UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Bill Langhout was the track program’s first national champion when he won the NAIA marathon in 1980. Langhout, born in Evanston, Illinois but a prep graduate of Manitowoc Lincoln High School, conquered the Texas heat to win the 1980 NAIA marathon with a time of 2:30.33.3. While Langhout didn’t complete the 10,000-meter run at the WSUC championships earlier that month due to the heat, he bested the 42 runners that started the race at 6 a.m. in Abilene, Texas. Only 28 finished the race with the temperature hovering around 86 degrees. Even in winning the marathon, Langhout was forced to stop twice because of intestinal cramps. The 1980 gold medal came in Langhout’s third try at the NAIA marathon after having finished 10th in 1979 and 14th in 1978. That win was Langhout’s major victory at UWEC where he lettered two times in cross country and three times in track. With the 10 points awarded for the marathon gold medal, the Blugolds tied for 19th in the overall team standings that year. Langhout is the only Blugold to have won an NAIA outdoor track championship. In recent years, Blugold track athletes have claimed numerous titles in the NCAA outdoor track championships.
Langhout graduated in 1980 with a degree in comparative religious studies. He has spent the past three decades in the packaging business, serving as the National Sales Manager for Genpak LLC, and Innovation manager for Nordenia USA, which in 2012 was acquired by the Mondi Group for whom he was employed at the time of his induction as a Global Key Account Manager. With his degree, Langhout initially served as a chaplain for the Boy Scouts and led post college track tours to Eastern Europe for Athletes in Action. He has been involved in leadership with Promise Keepers, Young Life, both in La Crosse, WI and Woodbury, MN, Hockey Ministry International and Five Oaks Community Church in Woodbury. Langhout served two years as president of the Woodbury High School booster club and has been involved in several capital campaigns for church, high school athletics and Young Life.
Post-college running brought with it many memorable moments for Langhout. After accepting a position with Campus Crusade’s Athletes in Action Track and Field team, Bill and his wife Sarah were able to share their faith with the opportunity to continue running. This experience allowed Bill and Sarah to take post college athletes on tour through Europe as well as host chapels at NCAA championships in the US. Langhout’s goal was to qualify for the Olympic trials, but he came up a couple of minutes short in 1980 with a 2:22 clocking. Langhout continued running through the next 3.5 decades and continues to compete. In 2010 Langhout competed in the Zevenheuvenloop 15k at Nijmegen Holland with a 57:10, in 2011 at the USATF Indoor Track Championships U of M 5K with a 17:16:34, and in 2015 at the 15 GNG (Get-n-gear) 10K with a 37:35. Langhout ran the Grand Masters Grandmas marathon with a 3:03:06 in 2013 and has ranked in ROY (runner of the year) the last 10 years.
