This feature is part of a series profiling the seven members of the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023. This year's class will be inducted during ceremonies on Sept. 23 as part of the inaugural Flames Fest weekend at UIC.
 
By Amri Wilder, UIC Athletics Communications Associate
 
Throughout her star-studded career with the UIC women's cross country and track & field programs, Tess Ehrhardt Piñón was used to leading the pack. Nearly a decade later, her pursuers still haven't been able to track her down.
 
Ehrhardt Piñón will be the fourth member of the Flames' women's cross country and track & field programs to be inducted into the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame and the first since Jenni Goebel in 2010.
 
"I really did not expect this," Ehrhardt Piñón said. "To be part of a (Hall of Fame) group that lives on forever in UIC history — it's a life accomplishment."
 
Ehrhardt Piñón competed at UIC from 2011-15, becoming one of only four runners ever to capture the Horizon League Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year award twice (2013, 2014). However, it was her versatility in multiple events that made her one of a kind.
 
Ehrhardt Piñón not only became the first UIC runner to win Horizon League cross country titles (2013 and 2014), but she also seized the 3,000-meter indoor title in 2014 and ran away with the 5,000-meter indoor championship in 2015. As if her athletic prowess wasn't impressive enough, Ehrhardt Piñón earned a well-deserved spot on the 2014 United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team for cross country.
 
A native of Geneva, Ill., Ehrhardt Piñón always felt that UIC was the perfect fit for her.
 
"I loved the diversity of UIC," she explained. "I loved that it was Division I. I loved that the coach (Jim Knoedel) was more like a fatherly figure rather than a traditional D-I coach."
 
Knoedel was the first head coach of the UIC cross country and track & field programs, retiring in 2016 following a 21-year career. He found it incredibly rewarding to witness Ehrhardt Piñón's development into an elite collegiate athlete.
 
"She was very serious about what she did," Knoedel said. "She listened, prepared, was always ready to go and worked incredibly hard. She was one of the athletes I always hoped others would look up to."
 
Others are looking up to Ehrhardt Piñón in the UIC record book as well. To this day, she holds four indoor school records (mile, 1,000 meters, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters) and three outdoor records (steeplechase, 5,000 meters, and 10,000 meters), as well as being a part of the Flames' record-setting distance medley relay team.
 
Ehrhardt Piñón's legacy is also reflected in the impact she had on her fellow teammates.
 
"As a runner, Tess was extremely competitive and always has a fire within her," said former teammate Emma Preston. "You would never hear any excuses from her. She remains one of the most humble runners and I believe that's why it's so crucial for her to receive this recognition."
 
Ehrhardt Piñón continues to put her best foot forward in life after college. She earned her bachelor's degree in kinesiology from UIC in 2015 and received her master's in prosthetics and orthotics from the University of Washington in 2017. She now serves as a certified prosthetist/orthotist for the Hanger Clinic in Chicago, with a focus on crafting custom bracing and prosthetic limbs for patients of all ages.