The University of Illinois Springfield Athletics Department announced today that Tyler Pence is the new Prairie Stars cross country and track and field head coach. Pence is a Springfield native and has been the assistant coach for the program for the last three years.
 
"To become a head coach in my hometown, a city that I love and a sport that I'm incredibly passionate about, has always been a dream of mine," said Pence. "I have a great group of athletes who are team oriented and extremely motivated. This program in ready to take another step in the right direction. We will be bringing championships back to Springfield very soon."
 
"Over the last three years, our cross country and track teams have made huge strides, and at the same time I have watched Tyler grow in his coaching position," said Director of Athletics Jim Sarra. "There is no doubt that he is now ready to take the next step and become the leader of the UIS program. I am excited for him to get a chance to bring a championship to his hometown."
 
Pence is still a competitive runner, and has qualified for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. Last December, he ran the California International Marathon in a time of 2:15:36 to become eligible for next year's U.S. Olympic Trials.
 
Over the last three years as the assistant coach at UIS, the Prairie Stars have improved each year, including a record-breaking season in 2018-19. During the cross country season, the men's team finished third at the conference meet, and the women's team came in seventh, both program-bests. The men's team had two all-conference runners, and women's runner Taryn Christy was the GLVC Freshman of the Year.
 
During the track season, the Prairie Stars continued to have success, including the first three GLVC Individual Championships when Blake Jones won the indoor 5,000m, and Jones and Christy swept the outdoor 10,000m events. Those two runners also became the first runners in program history to earn NCAA Division II provisional marks, and Christy just missed being a national qualifier in the 10,000m. Jones and Christy were both named GLVC Freshman of the Year in indoor track.
 
Besides the program's athletics success, Pence has helped the program achieve other goals in the classroom and in the community. Last year, 16 athletes on the cross country rosters and 23 on the track and field rosters were named Academic All-GLVC.
 
Pence was an All-American runner in college at GLVC rival Southern Indiana. He was a two-time national champion in track, winning the indoor 5,000m and outdoor 10,000m as a junior. He earned nine All-American awards, 12 all-region honors, and 13 all-conference accolades. Pence was the GLVC runner-up at all four cross country meets he competed in, and he won three GLVC Individual Championships. Pence was the 2014 Cross Country Region Runner of the Year, and was the 2014-15 Southern Indiana Male Student-Athletes of the Year. He earned four GLVC Runner of the Week awards in his career.
 
Pence was also a three-time Academic All-District selection, and a two-time first-team Academic All-American. He graduated from Southern Indiana in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education with a minor in mathematics and special education.
 
Pence attended Springfield High School and was a three-time all-conference performer in cross country. He helped Springfield finish in the top-six in the IHSA Cross Country Championships all four years, and helped the 2011 track and field team finish fifth at state.