

Tom Hill • Team USA • Hurdles

Years at Arkansas State: 1968-72
Hometown: New Orleans, La.
Olympiads: 1 (1972)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• Took bronze in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.
• Arkansas State's first of three Olympic medalists.
• 1972 NCAA silver medalist
• Also recognized as a distinguised military graduate in 1972, being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. 
• Three-time Arkansas Amateur Athlete of the Year: 1970, 1971, 1972
• Went on to serve as an assistant coach and Adjutant General Officer at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., from 1972-76.
• While at West Point, Lt. Hill designed and supervised the Academy's training program for track and field cadet-athletes. 
• Earned his Master's degree in 1976 from C.W. Post-Long Island University
• Returned to Arkansas State in Jan. 1982 to serve as Coordinator of University College and Assistant Professor of Counselor Education & Psychology until 1985.
• Received his doctorate from the University of Florida in 1985 and an honorable discharge from the Army.
• 1982 inductee into the A-State Hall of Honor
• 1984 inductee into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
• 1989 Arkansas State University Distinguished Alumnus recipient

Ed Preston • Team USA • Relays

Years at Arkansas State: 1973-76
Hometown: Kaufman County, Texas
Olympiads: 1 (1976)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• Relay alternate in the 4x100m relay at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
• Still holds the A-State outdoor record in the 200 meters (20.14) set in 1976.
• Second all-time in the 100 meters (10.05).
• Holds the program indoor record in the 55-meter dash (6.14) set in 1976.
• Took fifth in the 200 at the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials to earn a relay alternate spot.
• Won the 100 meters at the 1975 Stockholm DN Galan
• Competed at the NCAA Championships in the 100-yard dash, running the top prelims time.
• Ranks ninth in the 400 meters with a mark of 46.94.
• 1991 inductee into the A-State Hall of Honor

Earl Bell • Team USA • Pole Vault

Years at Arkansas State: 1974-77
Hometown: Jonesboro, Ark.
Olympiads: 3 (1976, 1984, 1988)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• 2002 National Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee
• Vaulted in the 1976, 1984 and 1988 Olympics for the United States.
• 1984 Olympic bronze medalist
• In 1984, Bell set the American record with a jump of 5.80m (19-0.25) in San Jose, Calif., on June 9.
• Three-time NCAA outdoor champion: 1975, 1976, 1977
• Two-time NCAA indoor champion: 1975, 1976
• Three-time U.S. outdoor Champion: 1976, 1984, 1990
• Three-time U.S. indoor Champion: 1980, 1984, 1987
• Two-time AAU champion (1976, 1984), with a bronze medal in 1981
• 1987 World Indoor Championships silver medalist
• 1986 Goodwill Games bronze medalist
• 1975 Pan American Games gold medalist
• Five-time NCAA record holder
• Set the world outdoor record in 1976
• Was ranked inside the top 6 in the United States for 16 consecutive years from 1975 to 1990.
• After retiring from competition, established Bell Athletics outside of Jonesboro, where he coached Olympians Jeff Hartwig, Derek Miles, Kellie Suttle and Jillian Schwartz, among other top pole vaulters. 
• 1988 National Olympic Coach of the Year
• In 2004, Bell Athletics alone produced half of the U.S. Olympic pole-vaulting team
• 1986 inductee into the A-State Hall of Honor

Al Joyner • Team USA • Triple Jump

Years at Arkansas State: 1980-83
Hometown: East St. Louis, Ill.
Olympiads: 1 (1984); coached in 1988 & 2016

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump, becoming the first American in eight decades (since 1904) to win the event - the first African American.
• Won the prestigious Jim Thorpe Award in 1984, awarded every four years to the best American in a field event at the Olympic Games.
• Placed eighth in the triple jump at the 1983 World Championships
• Competed in the 1987 World Indoor Championships
• Three-time NCAA indoor All-American
• Three-time NCAA outdoor All-American
• 1983 NCAA silver medalist
• Four-time Southland Conference champion
• Owns school record in indoor (16.78m/55-0.75) and outdoor (17.14m/56-2.75) triple jumps.
• Married Florence Griffith in 1987, whom he began coaching ahead of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. With his help as her coach, she won three gold medals and one silver. 
• Brother of Jackie Joyner-Kersee
• 1993 inductee into the A-State Hall of Honor
• 1997 Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee
• 1999 Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee
• 1999 Illinois Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee
• In 2016, coached Jeff Henderson to the long jump gold medal at the Rio Summer Olympics.
• Coaches at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., since 2005
• Sprint & jump coach for the 2005 USOC Paralympics team in Helsinki, which won 16 of the 30 medals the USA team won
• Acted in the film Rookie of the Year

Patterson Johnson • The Bahamian National Team • Triple Jump

Years at Arkansas State: 1989
Hometown: The Bahamas
Olympiads: 1 (1988)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• Competed in the triple jump at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, representing The Bahamas.
• Third in program history in the triple jump indoors (16.45m/53-11.75) and fourth outdoors (16.40m/53-9.75). 

Franck Waota • Cote d'Ivoire National Team • Sprints & Relays

Years at Arkansas State: 19??
Hometown: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Olympiads: 2 (1992, 1996)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• Represented Cote d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast) in both the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.
• Ran the 4x100-meter relay at the 1992 Barcelona Games, placing eighth (39.31).
• Competed in both the 200 and 4x100-meter relay at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. 
• Took silver in the 200 meters at the 1996 French Championships.
• Placed seventh in the 4x100-meter relay at the 1993 IAAF World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
• Concluded his A-State career ranked second in the 200 meters (currently 5th) and 100 meters (now 7th).

