U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Division III Cross Country National Rankings Gender: Men Rank: National
1 North Central College
College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin
0 Midwest Total: 280
2 SUNY Cortland
State University of New York Athletic Conference
0 Atlantic Total: 270
3 UW La Crosse
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
0 Midwest Total: 260
4 SUNY Geneseo
State University of New York Athletic Conference
0 Atlantic Total: 257
5 Allegheny
North Coast Athletic Conference
1 Mideast Total: 247
6 Williams
New England Small College Athletic Conference
9 New England Total: 241
7 NYU
University Athletic Association
0 Atlantic Total: 237
8 Carnegie Mellon
University Athletic Association
11 Mideast Total: 220
9 Haverford
Centennial Conference
1 Mideast Total: 196
10 Washington (Missouri)
University Athletic Association
Midwest Total: 195
11 Emory
University Athletic Association
1 South/Southeast Total: 194
12 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
9 West Total: 186
13 Dickinson
Centennial Conference
4 Mideast Total: 185
14 UW Platteville
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
3 Midwest Total: 178
15 Calvin
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1 Great Lakes Total: 176
16 Amherst
New England Small College Athletic Conference
8 New England Total: 164
17 Willamette
Northwest Conference
4 West Total: 143
18 St. Thomas (Minnesota)
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
4 Central Total: 141
19 Nebraska Wesleyan
Independent
1 Central Total: 132
20 UW Eau Claire
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
10 Midwest Total: 130
21 Heidelberg
Ohio Athletic Conference
14 Great Lakes Total: 125
22 Keene State
Little East Conference
New England Total: 108
23 RIT
Empire 8
3 Atlantic Total: 97
24 St. Olaf
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Central Total: 82
24 St. Lawrence
Liberty League
10 Atlantic Total: 82
26 Brandeis
University Athletic Association
3 New England Total: 81
27 Manchester
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Great Lakes Total: 70
28 Hamline
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Central Total: 65
29 Elizabethtown
Middle Atlantic Conference
1 Mideast Total: 60
30 Colorado College
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
West Total: 57
31 UW Stevens Point
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
26 Midwest Total: 47
32 Mount Union
Ohio Athletic Conference
3 Great Lakes Total: 36
33 Augustana (Illinois)
College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin
23 Midwest Total: 33
34 Lynchburg
Old Dominion Athletic Conference
South/Southeast Total: 29
35 UW Whitewater
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
10 Midwest Total: 12
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Derrick named Athlete of the Week
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Contact:
Vicky Oddi
USA Track & Field
Communications Coordinator
317-713-4670; Vicky.Oddi@usatf.org
Derrick named Athlete of the Week
INDIANAPOLIS - Stanford's Chris Derrick has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after winning the NCAA West Regional Cross Country Championship on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.
The American junior record holder over 5,000m, Derrick won the men's title in 30 minutes 38.84 seconds to remain undefeated on the season. Derrick's win led the Stanford men's sweep of the top three places and helped his team to win the West Regional team title.
Now in its eighth year, USATF's Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on the USATF website. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
Winners: January 6, Mason Finley; January 13, Amber Campbell; January 20, Josh Cox; January 27, German Fernandez; February 3, Ashton Eaton; February 10, Shalane Flanagan; February 17, Galen Rupp; February 24, Dexter Faulk; March 3, Terrence Trammell; March 10, Diana Pickler; March 17, Galen Rupp; March 24, Sumi Onodera-Leonard; March 31, German Fernandez; April 7, Cyrus Hostetler; April 14, Curtis Beach; April 21, Kara Goucher; April 28, Mason Finley; May 5, Chris Derrick; May 12, Natalie Willer; May 19, Will Claye; May 26, Nadine O'Connor; June 2, Tyson Gay; June 9, Dwight Phillips; June 16, Galen Rupp; June 23, Kami Semick; June 30, Dawn Harper; July 7, Raevyn Rogers; July 14, Ryan Crouser; July 28, Anton Krupicka; August 11, Rita Hanscom; August 19, Christian Cantwell; August 26, Trey Hardee; September 1, Dathan Ritzenhein; September 9, Sanya Richards; September 15, Carmelita Jeter; September 23, Tyson Gay; Jamie Donaldson; October 7, Meb Keflezighi; October 14, Dathan Ritzenhein; October 21, Amy Palmiero-Winters; October 27, Sean Quigley; November 3 Meb Keflezighi; November 11, Max King; November 18, Chris Derrick.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Contact:
Vicky Oddi
USA Track & Field
Communications Coordinator
317-713-4670; Vicky.Oddi@usatf.org
Derrick named Athlete of the Week
INDIANAPOLIS - Stanford's Chris Derrick has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after winning the NCAA West Regional Cross Country Championship on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.
The American junior record holder over 5,000m, Derrick won the men's title in 30 minutes 38.84 seconds to remain undefeated on the season. Derrick's win led the Stanford men's sweep of the top three places and helped his team to win the West Regional team title.
Now in its eighth year, USATF's Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on the USATF website. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
Winners: January 6, Mason Finley; January 13, Amber Campbell; January 20, Josh Cox; January 27, German Fernandez; February 3, Ashton Eaton; February 10, Shalane Flanagan; February 17, Galen Rupp; February 24, Dexter Faulk; March 3, Terrence Trammell; March 10, Diana Pickler; March 17, Galen Rupp; March 24, Sumi Onodera-Leonard; March 31, German Fernandez; April 7, Cyrus Hostetler; April 14, Curtis Beach; April 21, Kara Goucher; April 28, Mason Finley; May 5, Chris Derrick; May 12, Natalie Willer; May 19, Will Claye; May 26, Nadine O'Connor; June 2, Tyson Gay; June 9, Dwight Phillips; June 16, Galen Rupp; June 23, Kami Semick; June 30, Dawn Harper; July 7, Raevyn Rogers; July 14, Ryan Crouser; July 28, Anton Krupicka; August 11, Rita Hanscom; August 19, Christian Cantwell; August 26, Trey Hardee; September 1, Dathan Ritzenhein; September 9, Sanya Richards; September 15, Carmelita Jeter; September 23, Tyson Gay; Jamie Donaldson; October 7, Meb Keflezighi; October 14, Dathan Ritzenhein; October 21, Amy Palmiero-Winters; October 27, Sean Quigley; November 3 Meb Keflezighi; November 11, Max King; November 18, Chris Derrick.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
Men’s Division I Regional Recognitions Include Libery’s Chelanga, Stanford’s Dunn
Men’s Division I Regional Recognitions Include Libery’s Chelanga, Stanford’s Dunn
November 18, 2009
NEW ORLEANS – Liberty’s Sam Chelanga and Stanford coach Jason Dunn are among a spectacular slate of those recognized by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday as this season’s men’s Division I Cross Country Regional Coaches and Athletes of the Year.
