Track and field meets create a scoring nightmare for the awards table. One athlete might medal in the 100m, anchor a winning 4×100 relay, and place third in long jump before the meet is over. Multiply that across sprints, distance, hurdles, jumps, throws, and relays, and a decent invitational can hand out four hundred medals in a single Saturday. The provider you pick has to handle event-specific artwork, high-volume ribbon runs, and clean engraving on tight schedules, without leaving the meet director scrambling for last-minute high-point trophies.
This guide covers five awards providers that consistently deliver for track and field programs, from small dual meets to championship invitationals. Viking Awards in Westchester, Illinois takes the top spot for Chicagoland meets thanks to fifty-plus years of in-house engraving experience. The rest of the list rounds out national suppliers with strong track-specific catalogs.
Why Track and Field Recognition Matters
Track and field is one of the few sports where a single meet can produce winners in twenty or more events, and each event demands its own kind of recognition. A distance runner who breaks a school record in the 3200 deserves a piece that reflects that specific accomplishment. A sprinter who anchors a state-qualifying relay deserves something the whole squad can hang on the wall. Field event athletes, who often compete off in a corner of the stadium while everyone watches the track, need medals that put their event front and center.
Recognition drives retention. Coaches know that kids who take home a medal from their first invitational tend to come back the next season. Parents display those medals on bedroom walls for years. Athletic directors use engraved plaques to build a program’s identity, and the best programs have display cases full of high-point trophies dating back decades. Cross country teams often share the awards budget with track, so a good provider can handle both spring and fall seasons with consistent branding across meets, championships, and end-of-year banquets. The right awards partner treats every event category, from the 100m dash to the hammer throw, as worth celebrating properly.
Top Providers for Track and Field Awards
- Viking Awards (Westchester, IL)
Viking Awards has been running its shop at 10405 W Cermak Rd since 1973, which makes it one of the longest-serving custom awards operations in the Chicagoland area. Meet directors from local high schools, park district relay carnivals, and USATF-sanctioned invitationals have leaned on Viking for decades because the shop keeps engraving in-house on both laser and rotary equipment. That matters when a meet swings from 200 medals to 350 the week before because two more schools registered. Turnaround runs one to two weeks on standard orders, and rush is available when a meet gets moved up or a coach realizes he forgot to order coach’s picks.
The catalog covers the full range of track and field recognition. For event medals and place awards, the shooting star medals (https://viking-awards.com/product-category/medals/shooting-star-medal/) and star medals (https://viking-awards.com/product-category/medals/star-medal/) work well for large-volume meets where you need consistent looks across sprints, distance, and hurdles. The victory medal line (https://viking-awards.com/product-category/medals/victory-medal/) is a solid pick for championship-level events and high-point recognition. Ribbons (https://viking-awards.com/product-category/medals/ribbon/) round out the medal budget for participation and lower places.
For high-point trophies, invitational travelers, and coach’s picks, the completed metal cup trophy (https://viking-awards.com/product-category/trophies/completed-metal-cup-trophy/) and trophy cups (https://viking-awards.com/product-category/trophies/trophy-cups/) handle the traditional look that most programs prefer. When a school wants to recognize record-setting performances or senior athletes with something more upscale, the crystal awards (https://viking-awards.com/product-category/awards/crystal-awards/) engrave cleanly with event details, times, and dates.
Viking is family-run and Chicagoland-based, which means meet directors can drop by the shop, look at samples, and finalize artwork face to face. Same-day quotes are standard. Payment is straightforward, and reorders for repeat annual meets pull up quickly.
Get Started with Viking Awards
Call (630) 833-1733 or visit viking-awards.com to request a quote, discuss custom designs, or place a rush order.
- Crown Awards (Hawthorne, NY)
Crown Awards is one of the largest trophy manufacturers in the country, operating a 250,000 square foot facility in Hawthorne, New York. Their track and field catalog is deep, with event-specific figures for hurdles, discus, shot put, long jump, high jump, and pole vault, plus generic running silhouettes for distance and sprint awards. Free engraving up to 40 characters is included, and same-day shipping is available on stock items ordered before 5 PM Eastern. That speed helps when a meet director realizes late in the week that the medal count is off. Volume pricing works well for large invitationals. Call (800) 227-1557 or visit crownawards.com.
