Mary Wood enters her eighth year with Illinois State track & field. The 2021-22 season marks her fifth year in the role of Associate Head Coach.

Wood coaches the Redbird men and women in the horizontal jumps and pole vault. Coach Wood is a USA Track and Field Level II certified coach in the jumping events. In her seven seasons as a Redbird assistant, she has coached 18 Missouri Valley Conference champions, 42 All-Valley performances, 14 NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifiers, five USA Junior National Qualifiers and six Illinois State record-holders.

In addition, Wood has helped the Redbirds claim 11 MVC team titles during her tenure, including four straight indoor championships with the Redbird women winning titles in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, as well as a title in 2016. The women have also won the last three outdoor championships (2018, 2019, 2021), while the men won back-to-back indoor titles in 2018 and 2019.

During the 2021 campaign, Wood guided pole vaulter Kellen Kravik to his first MVC championship in the outdoor season. Kravik edged out teammates Eddie Winner and Ryan Ashenbremer for the pole vault crown, as the Redbirds swept the podium. On the season, Kravik also broke the school record in the pole vault at the Clark Wood Open with a mark of 5.26 meters (17-3 ft.), which would move him into qualifying range for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships for the second straight season. On the women’s side, Wood led Nicole Bagwell to a second-place finish at the 2021 MVC Outdoor Championships, matching the highest finish of her career.

For two years in a row (2019 & 2020), Wood's pole vaulters swept the Valley indoor titles with newcomer Eddie Winner taking the crown on the men's side and Ariana Cranston winning her fourth-straight pole vault title between indoor and outdoor. Joining Winner and Cranston on the podium for ISU's pole vaulters were Kellen Kravik, who was second behind Winner and Nicole Bagwell, who tied for third. Kravik is a five-time All-Valley pole vaulter, while Bagwell is a four-time All-MVC honoree.

Wood also guided jumper Charde Golliday to her first MVC title in the long jump and an All-Valley finish in the triple jump (third place). Golliday's leap of 5.92 meters (19-5.25 ft.) in the long jump was not only a personal-best mark, but also tied her for the No. 5 spot on the ISU indoor top-10 list. Joining Golliday on the podium from Illinois State was Kameesha Smith, who placed second with a jump of 5.91 meters (19-4.75 ft.). In the triple jump, Golliday finished with the third-best mark at 12.16 meters (39-10.75 ft.).

Victoria Gruszka completed her Illinois State track & field career with a sixth-place finish in the triple jump at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. Gruszka, a consistent competitor for the Redbirds, placed in the top-8 to score points at all seven conference meets she competed at.

The 2018-19 season was highlighted by Wood's pole vaulters who won three MVC titles and had eight All-Valley performances. Cranston won her third-straight pole vault title, sweeping the event at the Valley Championships as a junior. Illinois State finished 1-2 in the women's pole vault at both the indoor and outdoor championships with Bagwell finishing as runner-up at both conference meets.

On the men's side, the Redbirds swept the pole vault at the 2019 MVC Indoor Championship with Ryan Ashenbremer taking the title and Kravik and Luke Nelson following in second and third, respectively.

Wood had two student-athletes set school records in the 2018-19 season, including Nelson, clearing a personal-best 5.29 meters (17-4.25 ft.) to set the indoor school record in the pole vault. The horizontal jumps were led by Golliday, who set the outdoor long jump school record with a personal-best jump of 6.30 meters (20-08 ft.). Golliday, who doubles in the long jump in the triple jump, was a two-time All-Valley performer in the 2018-19 season, placing third in the long jump at the MVC Indoor Championships, and third in the triple jump at the MVC Outdoor Championships.

Over the course of the 2017-18 campaign, Wood led Cranston and Ashenbremer to Valley Championships. Cranston was crowned the 2018 MVC Outdoor Pole Vault Champion, after being named the runner-up at the indoor Valley meet.

Ashenbremer reigned supreme in the pole vault competition at both the Indoor and Outdoor Valley Championships, bringing home the MVC title at both meets. His outdoor Valley Championship-winning mark of 5.13 meters (16-10 ft.) was not only a personal-best but qualified him for the NCAA West Preliminary Round and USATF Junior Nationals.

Wood led her men’s pole vault squad to a completely dominating performance at both the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships. At the indoor meet, Wood helped Ashenbremer, Kravik, Nelson, and Sam Peschke finish 1-2-3-4, claiming 29 points for the eventual-champion Redbirds. Wood’s men’s pole vault group again swept the podium at the outdoor Valley meet, with Ashenbremer, Kravik, and Peschke placing 1-2-3 to each earn All-Valley honors.