Chelanga, the nation’s runner-up a year ago, was the NCAA Southeast Regional’s champion for the second-straight year, having won his race by over 33 seconds. Chelanga, a redshirt junior, also won his second-consecutive Big South Conference crown earlier this season. Stanford’s Chris Derrick, who took third in last year’s NCAA Championships, was also honored as the West Regional Athlete of the Year.
Dunn, the West Region Coach of the Year, will lead a No. 1-ranked Stanford squad to the NCAA Championships on Monday, having already notched a dominant 50-point victory in the West regional this past weekend. Dunn’s team, who finished second nationally a year ago, will be challenged by a number of teams including No. 2 Oklahoma State, coached by Dave Smith, the Midwest Region Coach of the Year.
The NCAA Championships will take place this Monday and will be aired live on Versus.
The 2009 USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year
MEN’S REGIONAL ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
GREAT LAKES REGION – Jeff See – Ohio State
See, a senior from Middletown, Ohio, claimed the individual crown at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and became the first Buckeye since 2005 to win the region. See also claimed a third-place showing at the Big Ten Championships this season.
MID-ATLANTIC REGION - Andrew Bumbalough – Georgetown
Bumbalough, a native of Brentwood, Tenn., became the first Hoya to win back-to-back individual titles at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, leading Georgetown to their fifth-straight regional team title. Bumbalough outsprinted his competition down the final stretch to win the region by only fourth-tenths of a second. Also this season, the Georgetown graduate student finished third at the BIG EAST Championships.
MIDWEST REGION – Hassan Mead – Minnesota
Mead, a junior from Minneapolis, took control of the NCAA Midwest Region race early, going on to win the region by 28 seconds. It was Mead’s second-consecutive region win as he became the first back-to-back winner in Gopher history. Mead also won his second-consecutive Big Ten title earlier in the season, helping his squad to a second-place conference showing.
MOUNTAIN REGION – David McNeil – Northern Arizona
McNeil, a junior, won the NCAA Mountain Region title for the second-consecutive year. In this year’s race, McNeil used the final 1000 meters to open a 12-second gap on the field. McNeil, a native of Melbourne, Australia, also won the Big Sky Championship for the second-straight year, winning the conference title by 56 seconds.
NORTHEAST REGION – Ryan Sheridan – Iona
Sheridan, a sophomore from Melville, N.Y., took the NCAA Northeast Region title by 10 seconds, making his move in the last quarter of the race to help the Gaels to a second-place team showing. Sheridan was the individual champ of the MAAC, leading Iona to their 19th-straight conference title.
SOUTH REGION – Felix Kibioywo – Auburn
Kibioywo, a senior from Eldoret, Kenya, captured his third-consecutive NCAA South Region crown, winning this year’s race by nearly 10 seconds in helping the Tigers to a third-place team finish. Kibioywo took third at this year’s SEC Championships, leading the charge for Auburn’s third-place team showing.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Dorian Ulrey – Arkansas
Ulrey, a junior from Port Byron, Ill., won the NCAA South Central Regional in his post-season debut as a Razorback by outkicking teammate Solomon Haile with a 2:40 split in the final 1,000-meter stretch. Ulrey was the first athlete from Arkansas to win the region since 2004. In his first career SEC Championship, Ulrey took runner-up honors.
SOUTHEAST REGION – Sam Chelanga – Liberty
Chelanga, a redshirt junior from Nairobi, Kenya, was the NCAA Southeast Regional’s champion for the second-straight year, having won this year’s race by 33 seconds. Chelanga, the 2008 NCAA runner-up, won his second-consecutive Big South Conference crown earlier this season.
WEST REGION – Chris Derrick – Stanford
Derrick, a sophomore from Naperville, Ill., led a dominant Stanford performance at the NCAA West Regional, claiming the individual crown, as part of a Cardinal 1-2-3 showing. Derrick notched a six-second victory in claiming his first Pac-10 title with a conference-record 8000-meter clocking of 22:35.
MEN’S REGIONAL COACHES OF THE YEAR
GREAT LAKES REGION – John McNichols – Indiana State
McNichols’ Sycamores surprised a number of people at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional by taking fourth in the team race to record the school’s all-time best finish, improving from an 11th-place finish the year prior. McNichols, in his 27th season, also led his team this season to the school’s sixth Missouri Valley Conference crown.
The Harry Groves Award
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Patrick Henner – Georgetown
Henner’s Hoyas claimed their fifth-consecutive NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region title, placing four of their runners in the top nine on the way to a 38-point total. Georgetown also had three of the region’s top five runners to post a 10-point decision on runner-up Villanova. Georgetown’s harriers also took second at this year’s BIG EAST Championships. Georgetown is ranked 14th in the national poll leading into the NCAA meet.
The Roy Griak Award
MIDWEST REGION – Dave Smith – Oklahoma State
Smith led the Cowboys to their fifth-straight NCAA Midwest Region title as his squad truly used a team effort to take the crown as OSU secured places nine through 14 in this year’s regional race. Smith, in his fourth season as OSU’s cross country coach, saw his team repeat at Big 12 Champions in 2009 with a dominant victory as four Cowboys took the league’s top four spots on the way to a 24-point total. Oklahoma State is No. 2 in the latest national rankings.
The Chick Hislop Award
MOUNTATIN REGION – Ed Eyestone – BYU
Eyestone’s Cougars won a hard-fought crown at the NCAA Mountain Regional. BYU took the region by a 54-55 tally over Colorado in what was the most closely contested region in the nation. BYU finished second at the Mountain West Conference this season. The Cougars are ranked fifth in the nation heading into the NCAA Championships.
