University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Eric Burrell rates as one of the greatest track athletes ever to wear a Blugold uniform. He won the NCAA Division III outdoor 400-meter championship in 1990, the same year he anchored the 400-meter relay to a national championship. He was a nine-time NAIA and NCAA All-American, five times in individual events and four times in relays. He was a seven-time WSUC individual track champion and eight-time WSUC relay winner. At the time of his induction, his name still appeared with eight school indoor and outdoor records. Burrell’s effort in the 1990 NCAA nationals helped the Blugolds achieve their highest team finish at that time--a fourth place. In addition to his gold medals that year, he also anchored the Blugold 1600-meter relay team to a second-place finish. Burrell’s individual national finishes included fifth twice in the indoor 55-meter dash, a fifth in the indoor 60-yard dash and a sixth in the outdoor 100-meter dash. His national relay finishes included one first, two seconds and a third. His teammates on the All-American relay squads included Andy Eslinger, Tony Sarnowski, Ty Prosa, Dan Kelner and Pete Balistrieri. Burrell was a two-time conference indoor champ in both the 55-mter dash and the 300-meter dash. Outdoors, he won the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes. He anchored the 1600-meter relay team to five conference golds, the 800-meter relay to two firsts and the 400-meter relay to one victory. At the time of his induction, he held the school indoor records at 55 and 300 meters and the outdoor 400-meter dash record. His name is linked to the indoor 800-meter and 1600-meter records and the outdoor 400, 800 and 1600-meter relays. He was the conference record holder in the 300-meter dash when that event was discontinued. Burrell transferred to UWEC after winning the 100 and 200-meter dash and setting school records in those events at Minnesota-Morris as a freshman in 1986-87. Burrell also anchored the Blugold 800-meter relay to a first place at the Drake Relays in 1990. In that same meet, he also helped the Blugolds to a third in the 1600-meter relay and a fourth in the 400-meter relay, allowing the Blugolds to become one of the few College Division schools ever to place in all three events at the prestigious Drake Relays. He lettered in football during the 1987 and 1988 seasons as a wide receiver before hanging up the pads to concentrate on his sprinting. Burrell worked at the Eau Claire Academy as a residential assistant and core staff from 1990-98. At the time of his induction, he had been employed with UPS in Eau Claire as a loader and driver since 1990.