NEWS | Parkwood graduate Tillman joins Wingate Track staff as assistant (EJ website)
NEWS | Parkwood graduate Tillman joins Wingate Track staff as assistant (PDF)
 
WINGATE, N.C. — Wingate University gave John Tillman hope in coaching track and field in college.
 
"I've been around Wingate for a long time," Tillman said.
 
Earlier this month, Wingate University athletic director Joe Reich announced that Tillman is an assistant track and field coach under track and field director Matt van Lierop.
 
Tillman's roots go all the way back to Parkwood High School when he first tried out for the track and field team. After graduating in 1983, his desire to give back to the sport grew.
 
Tillman spent his college years running for the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas before making a run in the Olympics.
 
Tillman said he was embraced each time he came to Wingate to hold private training sessions with high school athletes. He had coaching stints at Union Academy, Anson County High School and at his alma mater before the opportunity came up.
 
"Wingate was gracious enough to allow me to train some athletes here," Tillman said. "It's kind of hard to find a facility in Union County. Union County is an amazing county for track and field. This is home for me. This is the home college."
 
Enthusiasm was what he enjoyed being around while coaching the relay teams at his alma mater. The relay teams earned All-American honors after finishing fifth place in the 4x100 meter relays at the New Balance Nationals outdoor championships in 2019.
 
When Tillman watched the team in the 2024 South Atlantic Conference championship, he was impressed with their team spirit.
 
Two Wingate student-athletes reached out to Tillman after the conference championship meet and asked, 'How can I improve this?' and 'How can I improve that?'
 
At Wingate, Tillman plans to instill in his future students how to master "the skill of passing that baton and understanding what that teamwork really is."
 
"My mother used to say, 'If you're going to do something, do it well,' and that's across the board," Tillman said. "If you're going to work at a job, you want to give your very best effort. In school, you want to give your very best effort.
 
"There's a huge team here," Tillman said. "There are a lot of athletes here and I'm really looking forward to getting to know more of them."
 
Wingate University

Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 26 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 16 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.
 
OneDog, #OneDog, and One Day One Dog are registered trademarks of Wingate University.
 
(Editor's note: The Enquirer Journal reporter Michael Wayne O'Neill ('23) wrote this article. O'Neill earned a bachelor's degree in communications at Wingate in December.)