NORTHEAST REGION – Chris Fox – Syracuse
Fox, in his fourth season at the helm at Syracuse, watched his Orange score the NCAA Northeast Regional team title for the first time in school history. His men’s team of regional included three underclassmen. The Orange added to a history-filled season by claiming their first BIG EAST team title in another tight battle, outpacing Georgetown for the league’s trophy, 55-61. Syracuse moved up two spots in the latest national poll to sit ninth going into the national championships.
The Dave Walker Award
SOUTH REGION – Joe Walker – Alabama
Walker, in his 10th season at Alabama, guided the Crimson Tide to their third-consecutive NCAA South Region title. Walker’s teams now have won six region crowns since 2000. Walker also guided his team to a second-consecutive SEC title this season. The Tide rose three spots on the national poll and are now ranked third.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Chris Bucknam – Arkansas
Bucknam led the Razorbacks to their 30th NCAA South Central Region title, placing three of his runners in the race’s top 10. Despite losing five of his top seven runners from the previous year, Bucknam was able to claim his first post-season cross country title as leader of the Arkansas program. Bucknam also recorded his highest SEC finish as Arkansas’ coach, coming within five points of conference champ Alabama. Arkansas is 19th in the country heading into the final weekend of competition.
SOUTHEAST REGION – Alex Gibby – William and Mary
Gibby, in his seventh season at the helm at William and Mary, led his team to a third-ever and second-consecutive NCAA Southeast Region title. The Tribe also won the Colonial Athletic Association team championship for the 10th consecutive time this season, doing so by placing six runners in the top nine to score 21 team points. William and Mary will enter the NCAA Championships as the nation’s seventh- ranked team.
WEST REGION – Jason Dunn – Stanford
In his second season at Stanford, Dunn led the Cardinal to a dominant performance at the NCAA West Regional as his squad won by over 50 points in accumulating only 27 total team points to avenge their 2008 runner-up regional showing. Stanford also won the Pac-10 Championship this season – the squad’s 12th in school history. After finishing third a year ago, Stanford is ranked No. 1 heading into the NCAA Championships.
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Tom Lewis
USTFCCCA
tom@ustfccca.org
November 18, 2009
NEW ORLEANS – Liberty’s Sam Chelanga and Stanford coach Jason Dunn are among a spectacular slate of those recognized by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday as this season’s men’s Division I Cross Country Regional Coaches and Athletes of the Year.
Chelanga, the nation’s runner-up a year ago, was the NCAA Southeast Regional’s champion for the second-straight year, having won his race by over 33 seconds. Chelanga, a redshirt junior, also won his second-consecutive Big South Conference crown earlier this season. Stanford’s Chris Derrick, who took third in last year’s NCAA Championships, was also honored as the West Regional Athlete of the Year.
Dunn, the West Region Coach of the Year, will lead a No. 1-ranked Stanford squad to the NCAA Championships on Monday, having already notched a dominant 50-point victory in the West regional this past weekend. Dunn’s team, who finished second nationally a year ago, will be challenged by a number of teams including No. 2 Oklahoma State, coached by Dave Smith, the Midwest Region Coach of the Year.
The NCAA Championships will take place this Monday and will be aired live on Versus.
The 2009 USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year
MEN’S REGIONAL ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
GREAT LAKES REGION – Jeff See – Ohio State
See, a senior from Middletown, Ohio, claimed the individual crown at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and became the first Buckeye since 2005 to win the region. See also claimed a third-place showing at the Big Ten Championships this season.
MID-ATLANTIC REGION - Andrew Bumbalough – Georgetown
Bumbalough, a native of Brentwood, Tenn., became the first Hoya to win back-to-back individual titles at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, leading Georgetown to their fifth-straight regional team title. Bumbalough outsprinted his competition down the final stretch to win the region by only fourth-tenths of a second. Also this season, the Georgetown graduate student finished third at the BIG EAST Championships.
MIDWEST REGION – Hassan Mead – Minnesota
Mead, a junior from Minneapolis, took control of the NCAA Midwest Region race early, going on to win the region by 28 seconds. It was Mead’s second-consecutive region win as he became the first back-to-back winner in Gopher history. Mead also won his second-consecutive Big Ten title earlier in the season, helping his squad to a second-place conference showing.
MOUNTAIN REGION – David McNeil – Northern Arizona
McNeil, a junior, won the NCAA Mountain Region title for the second-consecutive year. In this year’s race, McNeil used the final 1000 meters to open a 12-second gap on the field. McNeil, a native of Melbourne, Australia, also won the Big Sky Championship for the second-straight year, winning the conference title by 56 seconds.
NORTHEAST REGION – Ryan Sheridan – Iona
Sheridan, a sophomore from Melville, N.Y., took the NCAA Northeast Region title by 10 seconds, making his move in the last quarter of the race to help the Gaels to a second-place team showing. Sheridan was the individual champ of the MAAC, leading Iona to their 19th-straight conference title.
SOUTH REGION – Felix Kibioywo – Auburn
Kibioywo, a senior from Eldoret, Kenya, captured his third-consecutive NCAA South Region crown, winning this year’s race by nearly 10 seconds in helping the Tigers to a third-place team finish. Kibioywo took third at this year’s SEC Championships, leading the charge for Auburn’s third-place team showing.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Dorian Ulrey – Arkansas
Ulrey, a junior from Port Byron, Ill., won the NCAA South Central Regional in his post-season debut as a Razorback by outkicking teammate Solomon Haile with a 2:40 split in the final 1,000-meter stretch. Ulrey was the first athlete from Arkansas to win the region since 2004. In his first career SEC Championship, Ulrey took runner-up honors.
SOUTHEAST REGION – Sam Chelanga – Liberty
Chelanga, a redshirt junior from Nairobi, Kenya, was the NCAA Southeast Regional’s champion for the second-straight year, having won this year’s race by 33 seconds. Chelanga, the 2008 NCAA runner-up, won his second-consecutive Big South Conference crown earlier this season.