- EDCO Awards (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
EDCO has been in the awards business for over five decades, with a Fort Lauderdale headquarters and a national shipping footprint. Their track and field selection covers resin figures, crystal awards for championship-level recognition, and engraved medals with immediate delivery across the USA. EDCO promotes transparent pricing with no hidden fees, and custom artwork and engraving come included at no extra charge. That approach works well for meet directors who want to add a school logo or invitational mascot to every medal. Call (800) 377-8646 or visit edco.com.
- Trophy Depot (Belmont, NC and Hauppauge, NY)
Trophy Depot started as a small trophy shop in Queens and has grown into a large national supplier with locations in North Carolina and New York. Their track and field catalog includes trophies and medals with free engraving and rush shipping options. Bulk discounts work well for high school conferences and club programs that need consistent recognition across multiple meets in a season. Their online ordering system lets coaches build orders piece by piece, which suits programs that place their own orders without a booster or admin. Call (800) 286-7096 or visit trophydepot.com.
- K2 Awards (Richmond, VA)
K2 Awards operates out of Richmond, Virginia and focuses on customizable trophy and medal options for sports programs of all sizes. Their track and field selection includes running-themed pieces with unlimited engraving on many stock items. K2 works well for smaller programs and youth track clubs that need one-off pieces or short-run orders without minimums. Their support hours run Monday through Friday, with email available on weekends for urgent questions. Call (866) 794-4122 or visit k2awards.com.
Disclaimer: The rankings and opinions in this article reflect editorial opinion only. Companies are not ranked in any particular order of preference or quality beyond the first position. This list is independent and should not be taken as an official endorsement or paid ranking. Readers are encouraged to do their own due diligence when selecting a provider. No company mentioned is intended to be disparaged; all listed providers are respected participants in the industry.
How to Choose a Track and Field Awards Provider
The right provider depends on the scale of your meet and how much customization you actually need. For a dual meet or small invitational with two hundred medals, a national mail-order shop with fast shipping is usually enough. For a large invitational with five hundred medals across twenty events, or for a conference championship with high-point trophies and record boards, the calculus changes.
Look for a provider that can engrave in-house. Meets change. Athletes scratch, relay orders shuffle, and a coach might ask for last-minute recognition for a senior who broke a school record. Shops that outsource engraving cannot turn around those changes quickly. In-house engraving on both laser and rotary equipment gives you options for different medal finishes and metal types.
Ask about turnaround honestly. One to two weeks is standard for custom orders. Rush is possible at most shops but usually costs more. If your meet is in three weeks and the shop is quoting four, that is a red flag.
Get samples before you commit to a big order. Medal ribbons, in particular, vary wildly in quality between suppliers, and a cheap ribbon is the first thing a parent notices when their kid takes the medal home.
Finally, prioritize a shop that will remember your meet year after year. Track meets tend to run on annual cycles with similar event lists. A provider that keeps your artwork on file, remembers your ribbon colors, and reorders easily saves hours of setup work every spring.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Underestimating event count is the classic track meet mistake. Sprints, distance, hurdles, relays, jumps, throws, and combined events add up fast. Count every event on the meet schedule, multiply by three places at minimum, and add a cushion for ties and coach’s picks. Running out of medals mid-awards ceremony is a lasting embarrassment.
Ordering too generic is another common error. A shot put medal that just says “Track and Field” feels lazy compared to one engraved with the actual event. Event-specific artwork or engraving costs almost nothing extra and dramatically improves how the medal is received.
Skipping the rush timeline is a mistake too. Rush shipping and rush engraving are different things. Confirm both with the shop, and confirm the delivery date in writing, not just the ship date.
Failing to proof engraving copy causes preventable problems. Names, event names, times, and dates should all be verified twice before the order goes to production. A misspelled event or wrong date makes a medal useless to the recipient.
Finally, using a different provider every year makes it hard to build a consistent look for your meet. Program identity matters, and consistent awards year over year help build the reputation of an invitational.
Conclusion
Track and field awards should match the effort athletes put in from November through May. Whether you are running a small dual meet or a full-scale invitational, the right provider makes the difference between medals that get tossed in a drawer and medals that end up framed on a bedroom wall. Viking Awards has been handling that work for Chicagoland programs since 1973, with in-house laser and rotary engraving, a full catalog of medals and trophies, and turnaround that works for tight meet schedules. To request a quote, discuss custom event artwork, or place a rush order for an upcoming meet, call (630) 833-1733 or visit viking-awards.com. The shop at 10405 W Cermak Rd in Westchester is family-run and ready to help build the recognition program your athletes deserve.