Indiana University of Pennsylvania Athletics

IUP has produced five national champions in the javelin, a tradition of success that originated with John Elliott.
Elliott, a four-time All American, launched the school's impressive run of titles by heaving his javelin farther than anyone else at the NAIA meet in 1973. Dave Maudie (1987), Jeff Neral (1990), Bob Vranich (1993) and Mark Bridge (2002) have followed in his footsteps by winning NCAA Division II crowns.
Elliott shattered his own school record of 226 feet, 11 inches with a toss of 233-8 in the first round of the competition at the 1973 NAIA meet in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He then blew away the field in the finals with a monster throw of 244-9 in his first attempt.
Even without that herculean heave, Elliott still would've walked away with the championship: He also uncorked the second-best throw, a 239-0. Larry Hynek of Emporia (Kansas) State finished a distant second with a toss of 237-9.
A graduate of Union Joint High School in Rimersburg, Elliott first made a splash on the national scene as a sophomore by finishing seventh at the NAIA meet in Billings, Montana, with a school-record throw of 225-5. A year later he placed fifth at the NCAA College Division meet in Ashland, Ohio, even though a back injury limited his effectiveness.  Elliott's throw of 225-6 brought the first of his four All-America honors and also gave IUP its first All-American in track and field.
Elliott won NAIA All-America honors six days later when he placed fourth at the national meet in Billings with a throw of 226-11. For the second week in a row he had exceeded expectations by finishing higher than he was seeded.   Elliott was seeded 10th at the NCAAs and sixth at the NAlA meet.
Earlier that year, Elliott captured Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and NAIA District 18 championships.  At the close of the season he earned recognition as one of the Outstanding College Athletes of America.
Elliott came back even stronger in the spring of 1973. He improved one place at the NCAAs, finishing fourth at Crawfordsville, Indiana, with a throw of 236-6, despite a pulled muscle that hampered his efforts. Elliott then won the NAIA title to become only the second athlete in IUP history to reign as a national champion (Rick Hrip took top honors at the NAIA golf tournament in 1968).  Elliott had previously repeated as the NAIA District 18 champion.
He graduated from IUP in 1973 and is now Vice President and Area Manager for Owens-Illinois, a packaging company that ranks as one of the world's largest manufacturers of glass containers. His office is located in Tracy, California.
Elliott and his wife, Sylvia, have three sons: Craig, Ryan and Sean.