WEST REGION – Chris Derrick – Stanford
Derrick, a sophomore from Naperville, Ill., led a dominant Stanford performance at the NCAA West Regional, claiming the individual crown, as part of a Cardinal 1-2-3 showing. Derrick notched a six-second victory in claiming his first Pac-10 title with a conference-record 8000-meter clocking of 22:35.
MEN’S REGIONAL COACHES OF THE YEAR
GREAT LAKES REGION – John McNichols – Indiana State
McNichols’ Sycamores surprised a number of people at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional by taking fourth in the team race to record the school’s all-time best finish, improving from an 11th-place finish the year prior. McNichols, in his 27th season, also led his team this season to the school’s sixth Missouri Valley Conference crown.
The Harry Groves Award
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Patrick Henner – Georgetown
Henner’s Hoyas claimed their fifth-consecutive NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region title, placing four of their runners in the top nine on the way to a 38-point total. Georgetown also had three of the region’s top five runners to post a 10-point decision on runner-up Villanova. Georgetown’s harriers also took second at this year’s BIG EAST Championships. Georgetown is ranked 14th in the national poll leading into the NCAA meet.
The Roy Griak Award
MIDWEST REGION – Dave Smith – Oklahoma State
Smith led the Cowboys to their fifth-straight NCAA Midwest Region title as his squad truly used a team effort to take the crown as OSU secured places nine through 14 in this year’s regional race. Smith, in his fourth season as OSU’s cross country coach, saw his team repeat at Big 12 Champions in 2009 with a dominant victory as four Cowboys took the league’s top four spots on the way to a 24-point total. Oklahoma State is No. 2 in the latest national rankings.
The Chick Hislop Award
MOUNTATIN REGION – Ed Eyestone – BYU
Eyestone’s Cougars won a hard-fought crown at the NCAA Mountain Regional. BYU took the region by a 54-55 tally over Colorado in what was the most closely contested region in the nation. BYU finished second at the Mountain West Conference this season. The Cougars are ranked fifth in the nation heading into the NCAA Championships.
NORTHEAST REGION – Chris Fox – Syracuse
Fox, in his fourth season at the helm at Syracuse, watched his Orange score the NCAA Northeast Regional team title for the first time in school history. His men’s team of regional included three underclassmen. The Orange added to a history-filled season by claiming their first BIG EAST team title in another tight battle, outpacing Georgetown for the league’s trophy, 55-61. Syracuse moved up two spots in the latest national poll to sit ninth going into the national championships.
The Dave Walker Award
SOUTH REGION – Joe Walker – Alabama
Walker, in his 10th season at Alabama, guided the Crimson Tide to their third-consecutive NCAA South Region title. Walker’s teams now have won six region crowns since 2000. Walker also guided his team to a second-consecutive SEC title this season. The Tide rose three spots on the national poll and are now ranked third.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Chris Bucknam – Arkansas
Bucknam led the Razorbacks to their 30th NCAA South Central Region title, placing three of his runners in the race’s top 10. Despite losing five of his top seven runners from the previous year, Bucknam was able to claim his first post-season cross country title as leader of the Arkansas program. Bucknam also recorded his highest SEC finish as Arkansas’ coach, coming within five points of conference champ Alabama. Arkansas is 19th in the country heading into the final weekend of competition.
SOUTHEAST REGION – Alex Gibby – William and Mary
Gibby, in his seventh season at the helm at William and Mary, led his team to a third-ever and second-consecutive NCAA Southeast Region title. The Tribe also won the Colonial Athletic Association team championship for the 10th consecutive time this season, doing so by placing six runners in the top nine to score 21 team points. William and Mary will enter the NCAA Championships as the nation’s seventh- ranked team.
WEST REGION – Jason Dunn – Stanford
In his second season at Stanford, Dunn led the Cardinal to a dominant performance at the NCAA West Regional as his squad won by over 50 points in accumulating only 27 total team points to avenge their 2008 runner-up regional showing. Stanford also won the Pac-10 Championship this season – the squad’s 12th in school history. After finishing third a year ago, Stanford is ranked No. 1 heading into the NCAA Championships.
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Tom Lewis
USTFCCCA
tom@ustfccca.org
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Interviews
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Contact:
Tom Surber
USA Track & Field
Media Information Manager
317-713-4690; Tom.Surber@usatf.org
Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Interviews
INDIANAPOLIS - USA Track & Field announced on Tuesday that Joetta Clark Diggs, Andre Phillips, Randy Williams, Willie Steele and Dr. Ken Foreman have been elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame. Below are recent interviews with the living inductees.
Joetta Clark Diggs
Q: What are your feelings about being elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame?
A: When I saw the list of athletes that I was up against this year I thought it was a solid list as always. I'm honored and thrilled to see that I had been elected. I'm just glad I'm alive to see it. For my family, my coaches and all the people that have been so instrumental in my career, I'm glad that they're all still here to hear the good news and to participate in the event.
Q: How did your career in track and field begin?
A: I started in track and field by running in various camps as a sprinter when I was eight and nine years old. At that time my father was the director of parks and recreation in Essex County. So I would run the 100 and 50 yard dash, and eventually he moved me up to middle distance and distance running, and that's where I stayed ever since. I would travel to AAU meets across the country and I would run cross country as a youngster when I was 10 or 11, and when I was 13 I went to junior nationals and I ran 5:09 for the 1,500m and 2:18 for the 800. I went into high school the next year and my high school coach brought me along. I started as a sprinter and then my father wanted to dispel the notion that American blacks couldn't run anything above the quarter, so he put us in the 800 and cross country. He wanted us to travel the path of the road less taken at that time.
Q: How did the 800 become your specialty?
A: The reality is we focused more on the 800 in college because we had other girls who could run the 1,500. I could run a good 1,500 or mile, but in my freshman year in high school I ran 2:12 and then I went 2:05 as a sophomore when I was 15 (years old). So I was recruited to run the 800 and 1,500, and be the fifth person in cross country. I pretty much stuck with the 800 because once I got out of college, in order to get in the European meets, my 800 was the only thing that was even remotely close to running against the world because everyone back then was 1:55, 1:56, where 1:59 got you 10th or 11th back before the (Berlin) wall came down in 1989. In the states I could run both, but in the world market and in order to make a career out of it, I needed to run the 800.
