Hall of Fame
Scyla Murray, 2005 - A Gateway Conference champion and record-holder in the 100-meter hurdles, Scyla Murray competed in the U.S. Junior Nationals, the NCAA National Championships and the U.S. Olympic Festival throughout her illustrious track career. She still holds three Western Illinois records and 12 top-ten marks.
After a record-setting career at Oak Park-River Forest High School and a fourth place finish at the Junior Nationals, Murray became an all-conference hurdler for the Westerwinds, winning the 100-meter Gateway title in 1991 with a record time of 13.39 seconds. She placed ninth in the same event at the NCAA Championships and ran the 100-meter dash in the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival. After graduating cum laude from Western Illinois in 1991, Murray placed sixth in the 55-meter hurdles at the 1992 Indoor National Championships and was a 100-meter hurdles qualifier in the U.S. Olympic Trials. She was later honored as the Gateway’s Athlete of the Decade in 1996.
Murray worked at her alma mater as a high school English teacher and track coach. She was the Most Inspirational Teacher Award from Western Illinois in 1998.
