Hall of Fame
Steve Rihel, Slippery Rock University's first-ever NCAA Division II track and field national champion, will add another gem to his collection in September when he becomes a member of the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Rihel, the 1997 national champion in the javelin throw, earned three All-America honors and won one Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference individual championship as a member of The Rock track and field program.. He placed eighth in the javelin throw at the 1995 national championships and finished third in the 1996 competition.
Rihel was selected as the Field Events MVP at the 1996 PSAC Championships after winning the javelin throw and earning all-conference honors in the discus throw. All told, he garnered four All-PSAC honors during his four-year Rock career.
A 1997 SRU graduate with a bachelor's degree in safety and environmental management, Rihel puts the lessons he learned in the classroom to good use in his current job as an environmental health and safety leader at General Electric.
The father of two children, Rihel currently lives in his hometown of Grove City with his wife, Christie, and serves as assistant boys and girls track and field coach at his alma mater, Grove City High School, where he has tutored five PIAA state medal-winning student-athletes, including a state runner-up javelin thrower.