Q: Why did you choose to attend the University of Tennessee?
A: Back in 1980 I was the top high school recruit, male or female in the country, in any sport. That was not me saying that, it was Sports Illustrated saying that. My last four schools were Georgetown, Tennessee, Indiana University and UVA (University of Virginia). I came to Tennessee and Terry Crawford (1988 U.S. Olympic women's head coach, and current USATF Director of Coaching) was the coach then. She sold me on her bringing in a great freshman class, and Delisa (Walton-Floyd) was there and she took second her freshman year at nationals, which was my senior year of high school. So I came to Knoxville and had a great bunch of girls come in with me and we ended up winning the AIAW my freshman year, and we had a top team during all of my four years at Tennessee. So we came in, we graduated, we won titles, and we're all doing well now.
Q: As an elite athlete you competed on four U.S. Olympic Teams. What was that like for you?
A: I tried out twice in high school and also in college in '84 and I didn't make that team, so when I finally made the team in '88 I was excited because it was at a point where it was still East Germany and the Eastern bloc countries and they were running fast and I had to decide if I would stay in the sport or go to work. I decided to hang around a couple more years and I'm glad that I did that. Making four Olympic teams was exciting, and when you're doing it, however, you don't realize that you're doing it. You only realize it when you start getting awards or when you retire because you're so busy trying to run fast, throw further or jump higher that you don't sit back and look at your accomplishments until you're completely done. I didn't really relish that at the time because I had more to do.
Q: You won two medals in World Indoor Championships competition. How rewarding was that?
A: I enjoy running indoors. I ran 1:59 both times at the World Indoor Championships. The first one was in Indianapolis in 1987 and I made the finals. I enjoyed the boards and it didn't have as many people as well. Outdoors you have a lot more women in those races. For me I got two bronze medals and a world record in the distance medley I think it was, or the sprint medley indoors, and that mark still stands.
Q: You're also well known for your success at the Millrose Games, where you were victorious on seven occasions. What did running at Madison Square Garden mean to you?
A: For years we would go to the Garden to see all-time greats compete and I thought that one day I'll be able to run there, and lo and behold I got my chance to run when I was 15 and I ran every year until I retired when I was 38. I missed one year running at the Garden in '84, but I ran in either 20 or 21 Millrose Games. That was special to be in the stands as a kid and then be able to go back and run in front of your home crowd was something special.
Q: The Clark family (Coach J.J. Clark, 5-time Olympian Jearl Miles-Clark, 5-time USA Outdoor champion Hazel Clark) has meant a great deal to USA Track & Field through the years. What has it been like to be a part of a family that has meant so much to track and field in the U.S.?
A: I think that USA Track & Field, and track and field period, has done so much for us as individuals. Being awarded a scholarship to college and graduating from Tennessee, my brother graduated from Villanova University where he was a fine runner himself, having run under four minutes in the mile, and then my sister graduated from the University of Florida. Track has been something that has afforded us the opportunity to go to college for free, travel across the country and around the world to meet great people and I think, when you look at everything, we are solid people and that's the way our parents raised us. Our family is a close-knit family and we believe in the sport and giving back, and I'm really thankful for the opportunities we've had through track and field.
Q: Now that you've retired from competition, what are you doing these days?
A: My life now has come full circle. I've been married for ten years and I have a daughter who is seven (years old) and I home school her. I have a foundation, The Joetta Clark Diggs Sports Foundation and we do programs for kids K through 12 dealing with obesity, life skills and nutrition. So my programs are now the programs that are in school, so instead of doing gym and health they do my program for 10, 12 or 16 weeks. I run free track and field camps in the summer from 8:30 to 3 o'clock every day. You drop them off and pick them up. I also do motivational speaking engagements with corporations, colleges, high schools and different books. And then my first book, I wrote it by myself with no ghost writers or co-authors, and that book will come out in December.
Dr. Ken Foreman
Q: What was it like for you to learn that you had been elected to the Hall of Fame?
A: Actually, having been nominated twice and passed over, I was in total shock. I couldn't believe that I had been nominated again, let alone voted in to the Hall of Fame. It's very exciting.
Q: How did you first get involved in coaching?
H: I was coaching at a private high school in 1947, and there were a couple of girls who hung around the edges and I started teaching them the long jump, and interestingly enough, the shot put as well. Subsequently I was hired at Seattle Pacific University, where my primary coaching responsibilities were men's basketball, track and field and cross country. In 1955, a high school coach called me to tell me that he had seen a young lady on the track that was beating his best sprinters, and he wanted to know if I would be interested in looking at her. My professional training had told me that if a woman sweats hard or lifted weights, her uterus would fall out (laughter). So I mulled the thing over and finally I asked them to bring her in after my basketball practice, which he did and we set a Coleman lantern at one end of a cinder strip and the young lady at the other end. I shot my gun into the night and she came flashing past the 100-yard mark in 11.5 (seconds). I had no idea what that meant. I told her to run it again and she did in the same time and that's when I suddenly realized this child was running in bare feet, and I also realized she had some talent. That was in October. In January of that year she ran in the national AAU meet and she performed very well against Ed Temple's stable of Tigerbelles; Mae Faggs, Lucinda Williams, Willye White, etc. So I suddenly became a sprint coach and I scarcely knew how to set up a set of blocks. Her name was Marsha Cosgrove and she went on to win a spot on the Melbourne Olympic team in 1956. In 1957, I went back to graduate school and taught at USC for three years, then I started coaching at Seattle Pacific again, and that's when Doris Brown fell into my life and she ran the first sub-5 minute mile by a woman, and I am suddenly a distance guru, and scarcely knew how to draw up a training schedule for distance runners. So it really was fortuitous that two outstanding young ladies came into my life and they made a coach of me. So I began working with girls and women at that time.
Q: Were you a track athlete before you became a coach.
