In 2000, Katie Panek became the second member of the JCCC women’s track and field team to earn induction to the NJCAA Hall of Fame.  In 1995, Panek put together a tremendous season.  She entered the season ranked among the top performers in the hammer throw.  She proved that to be true by season’s end, winning a national championship in the hammer, while setting a new NJCAA national meet record at 171'10".  She also set the set the school and Region VI meet records with a mark of 175'7", and owns the conference meet mark with a throw of 149'0".  Panek also won a conference and region titles in the hammer in 1995, and earned all-conference in the discus with a third-place showing.  Her freshman year, Panek was conference champion in the discus. 

Panek went on to become a three-time All-American at Wichita State University.  She was named All-American in the 1996 and 1998 outdoor NCAA championships in the hammer.  She won every hammer event she entered in the 1996 season expect the U.S. Olympic Trials and the NCAA Championship, placing third at the U. S. Olympic Trials and eighth at the NCAA Championship.  She earned NCAA indoor All-American by finishing fifth in the 20-pound weight throw at the 1998 NCAA Indoor Championships.   Panek was a two-time Valley champion in the hammer and the 1996 champion in the weight throw.  She also was named the Valley’s 1996 Women’s Field Athlete of the Year and in 1998 was the Valley’s Women’s Outdoor Most Valuable Athlete.  She set school records in the hammer, discus and weight throw.  She was inducted to the WSU Hall of Fame in 2005.