In the horizontal jumps, junior Amanda McClain led the way for the Redbirds at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, claiming her third-consecutive indoor long jump title. McClain would then go on to win the outdoor Valley title as well, making her a five-time MVC Champion in the long jump. Wood has coached McClain to an already-decorated career, which includes breaking the 27-year-old Illinois State long jump record at the 2017 Indoor Valley Championships with a personal-best jump of 6.17 meters (20-3 ft.) and qualifying for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in 2016 and 2017. Her NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifying-mark of 6.20 meters (20-4.5 ft.) in 2017 ranks second on ISU’s all-time list.

Wood also helped freshman Smith to All-Valley honors in the long jump in 2018, as she finished second at the MVC Indoor Championships with a personal-best leap of 6.02 meters (19-9 ft.). Not only did Smith’s mark land her fourth on ISU’s top-10 list, but it qualified her for the USATF Junior National Championships.

Other notable performances during the 2017-18 season include marks from jumpers Golliday and Gruszka. Wood helped Golliday become a threat in both the long jump and triple jump, as she scored points in both events at the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. At the indoor Valley meet, Golliday placed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 5.91 meters (19-4.75 ft.) and sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 12.13 meters (39-9.75 ft.). Both marks are personal-records, and rank sixth and fourth, respectively, on Illinois State’s top-10 list. Golliday also found success at the outdoor Valley Championships, placing fifth in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump. During the outdoor season, she captured a new long jump personal-best of 5.95 meters (19-6.25 ft.), which is seeded eighth on the Redbirds’ all-time list.

Gruszka scored points in the triple jump at both the Indoor and Outdoor Valley Championships, placing seventh at the indoor meet and fourth at the outdoor meet. She has now scored points for the Redbirds in the triple jump at all-four championship meets in which she has competed. Gruszka also recorded a new personal-best during the outdoor campaign, leaping 12.28 meters (40-3.5 ft.) to improve to sixth all-time in Illinois State history. She remains eighth on ISU’s indoor top-10 list as well after capturing a jump of 12.06 meters (39-7 ft.) at the MVC Championships in 2017.

During the 2016-2017 season, Wood’s athletes tallied 19 personal records, 13 Illinois State top-ten performances, and one Illinois State record. Wood’s group of young men and women also combined to score 42 points at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.

As a freshman, Anthony McRoberts broke the 50 ft. barrier in the triple jump at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Woods Invite at the University of Louisville. His personal-best jump of 15.28 meters (50-1.5 ft.) is eighth on Illinois State’s all-time list and qualified McRoberts for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Austin, Texas. McRoberts also qualified for the USA Junior Championships in the triple jump.

The 2016 season was marked by Emily Clay breaking the Illinois State outdoor record in the pole vault with a personal-best mark of 4.12 meters (13-6.25 ft.). During the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, the senior won the indoor title with a jump of 4.01 meters (13-1.75 ft.), helping the Redbird Women’s Team to their first indoor team title since 1997. Clay won her second Missouri Valley title at the outdoor championships with a vault of 4.11 meters (13-5.75 ft.). Clay concluded her season at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Lawrence, Kan., where she finished 18th with a mark of 4.12 meters (13-6.25 ft.).

The notable performances of the 2015 season were led by Chase Pavelonis. The senior shattered the 28- year-old indoor pole vault record with a vault of 5.28 meters (17-3.75 ft.). Pavelonis achieved this lifetime best mark at the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, earning his first championship title.  Pavelonis followed this with another school record-breaking performance in the outdoor season at the Redbird Invite with a jump of 5.21 meters (17-1 ft.). Pavelonis qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round for the first time in his career, finishing 16th in Austin, Texas, with a mark of 5.20 meters (17-0.75 ft.).

Wood came to Illinois State from Gardner-Webb University where she served as the coach of the men’s and women’s horizontal jumps, pole vault, combined events, sprints, and hurdles from 2007 to 2014. Wood coached 10 Big South Conference Champions with the Bulldogs, while her athletes amassed 47 All-Conference Honors.

During her seven years at GWU, Wood’s athletes broke six school records and one conference record. Tyler Craig earned the Big South Freshman of the Year Award for his performance in the pole vault. Wood also sent two athletes to the USA Junior Championships, Sarah Perkins (400 meter Hurdles) and Johnathon Parks (110 meters Hurdles). She also qualified four athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary Round.

Wood graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 2005 with Bachelor’s degrees in history, social science and education. During her athletic career at EIU, Wood was a team captain, three-time Ohio Valley Conference champion in the pole vault, and broke both indoor and outdoor school and conference records.  She earned her Master’s degree in Sport Science and Pedagogy from Gardner-Webb University in 2009.

Wood is an Illinois native and currently resides in Bloomington, Ill.