A: In high school I was a four-sport guy. I was actually the world interscholastic rope climb champion and at 167 pounds I was fifth in the city of Los Angeles with the 12-pound shot put - I threw 54 feet, 7 inches. When I graduated in 1940, I went to work as a carpenter, but I was interested, for some reason, in the javelin. So I bought some javelins, fooled around with the javelins until December 8, 1941 when I enlisted in the Navy. When I came back I had the G.I. Bill and I went to USC and talked to their great coach Dean Cromwell and he gave me a pair of track shoes and a bonifide javelin, and so I began throwing the javelin. I also started participating in gymnastics again. I injured my heel planting the javelin and became a full-time gymnast and earned two all-American certificates at USC as a gymnast. When I went to Seattle Pacific they did not have any gymnastics equipment, so I started coaching track at the college level in 1950 and have been coaching ever since.
Q: During your career you founded the Falcon Track Club and the SportsWest Track Club. What was that like for you?
A: We teamed up with the University of Washington for a short while because it was very difficult raising funds for clubs. Sports West/Nordstrom Corporation chose to sponsor us for a couple years. Almost all the women early on were in club sports. It wasn't until 1975 that I was able to start a university team at Seattle Pacific, and we were one of the first college programs in America at that time and there were no scholarships. I got some of the best athletes available at that time at Seattle Pacific, so we had a head start and a pretty good program in an all girl club structure.
Q: You are considered one of the founding fathers of the athletic program at Seattle Pacific. What are your thoughts about your time there?
A: I guess that's true. They had a basketball team and they played only local schools. In 1953, I was appointed as the athletic director. I had what I thought was a strong track and field program. Our kids were competing at the Drake Relays and in the national NAIA meet in 1952, so we were headed in the right direction. I initiated cross country and we were beating the University of Washington and all the local schools. I hired a guy who was a baseball nut and he started a baseball program, and we also started a wrestling program. We had our club track and field program for girls and women operative right alongside. Somewhat later I befriended a great gymnastics coach at the YMCA in downtown Seattle. His name was George Lewis and he was producing Olympic quality women's gymnasts and I invited him to join us. I met a guy one day while I was running along the canal building boats and he was a crew nut and he started our crew program. I guess it's fair to say that I was involved with starting the athletic program at Seattle Pacific.
Q: You are best known to many as the coach of National Track & Field Hall of Famer Doris Brown Heritage. What made her so special?
A: She was not the most talented or most naturally gifted athlete that I've worked with, but she certainly was the most tenacious. She just wouldn't give up. She always did one more than I asked her to do. She ran the men into the ground and she was a gentle spirit. She was initially more concerned about her compatriots on the starting line than she was about herself. I have a great picture of her standing in the international cross country race in Maryland and she has her hands clasped behind her back and I'm sure she's thinking, 'I hope you do well, but I hope I do better.' She was a special lady.
Q: You coached a number of Olympians during your career. How special is it to lead someone to those heights?
A: Well it's pretty special. I make no claims about having done so unless I worked at least two years with an athlete. I could name seven such persons that I had the privilege to work with all the way to the Olympic Games. I guess, in the coaching profession, if you get somebody to stand on the top of the podium at any level it is a pretty heady experience. But seeing your athletes in a USA uniform competing in an international competition is more than heady. It frequently has brought me to tears to see my athletes performing, competing at that level. I don't know what else I can say. It's a great, great personal thrill to even be associated with such people, but to know that you might've had a little part in their lives, helping them get there is a great, great satisfaction.
Q: What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment in coaching?
A: I would have to go back to the fact that I played a significant role in creating opportunities for women to participate in sports. As I look back at my career spanning over 62 years now, I hold that as one of the top things that I've been permitted to do. Secondly, being able to associate with such a vast number of great, great human beings, both as athletes and as fellow coaches, I don't know how anybody could want any more from their life than that.
Q: What are you doing these days?
A: I'm coaching at a high school. When we moved to Hawaii, my wife is a purser for Delta Airlines and she was moved, so I had to resign my position at Seattle Pacific in 1999. We arrived here and discovered that the local high school was looking for a track coach, and so I volunteered before actually being hired. I've coached their cross country and track teams for the last 10 years. I also spend three to four hours a day trying to write and I have a yard that needs lots of attention. I build rock walls and pour cement sidewalks. My life is as full as it possibly can be.
Andre Phillips
Q: What's it like to be a Hall of Famer?
A: For me it's humbling and I'm very honored to be in the company of all the 400m hurdlers and all the people that have been inducted prior to me getting in there. Also for me, I knew since about 1976 when Edwin Moses won in Montreal that I really wanted to be a hurdler. So that in itself is awesome. It's great.
Q: How did you first get involved in track and field?
A: I was in eighth grade and I watched my older brother run in high school as a sophomore. I think he ran the 400 meters and that's when I became interested in track and field. Also at that time growing up I was one of ten kids, so there wasn't a lot of money to play organized sports, whether it be PAL football, baseball or any of those other sports. In track and field all I needed to do was just run - have tennis shoes and just run, so it was an easy sport for me to get in to without having to pay.
Q: What do you remember most about your high school career?
A: It worked out well. I started out as a high jumper and then I started running the hurdles, pretty much after seeing Edwin. I ended up winning the high school state meet my senior year and becoming an all-American, so I thought it went well. My junior and senior years were two great years.
Q: Why did you choose to attend UCLA?
A: I knew when I was 11 that I wanted to go to UCLA. I didn't know why or how. I remember Kareem Abdul-Jabbar playing in a game, and at that time he was Lew Alcindor, and I knew back then that I wanted to go to UCLA. When the opportunity arose I jumped on it. I went to a community college for two years, and then I went to UCLA my junior and senior years. My junior year wasn't as satisfying as I would've liked, but my senior year I won the NCAAs and broke the UCLA school record a couple times, and that was a good year for me.
Q: What was it about Edwin Moses that inspired you?
A: The fact that he won with class. I never heard him gloat or brag or turn around and look at us or put his hands up. I remember many times he was way ahead of the field and I always thought that was very classy. The other thing is that he revolutionized that event with his stride pattern, his long legs and the way he ran. He made that event more glamorous and exciting to get in to and I think that's the reason why it is the way it is today.
Q: At the 1988 Olympic Games you beat Moses for the only time in his career. What was that like for you?
A: When I came across the line and realized that I'd won, I automatically didn't think that I won the gold, it was I finally won one against Edwin. That was my initial thought. Winning the gold was the secondary thought. To me he's one of the greatest athletes - period - of all time.
