Hall of Fame Spotlight: Travis Mahoney

One of the top men's track athletes in school history, Travis Mahoney (2008-12) earned All-America honors in both track (twice) and cross country (once) during his outstanding Temple career.

The Owls' top steeplechase performer, Mahoney earned All-America honors in the event at the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships, placing fifth in the finals as a senior. He also earned Atlantic 10 Conference Performer of the Year in Cross Country (2012), Indoor Track (2012) and Outdoor Track (2011, 2012).

Mahoney owns six school records: mile, 3000 meter run and distance medley relay (indoors), and 3000-steeplechase, 5000 meter run and 4x800 meter relay (outdoors). He also won the 2012 A10 Cross Country Championship and 2012 Mid-Atlantic Region Championship.

Still one of the top athletes in the steeplechase, he recently competed at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Mahoney, who will be inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 18, and his wife Sarah reside in Bayonne, New Jersey.

> Talk about your decision to attend Temple University?

"When I was choosing a school, I was looking for a nice balance between academics and sports and I became drawn to Temple. I liked the campus. It is a big school but was a nice walking radius. I also really liked the distance coach, Matthew Jelley, when I was being recruited. It also felt like it would be a good academic fit for me, so I took that leap and never looked back."

> You competed in multiple distance events in your career at Temple. When did you realize that the 3000m Steeplechase was the event to focus on?

"The steeplechase was not something I was even aware of at the time I was being recruited. I did not even know it was an event when I came to Temple. Then in the spring of my freshman year Coach was asking people if they wanted to run it and it seemed like it fit my background as an athlete. I came from a gymnastics background, and, against my high school coach's suggestions, I would break up my Wednesday run on recycling days and add the element of jumping and hurdling the recycling bins. So, the steeplechase seemed like a good fit for me. Once I ran it, I really enjoyed it."

> You earned All-America honors three times in your Temple career, both in the Steeplechase and Cross Country. When you look back at your Temple memories what stands out the most?

"My fifth year in cross country. In 2011 I was a junior and had a huge breakout season. Being a naive athlete I had this amazing season, and the following year was the Olympic trials, so I wanted to make an Olympic team. I went from a guy who was not making a NCAA Regional Meet to a guy dreaming of making an Olympic team in a very short matter of time.

I took fifth place in the NCAAs that year and coming off the last water pit I landed really poorly on my foot. I barely did any running between the NCAAs and the Olympic Trials and I got to the starting line and was a broken man out there trying to jump barriers and water pits. I finished dead last in my heat.

That was a really hard pill for me to swallow. As I was riding such a high from my breakout season and I was naive to think that would immediately continue.

I was pretty banged up most of the summer trying to get my foot sorted out and we had a new coach come in. I really got on it in August as I really wanted to be All-American in cross country. So, I ended up having a fantastic cross country season. I won our conference. I won the NCAA Regional meet and then I ended up earning All-American.

It was something I was very proud of in the moment, but even more so when I reflect back. I was coming off an injury, a disappointment, and having a new coach. It worked really well for me but most of the All-Americans in cross country are coming from really prestigious distance schools and also training at altitude. We have a great parks system in Philly that I was able to train at but at the same time I was definitely at a disadvantage to some of these altitude-trained athletes.

I feel like I embodied that attitude that Temple is tough to offset the disadvantages that I had so I am very proud that I was able to represent Temple at that level."

> Since your graduation from Temple, you have been one of our nation's top 3000-meter steeplechase performers. What has kept your drive alive over the past 12 years?

"My motivation has shifted a lot over the past 10-12 years. When I first came out of college, I joined a post collegiate group that was funded and allowed me to be able to pursue my dream. In 2016 I thought that was the end. I committed four years to this, and it did not really pan out. After that I ended up getting a sponsorship to be able to continue to pursue this dream to 2021. I continued to see yearly improvement and I felt like there was always a little more I could do, and I could see the progression. I was PRing and getting better.

It is rare you get an opportunity to pursue your dream and compete at such a high level, so I was not going to turn that down.

After 2021 I was like, I am done. I had a really good career and chased the dream for a while. I then got engaged and took a real full-time job. My full-time job is remote, which gave me the flexibility as did my boss to keep going.

So in 2022 I had another good year where I PR'd in the 5k and in the steeple. I then got married last year and every June for my adult life has been about going to the USA Championships or the Olympic Trials and the stress around that. When my wife and I decided to get married I was "retired from running" as we got married in June. So, I decided to take the year off. I really enjoyed it, and it was a nice reset that allowed me this last year to push mentally as much as I did.

I ended up having a great year, even though things did not pan out the way I anticipated at Trials, but still at my age to be able to compete with these guys, the average age of our men's steeplechase team to compete in Paris in 24 and I am 34, was special.

Ultimately, I still enjoyed being in the sport."

> Besides your track career, what have you been doing professionally?

"In 2015 I started coaching and worked at my Alma Mater, Old Bridge High School starting the following year, I coached there for four years. Now that I am working full-time it is difficult, so I coach part-time and volunteer a little bit as well.

My job is in marketing, and I help my best friend run his online company, Medal Awards Rack. It is related to sports as we do trophy displays, military displays, marathon displays across e-commerce platforms.

I also run a youth track and field business. We put on intro to track and field through a lot of recreation departments through New Jersey. We are in about seven towns in the state and put on youth track and field clinics in the spring, summer and fall for the residents of those towns."

> What does being inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame mean to you?

"When I reflect back, I am just incredibly grateful for my opportunity at Temple and what that did for me in those four years. When I was in high school, I was a very immature kid, both physically and mentally. I did not really know what I wanted to do with my life, what I wanted to do with running. I took that leap going to Temple. I was the first person from my family to go to college and I was a little nervous when I was at Temple. Honestly the first two years did not go that well academically and athletically. I was unsure of myself from a confidence perspective.

Truthfully it was not running that put me on the right path, it was my academic shift. I changed majors my junior year to exercise science and I found something I really loved and enjoyed. I became more serious about that and more structured. That then applied to my running.

Once I found my roots in the academic side of things it really gave me confidence in myself and that transitioned over to track. From my junior year on I really excelled at both academics and athletics.

I was so grateful to get the call from Arthur Johnson. I was proud of myself and happy for all my coaches that were involved with my success and the sacrifices they made to make me who I am today. I was a little emotional when the call came and reflecting on everything, going from a boy to man at Temple."

Temple University Athletics

Hall of Fame Spotlight: Travis Mahoney

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