Hall of Fame
Celestine N’Drin raced through the prime of her Olympic and collegiate running career while attending Washington State University from 1985-1990. Prior to stepping foot on campus in Pullman, N’Drin competed as a member of the Ivory Coast 1984 Olympic team, having already taken over as the Ivory Coast national record-holder in both the 400m and 800m events. She burst onto the collegiate scene during her freshman season of ‘86 in which she broke two school records-- 400m and 500y—and also set three separate meet records in the 400m. After suffering an injury during her sophomore year, N’Drin forewent the 1988 outdoor championships to compete in the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul where she dropped the Cougars’ all-time mark in the 400m to 52.04, a time that still stands as the all-time program record. She also remains WSU’s record holder in the women’s 800m after wrapping her collegiate career with a 2:02.99 at the 1990 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, earning first-team All-American honors as a senior. Having been recruited to a women’s track team that was still in its infancy in the mid-80’s, N’Drin had major influence in paving the way for women’s Cougar athletics, becoming the first three-time conference champion in women’s program history when she won her second-career 800m Pac-10 title as a senior in ‘89.
