Northwest University Athletics

Olson was inducted into the 2016 Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 31, 2016. Phil was a cross country and track & field athlete at Northwest University from 1999 to 2003. An NAIA All-American, he still holds school records in the 5,000-meter, 10,000-meter, and 4x800-meter relay on the track and the 2-mile, 4k, 2.6-mile, and 4-mile distances for cross country.

“Phil was a standout for Northwest,” said Coach Bill Taylor. “Phil practiced and competed hard and would do whatever he was capable of doing in each race.” During Olson’s senior year, he qualified for the NAIA National Championships in both the 10,000-meter and the 5,000-meter and ran both. Olson earned All-American honors in the 5,000-meter just two days after running the 10,000-meter. “Even under the best of circumstances, it was a gigantic challenge to race both races in such a short span of time. Then he went out, gave himself a chance, and got a huge reward…I couldn’t have been more proud of an athlete.”