July 27, 2005

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason University women's track and field/cross country head coach Angie Taylor will be inducted into her high school's Hall of Fame in a ceremony being held the weekend of Sept. 23-24. She is a 1983 graduate of Rich Central High School in Olympia Field, Ill., just outside Chicago.

"I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to be inducted into my high school Hall of Fame," exclaimed Taylor. "I can't wait to go back and be a part of the ceremony. It sounds like it's going to be a very fun and exciting event."

The Hall of Fame ceremony is being held in conjunction with Rich Central Homecoming festivities. On Friday, Sept. 23, inductees are invited to a brunch buffet in the morning followed by a Homecoming Pep Rally at 11:30 a.m. That evening, Rich Central's varsity football team will face off against T.F. North.

On Saturday, Taylor and the other inductees will be officially added to the school's Hall of Fame in an evening banquet ceremony, beginning at 6 p.m.

Taylor was an accomplished athlete at Rich Central, earning four varsity letters in both track and field and volleyball and being named a team captain on both squads her senior season. In 1983, Taylor claimed individual conference track and field titles in the 100 and 200 hurdles and the long jump. She went on to win state titles in those events as well.

Taylor's other career highlights include being named Team USA's head women's coach for the 2003 IAAF World Championships - where she guided the 4X400-meter relay team to a gold medal - serving as head of George Mason's track and field/cross country teams for the past six seasons and earning All-American honors in the 100-meter hurdles as a student at Illinois State University.

Taylor graduated from Illinois State in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in speech communication. Additionally Taylor was honored as ISU's "Athlete of the Decade." In her post-collegiate athletic career, she competed as a heptathlete for various USA national teams and was a finalist in the heptathlon in the 1992 Olympic trials. She finished that year ranked 30th in the world.