Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Described by his college coach as the “toughest competitor” he ever saw, the late Erik Anderson etched a memorable career in cross country and track and field at Linfield, capping his time as a Wildcat with his induction into the Athletics Hall of Fame.
A two-time Northwest Conference champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and two-time Top-7 finisher at the NAIA Track and Field Championships, Anderson was the gold standard in Linfield distance running during the 1990s. He was a Northwest Conference champion in the 5,000 meter run, never finishing lower than second place in any NWC championship event.
Garry Killgore, the coach who recruited Anderson to compete at Linfield, had high praise for his former star. “Erik was a great competitor. I loved that about him. And he was just a great person in general and someone who people wanted to be around.”
Anderson made an immediate splash during his first season as a Wildcat, becoming just the second Linfield cross country runner to be crowned Northwest Conference Champion and spurring the Wildcats to their most recent cross country team title. The following season, with Anderson starring as Linfield’s top runner, the 1995 cross country team achieved the highest finish at the NAIA championship meet in school history.
In track and field, Anderson ranks second all-time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:10.21. He’s also seventh in program history in the 10,000 meters, clocking 31:08.60.
Prior to arriving at Linfield, Anderson served in the Gulf War for the U.S. Army then spent two years at Clark College where he earned an associate’s degree.
Anderson didn’t talk much about his war experience, Killgore said, but his job as an Apache helicopter scout clearly affected him.
“He could withstand a lot more pain because of what he saw over there, and he used it to better his life.”
Graduating from Linfield in 1996, Anderson remained active in the track and field community, becoming a successful track and cross country coach at Clark College and later at Spokane Community College. He was named NWAACC Coach of the Year 12 times and coached more than 90 community college All-Americans during an 11-year span.
Billy Grubbs, a track athlete recruited to Clark College by Anderson called him “a mentor, friend and the best coach I’ve ever had in my life. He was like my father away from home.”
While coaching in Spokane, Anderson completed a master’s degree in exercise science and physiology from Eastern Washington University in 2003.
“What I admired about Erik was his work ethic and his attitude in the way he approached his craft,” said Killgore. “But what I’m proudest of him for are the things he accomplished after he left Linfield.”
Tragically, Anderson passed away in a workplace accident in 2009 at age 38.
He married his college sweetheart and track and field teammate, the former Mariza Scofield, whom he met on the running track. Together, they have two daughters, Ripley, 15, and Evelyn, 12.
“He had a beautiful family and I would not trade being part of his life for anything in the world. And I certainly consider him a part of mine,” said Killgore.
