Bushnell University Women's Track

Bushnell Q&A with Coach Walcott (March 2023) George Walcott has been coaching with the Bushnell track & field program since 2013 and currently serves as the Associate Head Coach helping to oversee the entire program with coaching duties specifically in sprints and relays. Walcott has been a strong recruiter and coach, and through the 2021 season has overseen the careers of 19 All-CCC individuals and six All-Conference relay teams. Under his watch, Beacons have earned five individual CCC Championships, six All-American honors and 27 NAIA-Daktronics Scholar Athletes  Walcott came to the Beacons with over 25 years of coaching experience in Track & Field. He began his coaching career in the late 1980's as an assistant coach for his Alma Mater, The University of Oregon. He also had a one-year stint as an assistant with the Stanford University Cardinal.  Most recently, Walcott coached at Churchill High School where he finished his final season as the Head Track & Field Coach in 2014. During his thirteen years with the Lancers, he coached nine individual state champions and over 60 district champions. His teams also won a pair of state and district championships.  Walcott has built a strong reputation in the Eugene area as a sport consultant and personal trainer, working with numerous local athletes and teams across a multitude of sports in the areas of strength and conditioning, speed, agility, and flexibility. Since 1994, he has been the owner and operator of the highly successful "Training by George Walcott." Walcott has had a storied athletic career, beginning while he was a student at Calabar Boys High School in Jamaica. In 1979 he was the Jamaican National and Caribbean champion in the 100 meters and was the first recipient of the Norman Manley Prime Minister's Trophy. He also represented his school at the Penn Relays, taking first-place in the boys 4x100m relay as they set a school and meet record (41.63). He also represented Jamaica at the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico.  In 1980 he moved to the states to attend Central Arizona College. During his time there, he won the 200 meter JUCO national championship, conference championships in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m, was a two-time Male Athlete of the Year and qualified for the Jamaican Olympic trials.  Walcott moved to Eugene in 1981 to attend the University of Oregon where he was twice named the Most Inspirational athlete as he qualified for the NCAA Championships in both the 100m and 200m as a junior and senior. He exploded as a senior, winning the Pac-10 Championship in the 200m and represented Jamaica at the first ever World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, competing in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. He once again represented his country at the Pan American Games in Venezuela in the 4x100m relays.  What his athletes have said:  Adrienne Mai: "George has made an immense impact on my life. He has encouraged and pushed me athletically, but even more than has cared about me as an individual. He has believed in me and my abilities even when I did not, reminding me to never lose sight of my goals no matter how far they may have seemed. George has not just taught me to succeed as an athlete but as a person. He has taught me to never lose heart or faith." Antonio Campos-Perez: "George was my coach in high school and all through college. His impact helped develop my discipline and mindset in who I am today. He pushed my work ethic to new levels not just physically on the track but in life as well. I wanted to see results fast from my training, but he helped me realize to trust in the process which in return made me also realize to trust and have faith in The Lord’s process and timing." Sierra Janikowski: "Coach George has been the most supportive and caring coach! Anytime I’ve had any issues physically, mentally, or financially he has always been one step ahead to support me the way I needed. He believes in me and focuses on improving my abilities as an individual athlete as well as transforming me into a successful teammate and adult."

Jackson has been with the NCU cross country and distance track programs since 2008.  Having been a member of the running community in "Track Town, USA", Jackson comes in with a wealth of experience to his first collegiate coaching post.  Jackson continues to run competitively and is a member of the Eugene Running Club and the USATF. As a member of the Oregon Track Club Masters, he has performed at both the US and World Championships, running in the 1500m and 5000m events. He was named the 2011 OTCM Performer of the Year. Jackson competes locally in distance events and has won his age group in four Eugene Half-Marathons.  After running collegiately, Jackson began a 20-year career in the trucking industry as a Diesel Mechanic before returning to running in the early 2000's. Jackson currently lives in Springfield with his wife, Shannon.

McNeil, the inaugural running coach for NCU, has been leading the men's and women's cross country program since 2006 and the men's and women's distance track teams since their inception in 2009. McNeil has developed NCU into one of the premier distance running programs in the NAIA, culminating in an NAIA National Championship in 2015. She has won two Cascade Collegiate Conference championships, earned two CCC Coach of the Year awards and was named the 2015 NAIA national Coach of the Year.  Her teams have consistently been ranked in the top-25 nationally and since 2011 have qualified for five straight NAIA National Championships. In 2011 the women's cross country team took fourth place and in 2014 the Beacons finished third, after winning the school's first ever Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship in any sport.  McNeil has coached 15 NAIA All-Americans and numerous All-Cascade Collegiate Conference recipients, including nine individual CCC Champions in both Cross Country and Track & Field.  Known for their strength in the classroom equal to their strength on the course, McNeils teams have garnered countless Academic All-CCC and NAIA Scholar-Athlete winners. Her teams have also collected over 20 NAIA Scholar-Team Awards since 2009.   Coach McNeil began at NCU in 2004 as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and quickly established a successful running club on campus, taking students and faculty to various road races and other running events. That club evolved into the current varsity teams, which begin competition in the Fall of 2006. McNeil was a star runner at Linfield College from 1992-1996, participating in Cross Country and distance events for Track & Field. She was an All-American and All-American Scholar Athlete for the Wildcats in 1994. She was also an NAIA National Qualifier for the Marathon before graduating in 1996 with a BS in Chemistry.  McNeil is an active competitive runner and in the summer of 2010, took home a pair of second-place finishes (1500m, 5000m) at the USA Masters Track & Field National Championships in Sacramento, California. Coach McNeil earned her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Oregon in 2000 and continues to work as a Professor on the NCU Faculty. She and her husband David live in Eugene.