DES MOINES, IOWA – Three-time Olympian Reese Hoffa and 18-time NCAA All-American Celena Mondie-Milner, who have combined to win seven Drake Relays titles, will be inducted into the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame during an April 25 luncheon at the Courtside Club in the Shivers Basketball Practice Facility on the Drake campus.
 
The induction of Hoffa and Monde-Milner will increase membership in the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame to 219. The Athletes Hall of Fame was established in 1959 during the Golden Anniversary of the Drake Relays with 72 charter members, including Jesse Owens, who was named the outstanding performer during the first half-century of the Drake Relays
 
Mondie-Milner is the ninth athlete from Illinois to join the Drake Relays Hall of Fame.   High jumpers Harold Osborn and Dwight Eddleman, along with pole vaulter Don Laz, were in the first induction class of 1959. They were followed by hurdler Lee Sentman (1963), half-miler George Kerr (1966), javelin thrower Milton Angier (1967),  horizontal jumper Charlton Ehizuelen (1987) and hurdler Perdita Felicien (2010).
 
Hoffa becomes the sixth athlete from Georgia inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame, joining sprinter Mel Lattany (1986), sprinter Gwen Torrence (1993), sprinter Debbie Ferguson (2005), women's hurdler Gudrun Arnardottir (2014) and hurdler Justin Gaymon (2016).
 
Reese Hoffa
 
A four-time NCAA All-American at Georgia, Hoffa was a four-time Drake Relays champ, first winning the university-college event in 1999 and 2000.
 
He came back to make five post-collegiate appearances at the Drake Relays, winning the invitational event in 2005 (68-10.5), while saving his best for his last Drake Relays in 2013 with a winning toss of 71-2 ¾. He also was second at the 2004, 2010 and 2011 Drake Relays.
 
As a senior at Georgia, he won the 2001 Southeastern Conference title and finished third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
A pillar of consistency, Hoffa was ranked among the top three shot putters in the world for 10 consecutive years, while representing Team USA at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics. His string began in 2003 when he set a Pan American Games record in the shot put. He was the 2006 and 2012 U.S. Indoor champ and won the shot put at the 2007 U.S. Outdoor Championships as well as the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. If that wasn't enough, Hoffa finished runner-up five times at the U.S. Indoor Championships and four times at the U.S. Outdoor meet, including his last appearance at Drake Stadium in 2013.
 
Hoffa won the shot put at the 2006 World Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 2007 World Outdoor Championships.  In 2007 alone, he topped the 70-foot-mark a total of 10 times. He also was a two-time World Indoor silver medalist, in 2004 and 2008.
 
He may have had his best year in 2012. After placing fifth at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, he came back to earn the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and also won the 2012 Diamond League title.
 
Hoffa earned crowd favorite status at the Drake Relays, bringing his intense and fun personality into the throwing ring. He gained acclaim for his antics as much as his throwing, taking a victory lap with a turkey leg after defending his Drake Relays title in 2000.  He also gained a reputation for passing his time between throws with a Rubik's Cube, using a similar analytical approach to the shot put.
 
"I've always thrown well at Drake and the fans have made me feel comfortable, " said Hoffa. "When I won at Drake as a sophomore, I did a 200-meter victory lap but got too tired. After I came back and won as a junior (2000), to make it a more special victory lap I decided to run with a turkey leg, which is an appropriate thrower's victory flag. Everyone enjoyed it and it added to the fun of the meet …where else could you do something like that."
 
Hoffa is the owner and head coach at Hoffa Throws Academy in Watkinsville, Ga.  His clients are middle school, high school, college and professional throwers in the shot put with a competitive edge looking for championship coaching.
 
 
Celena Mondie-Milner
 
Mondie-Milner was named the outstanding women's performer of the 1988 Drake Relays. During the Friday session, the graceful sprinter won the university-college division 100 in 11.67 seconds and led off the winning 4x200 relay in the new event, with Illinois being clocked in 1:33.74 
 
On Saturday, she anchored Illinois to a Drake Relays record of 43.94 seconds in the university-college 4x100 relay.
 
At a school with a rich tradition that has produced numerous Olympic medalists, Mondie-Milner is the most decorated collegiate athlete in Illinois track and field history, earning NCAA All-American honors 18 times while winning an incredible 17 Big Ten individual and relay titles.
 
She also competed on two international teams for the U.S., capturing a gold medal at the 1995 World Championships for running a leg on the 4x100 relay team and also competing in the 200. She also was a member of Team USA at the 1997 World Championships and took third in the 100 and 200 at the 1995 USA Track and Field Championships.
 
One of the Big Ten Conference's most dominating sprinters ever, Mondie-Milner is Illinois' all-time top performer in the 55 meters, 200 meters and 300 yards indoors, and the 200 meters and 400 meters outdoors. A four-year All-Big Ten selection from 1987-90, she was selected as Athlete of the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1990 and was a unanimous selection to the Big Ten Women's Outdoor Track All-Decade team in 1992.
 
Mondie-Milner finished second in the 100 at the 1990 NCAA Outdoor Championships and took third in the 200. She set Big Ten outdoor records in the 100 (11.34), 200 (22.66) and 400 (51.14), and Big Ten indoor records in the 55 (6.73) and 200 (23.33).
 
Mondie-Milner was a member of the Illinois 4x400 relay team that set American and NCAA records, and was on Illini teams that which won the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in 1988 and 1989, and the Big Ten Indoor Championship in 1988. She won the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1990.
 
She currently lives in Austin, Texas, where she serves as director of New Student Services at the University of Texas.