Eastern Connecticut State University

Distance runner Stephen M. Gates was the first University athlete to compete in national competition in either cross country or track and field. The first member of either program to gain E-Club Hall of Fame membership, Gates competed at the 1974 NCAA National Cross Country Championships, and at the 1975 NCAA Track and Field Championships in the mile. Gates was the first four-year cross-country letterwinner and a two-time team captain and a member of the first intercollegiate track team in 1975. In his final race, the Manchester native set the current school record in the mile when he clocked a 4:09.1 at the national championship meet in a seventh-place finish.  In cross country, Gates placed 78^th in a field of 403 runners at the national event. As a senior, Gates won the New England championship in both cross-country and in the mile.