Q: You held the Olympic record until four years later when Kevin Young set the world record at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Was it disappointing to lose the Olympic record?
A: He's a former Bruin, and I remember when he first started out I did my best to help him out as much as I could with the hurdles. So if anybody was going to break it, I was glad that he did it.
Q: What do you think of first when you look back at your career in track and field?
A: I think for me it's the camaraderie between the athletes. It's also knowing that at that given point in time I did my best. Whether I was injured, sick or had a bad race, I know that I did my best. But first and foremost it's all the guys. When you first stop traveling and running you think about all the people that you traveled with and all the camaraderie.
Q: What is your life like these days for you after track and field?
A: I started off teaching special education, and then I went on to get my masters in education and became an assistant principal at a big comprehensive high school, and I enjoyed it. I knew at some point that I was going to work with kids. I didn't know if it would be in coaching at a university or teaching or doing what I'm doing now.
Q: Earlier in your life you had assistance from family, teachers and coaches, and here you are many years later helping youngsters. Does it feel like your life has come full circle?
A: Absolutely. I heard this great line not so long ago that "service to others is the rent you pay for living," and that's so true. I feel blessed and rewarded every time I can turn a kid around. Even those days when I have to discipline or suspend a kid, I always let them know that I still like them, but I don't like their behavior. I do whatever I can to make that kid turn around.
Randy Williams
Q: What does it mean to you to be elected to the Hall of Fame?
A: It's not quite like winning a gold medal, but it's an honor. I'm happy and elated. It finally happened and it's something you appreciate, being with the elite group of people that are in there. I'm just happy to be there and it's something you aspire to and want to happen. I don't even know if I have words for it.
Q: How did you get your start in track and field?
A: I was walking home one day in seventh grade going out the back gate and they were having a track meet and I saw it. One man by the name Eugene McDowell long jumped 16 or 17 feet and it just looked like he went into the air and never came down and I was just so amazed and I took off and ran home and told my mom what I saw and asked if I could go out for track, and she said yes, and that's pretty much what happened.
Q: What was your career like as a high school athlete?
A: I did pretty well. I started in seventh grade when I jumped 16 (feet) 3 (inches). In eighth grade I jumped 19-0.25, and then I improved another three feet my freshman year from 19 to 22 feet, and it just went on from there. My sophomore year I was third in the state meet (California). My junior year I ended up second in the state, when a guy named Lynn Swann (Pittsburgh Steeler Pro Football Hall of Famer) beat me. I didn't know who he was and that he was all-world. He beat me by a quarter of an inch, and the guy who was #1 in the nation (James McCallister), I had him beat. Then here comes Lynn Swann with a jump, which I still don't think he beat me. To this day I don't believe he beat me. I just believe they wanted him to win and I've always said that. I ended up second in my junior year, and in my senior year I won the state meet with a jump of 26 feet 3 inches.
Q: Why did you go to USC and how was your experience there?
A: I've always been the kind of athlete that enjoys competing against the best. I never once wanted to go to UCLA or anywhere else because I always felt the best athletes were there. Although in high school, I knew more about Notre Dame than I did USC. Here in Fresno, Notre Dame football was on TV every weekend and I'm not sure why. So that's who I knew a lot about, but by the time I got my scholarship, I knew a lot about USC, but growing up I knew all about Notre Dame because the Fighting Irish were all over TV. I had a really good experience at USC. I was an A, B, C, D student (laughter). Part of that had to do with, like a lot of athletes, I was so involved with the track that I didn't really apply myself (in school) as my mom would say. But I was smart enough to graduate. I enjoyed my time at USC, both academically and athletically. I enjoyed the fact that the campus was small and it only took me five minutes to get to class.
Q: 1972 in Munich you won the Olympic gold medal as a 19-year old. What was that like?
A: It was my first time overseas and I was in La-La land just from that experience. I remember when I got to the village I saw some girls from Brazil speaking a different language and they were as dark as I was. I'd never seen that, and it's something I remember that these people looked like me and they were speaking another language. I was 18-years old when I first got there and the whole experience is what I today call the Olympic flavor, so to speak, which we don't get at any other meets. Walking into the stadium, and when they announced the United States of America and the crowd was, well I've been to USC football games with crowds of 90,000 to 100,000 people, but then I was on the field and that's the first time I've ever experienced walking in and seeing the crowd just erupt. It was quite an experience.
Winning and getting up on the podium there and hearing your country's national anthem played and knowing that why the reason why the world is hearing it is because of your efforts, I don't know. These things were meaningful but I don't quite know how to explain what they made you feel like. I turned 19 the week before I competed. It's almost like I don't know how it happened. Everybody trained hard, I imagine. I know what I did, I worked hard. I worked in practice and then went home and practiced sometimes after practice. I hear a lot of guys who accomplished a lot say the same things, and that's why I tell people the ingredients of being a champion are all the same thing. Champions all talk about going above and beyond and I can tell you I did it. I would do some weird things. I used to go out and push my car for leg strength (laughter).
Q: After winning the Olympic silver medal in 1976 you qualified for the 1980 Olympic Team. However, the government imposed boycott kept you from competing. How difficult was that for you?
A: It was especially difficult because I was getting older. Now guys compete until they're 35 (years old). I was getting older and I knew the writing was on the wall, and I figured that would be my last one, although I tried to make the team in '84. It was hard. Even though we didn't go, it has no less meaning to me than any other Olympic teams I made because I worked just as hard to make that one as I did the other ones.
Q: You're part of a great legacy of U.S. men's long jumpers that includes Jesse Owens, your fellow 2009 Hall of Fame inductee Willie Steele, Bob Beamon, Carl Lewis, Larry Myricks, Mike Powell and many others. What's it like to join them in the Hall of Fame?
A: I knew about the legacy and history. I could tell you how many times we didn't win the Olympics, and knowing that doesn't add pressure, but it makes you want to uphold the tradition when you're there. I was well aware of that. Not that I knew that I was going to win, but I didn't go there to lose. In the long jump, with the tradition the United States has in that particular event, you walk in there feeling not that you're above everybody else, but you walk in there knowing that this is an event we've done well in, and if I have anything to do with it we're going to keep it going.
