Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame
Corey Christenson left his mark in three sports at Augustana from 1992-97, winning a total of four individual College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championships in track & field and wrestling and playing on teams that won three conference titles in football and wrestling. He earned five letters in track & field, where he was a six-time All-American and his 16’ 7” pole vault at the 1994 CCIW Championships still stands as a school record 22 years later. He was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter in football and his wrestling career, although short, was filled with success as well.
Christenson arrived at Augustana from University High School in Normal, Illinois, where he won a wrestling state championship at 160 pounds as a senior and a state pole vault title as a junior. He was also an all-conference running back and defensive back for the Pioneers.
After seeing enough playing time on the gridiron to letter in 1992, Christenson hit the wrestling mats, where he made a more immediate impact. Competing at 158 pounds, he captured a CCIW title, downing Wheaton’s David Elsen 6-4 in overtime in the final. He lost his first match at the national meet, but finished the season 29-10 and won “Best Freshman” honors for Coach Kevin Puebla’s conference-champion Vikings. In the spring, he cleared a best of 15’ 7” for Coach Paul Olsen in the pole vault.
As a sophomore, Christenson moved into the starting lineup and earned all-conference honorable mention for Coach Bob Reade’s football squad. He was the team’s fourth-leading tackler with 54 stops and had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. He also handled the punting chores for a Viking squad that went 7-2 and was an undefeated CCIW champion.
Christenson gave up wrestling in 1993-94 in favor of indoor track and field. In the spring, he went 16’ 7” in the pole vault at the CCIW meet, winning his first conference championship in track and shattering Doug Felder’s 18-year old school record by seven inches. At the national meet, he cleared 16’ 4” to finish third and earn his first All-America certificate.
A second team All-CCIW pick in football in1994, Christenson was the fifth-leading tackler (42) on Reade’s final team, which claimed another CCIW crown. In track, he earned All-America honors both indoors and outdoors. He went 15’ 4¼” to finish fifth at the indoor meet and cleared 16’ 4½” outdoors, good for third in the nation.
Although his senior campaign of football was limited to six games, Christenson still recorded 21 tackles and two interceptions, earning All-CCIW honorable mention for a 6-3 Augustana outfit. In track, he won two more conference titles and repeated his double-All-America effort of the year before. At the CCIW meet, he went 16’ 4” to win his second pole vault title and ran a leg on the winning 4x100 relay for good measure. At the indoor national meet, his 15’ 8¾” pole vault earned him eighth in the nation and outdoors, he equaled the winning height of 16’ 4¾”, but finished second on the basis of fewest misses.
While finishing up his studies in 1997, Christenson was coaxed out of “retirement” by Puebla to wrestle one final match. In a January dual meet against a stout Loras outfit, he was plugged in at 177 pounds to face Tom Ciezki. In his first match in over three years, Christenson pinned the Duhawk in 4:24, providing the margin of victory in a 27-21 Viking win. Ciezki, by the way, went on to finish eighth in the nation at 167 pounds before transferring to Northwestern University, where he twice qualified for nationals at the Division I level.
Christenson also used the winter of 1997 to exhaust his final season of indoor track & field eligibility. At the UW-La Crosse Invitational, he went 16’ 2” to establish a new indoor school record in the pole vault. He closed his stellar collegiate career at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he cleared 16’ ¾” to snare another second-place finish and his sixth All-America certificate.
After graduating from Augustana in 1997 with degrees in physical education and secondary education, Christenson received his master’s in recreation and sports sciences from Ohio University. After teaching stints at Seneca and Leyden high schools, he’s currently at Pontiac Township High School in Pontiac, Illinois, where he is the head wrestling and track coach, as well as an assistant coach for the Indian football program.
Corey and his wife Heather live in Pontiac with sons Aiden, Hunter and Cale. He serves on the executive board of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association and the Boys & Girls Club of Livingston County developmental board.
