CSU East Bay Assistant Athletics Director and former U.S. Track and Field Olympian, Dawn Ellerbe was inducted into the Penn Relays Wall of Fame on April 27.

The Penn Relays Carnival is the largest and oldest track and field competition in the United States. The first competition was held on April 21, 1895 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It highlights high school, college, Olympic Development, Olympic and Masters athletes.

Created in 1994, the Wall of Fame honors the greatest athletes in Penn Relays history.

Ellerbe joins 90 other individuals and 81 relay teams as part of the 19th Wall of Fame class.

“I am truly humbled and so excited to receive this honor. The Penn Relays is the biggest track meet in the U.S.  It truly is an honor to be recognized,” said Ellerbe.

“The atmosphere [at the Penn Relays] is awesome, the people are great and there are athletes, coaches and spectators from around the world all in one place to celebrate the sport of track and field. I do remember the actual competitions, but the atmosphere and camaraderie with the athletes is what makes the Penn Relays special to me.”

Ellerbe dominated the hammer throw in the Penn Relays both as a student-athlete at the University of South Carolina and as an Olympic Development Athlete for the New York Athletic Club.

While representing South Carolina, Ellerbe claimed the 1997 collegiate hammer throw victory and set a Penn Relays record along the way.

Throwing for the New York Athletic Club, Ellerbe won three straight Olympic Development hammer titles at the Penn Relays from 1999-2001, increasing her winning mark each year. Both of her winning distances in 2000 and 2001 set a new American record for the hammer throw.

The Long Island, New York native became a South Carolina Hall of Fame inductee in 2005 for breaking the American record in the hammer throw more than six times and winning four NCAA individual championships, among other feats.

She was also crowned as Southeastern Conference champion five times and earned six All-America certificates, competing in the shot put, hammer and discus.

In her professional career, Ellerbe won 12 USA Track and Field titles and competed at the 2000 Olympic Games, placing seventh in the hammer in Sydney, Australia. Ellerbe also held both the American and the world record in the hammer and the 20-pound weight during her professional career.

“The hammer throw is a tough sport. It’s very technical and takes a great deal of time to learn the technique.  I wouldn’t call it a struggle, but there were challenges as in any other sport,” said Ellerbe. “You just have to decide you want to be the best, get it together and do everything positive you can to get there.”

The Penn Relays are held every April at Franklin Field on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia.

The meet brings more than 15,000 athletes from across North America and overseas together for more than 300 events during the five-day competition.

Since retiring from track and field in 2004, Ellerbe has moved into athletics administration, beginning at her alma mater, where she was the Marketing Director for Varsity Sports from 2001 to 2009.

In the summer of 2009, Ellerbe was named Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing and Promotions at CSUEB and is in the midst of her third year.

“The hammer toss has been a blessing to me, that little ball and chain changed my life,” said Ellerbe. “My training took me to the Olympics, I got to see the world and meet and incredible group of amazing people along the way.

“There were good days and bad, some really tough training days, but as I look back over the opportunities I have had. I wouldn’t change a thing.”