Jeff Hartwig • Team USA • Pole Vault

Years at Arkansas State: 1989-90
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
Olympiads: 2 (1996, 2008)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• Vaulted in the 1996 and 2008 Olympics for the United States.
• Four-time (1998, 1999, 2002, 2003) USA Outdoor Champion
• Two-time (1999, 2007) USA Indoor Champion
• 1999 World Indoor Championships silver medalist
• In 1998, was ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 2 in the world, receiving the Jim Thorpe Award as the Best American Field Events Athlete of the Year
• In 1999, set the American records both indoors and outdoors, was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world, and once again earned the Thorpe Award
• Broke his own American outdoor record for the fourth time in a 2000 meet in Jonesboro by vaulting 6.03m (19-9.5) that stood until 2019.
• Was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in 2001, and on March 10, 2002, set the American indoor record of 19-9
• Finished the 2002 season ranked No. 1 in the world.
• 2000 inductee into the A-State Hall of Honor

Chad Harting • Team USA • Pole Vault

Years at Arkansas State: 1994-95
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
Olympiads: 1 (2000)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• Represented the United States in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
• Took bronze at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, clearing 5.63m and winning a jump-off for the final spot.
• Earned a sixth-place finish at both the USA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 1999.
• Placed seventh at the USA Indoor Championships in 2000. 
• 1997 World University Games silver medalist
• Ended his career sixth all-time in the indoor pole vault - 5.33m (17-5.75).

Mesut Yavas • Turkish National Team • Long Jump

Years at Arkansas State: 2001-03
Olympiads: 1 (2000)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• Competed in the long jump for Turkey at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
• Set the Turkish indoor record in the long jump in 2000, jumping 8.09m in Ames, Iowa, before setting the Turkish outdoor record later in the summer in Istanbul.
• 2000 Turkish long jump champion
• 2001 Balkan Championships gold medalist
• Competed at the 2001 World Championships
• 2000 Balkan Championships silver medalist
• In 2003, finished fourth at the Balkan Championships and competed at the World University Games.
• Ranks second in program history in the indoor long jump (7.89m/25-10.75) and fourth outdoors (7.94m/26-0.75). 

Kellie Suttle • Team USA • Pole Vault

Years at Arkansas State: 1994-96
Hometown: St. Peters, Mo.
Olympiads: 2 (2000, 2004)

Career Notes

Olympedia Bio

• Two-time Olympian, competing for Team USA at the 2000 Sydney (11th place) and 2004 Athens (12th) Games.
• 2006 USA Indoor Champion, later placing seventh at the World Indoor Championships in Moscow.
• Took bronze at the 2004 Olympic Trials to earn her second Olympic bid.
• Placed fourth at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, U.K.
• Took silver at both the 2001 World Indoor Championships and USA Indoor Championships before placing eighth outdoors at the national championships
• Also in 2001, became just the second woman in United States history to clear the 15-foot mark.
• 2000 USA Olympic Trials silver medalist, punching her ticket to the XXVII Olympic Games in Sydney
• 1999 Pan American Games silver medalist, later placing ninth at the IAAF World Championships
• 1998 USA Outdoor Champion after placing eighth at the indoor championships
• 1999 USA Outdoor Championships silver medalist and Indoor Championships bronze medalist
• Took bronze in the 1996 USA Indoor Championships before finishing sixth at the outdoor championships
• Placed fourth at the 2000 USA Indoor Championships
• Finished fourth at the 1997 USA Outdoor Championships
• Ranks sixth outdoors in program history, clearing 3.98m (13-0.75).
• 2016 inductee into the A-State Hall of Honor

Camryn Newton-Smith • Australian National Team • Heptathlon

Years at Arkansas State: 2019-23
Hometown: Greenbank, Queensland, Australia
Olympiads: 1 (2024)

Career Notes

• Placed 19th in the heptathlon at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
• 2024 Oceania Championships gold medalist - 6,070 points
• 2024 Australian Championships gold medalist - 6,180 points
• Three-time All-American: 2023 Outdoor (First Team), 2020 & 2023 Indoor (Honorable Mention)
• Holds school records in pentathlon (4,356) and heptathlon (5,887), both breaking Sun Belt Conference records
• Also set the program record in the javelin (47.79m/155-4) in 2022.
• Ended her career second in the 60-meter hurdles (8.35), third in both the outdoor long jump (6.26m/20-6.5) and indoor long jump (6.16m/20-2.5), as well as third in the indoor high jump (1.81m/5-11.25). She also ranked fifth in the outdoor high jump (1.78m/5-10) and 100-meter hurdles (13.62) at the conclusion of her career.
• 2023 Sun Belt Women's Field Performer of the Year - Indoor & Outdoor
• Totaled eight medals as a Red Wolf: 4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
• Three-time First Team All-SBC - 2023 Outdoor, 2022 Outdoor, 2020 Indoor)
• Two-time Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Champion (2023 heptathlon, 2022 javelin)
• Two-time Sun Belt Conference Indoor Champion (2020 60-meter hurdles & pentathlon)
• Two-time Sun Belt Conference Silver Medalist (2022 pentathlon [I] & heptathlon [O])
• 2022 NCAA West Regionals Qualifier in the high jump and javelin
• 2023 SBC High Jump Bronze Medalist - Indoor & Outdoor
• 2020 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships High Point Scorer (20 points)