Q: What is the accomplishment that you're proudest of in your track career?
A: I still hold the world junior record. I set it in Munich (1972 Olympic Games, 8.34m/27-4.50). It's been 37 years now and counting. I still have that and nobody's been able to take that away.
Q: What are you doing these days?
A: I just retired from the fire department. I enjoyed doing the job. I did it for 22 years and I just retired from that.
For more information on USA Track & Field and the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, visit: www.usatf.org
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Contact:
Tom Surber
USA Track & Field
Media Information Manager
317-713-4690; Tom.Surber@usatf.org
Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Interviews
INDIANAPOLIS - USA Track & Field announced on Tuesday that Joetta Clark Diggs, Andre Phillips, Randy Williams, Willie Steele and Dr. Ken Foreman have been elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame. Below are recent interviews with the living inductees.
Joetta Clark Diggs
Q: What are your feelings about being elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame?
A: When I saw the list of athletes that I was up against this year I thought it was a solid list as always. I'm honored and thrilled to see that I had been elected. I'm just glad I'm alive to see it. For my family, my coaches and all the people that have been so instrumental in my career, I'm glad that they're all still here to hear the good news and to participate in the event.
Q: How did your career in track and field begin?
A: I started in track and field by running in various camps as a sprinter when I was eight and nine years old. At that time my father was the director of parks and recreation in Essex County. So I would run the 100 and 50 yard dash, and eventually he moved me up to middle distance and distance running, and that's where I stayed ever since. I would travel to AAU meets across the country and I would run cross country as a youngster when I was 10 or 11, and when I was 13 I went to junior nationals and I ran 5:09 for the 1,500m and 2:18 for the 800. I went into high school the next year and my high school coach brought me along. I started as a sprinter and then my father wanted to dispel the notion that American blacks couldn't run anything above the quarter, so he put us in the 800 and cross country. He wanted us to travel the path of the road less taken at that time.
Q: How did the 800 become your specialty?
A: The reality is we focused more on the 800 in college because we had other girls who could run the 1,500. I could run a good 1,500 or mile, but in my freshman year in high school I ran 2:12 and then I went 2:05 as a sophomore when I was 15 (years old). So I was recruited to run the 800 and 1,500, and be the fifth person in cross country. I pretty much stuck with the 800 because once I got out of college, in order to get in the European meets, my 800 was the only thing that was even remotely close to running against the world because everyone back then was 1:55, 1:56, where 1:59 got you 10th or 11th back before the (Berlin) wall came down in 1989. In the states I could run both, but in the world market and in order to make a career out of it, I needed to run the 800.
Q: Why did you choose to attend the University of Tennessee?
A: Back in 1980 I was the top high school recruit, male or female in the country, in any sport. That was not me saying that, it was Sports Illustrated saying that. My last four schools were Georgetown, Tennessee, Indiana University and UVA (University of Virginia). I came to Tennessee and Terry Crawford (1988 U.S. Olympic women's head coach, and current USATF Director of Coaching) was the coach then. She sold me on her bringing in a great freshman class, and Delisa (Walton-Floyd) was there and she took second her freshman year at nationals, which was my senior year of high school. So I came to Knoxville and had a great bunch of girls come in with me and we ended up winning the AIAW my freshman year, and we had a top team during all of my four years at Tennessee. So we came in, we graduated, we won titles, and we're all doing well now.
Q: As an elite athlete you competed on four U.S. Olympic Teams. What was that like for you?
A: I tried out twice in high school and also in college in '84 and I didn't make that team, so when I finally made the team in '88 I was excited because it was at a point where it was still East Germany and the Eastern bloc countries and they were running fast and I had to decide if I would stay in the sport or go to work. I decided to hang around a couple more years and I'm glad that I did that. Making four Olympic teams was exciting, and when you're doing it, however, you don't realize that you're doing it. You only realize it when you start getting awards or when you retire because you're so busy trying to run fast, throw further or jump higher that you don't sit back and look at your accomplishments until you're completely done. I didn't really relish that at the time because I had more to do.
Q: You won two medals in World Indoor Championships competition. How rewarding was that?
A: I enjoy running indoors. I ran 1:59 both times at the World Indoor Championships. The first one was in Indianapolis in 1987 and I made the finals. I enjoyed the boards and it didn't have as many people as well. Outdoors you have a lot more women in those races. For me I got two bronze medals and a world record in the distance medley I think it was, or the sprint medley indoors, and that mark still stands.
Q: You're also well known for your success at the Millrose Games, where you were victorious on seven occasions. What did running at Madison Square Garden mean to you?
A: For years we would go to the Garden to see all-time greats compete and I thought that one day I'll be able to run there, and lo and behold I got my chance to run when I was 15 and I ran every year until I retired when I was 38. I missed one year running at the Garden in '84, but I ran in either 20 or 21 Millrose Games. That was special to be in the stands as a kid and then be able to go back and run in front of your home crowd was something special.
Q: The Clark family (Coach J.J. Clark, 5-time Olympian Jearl Miles-Clark, 5-time USA Outdoor champion Hazel Clark) has meant a great deal to USA Track & Field through the years. What has it been like to be a part of a family that has meant so much to track and field in the U.S.?
A: I think that USA Track & Field, and track and field period, has done so much for us as individuals. Being awarded a scholarship to college and graduating from Tennessee, my brother graduated from Villanova University where he was a fine runner himself, having run under four minutes in the mile, and then my sister graduated from the University of Florida. Track has been something that has afforded us the opportunity to go to college for free, travel across the country and around the world to meet great people and I think, when you look at everything, we are solid people and that's the way our parents raised us. Our family is a close-knit family and we believe in the sport and giving back, and I'm really thankful for the opportunities we've had through track and field.
Q: Now that you've retired from competition, what are you doing these days?
A: My life now has come full circle. I've been married for ten years and I have a daughter who is seven (years old) and I home school her. I have a foundation, The Joetta Clark Diggs Sports Foundation and we do programs for kids K through 12 dealing with obesity, life skills and nutrition. So my programs are now the programs that are in school, so instead of doing gym and health they do my program for 10, 12 or 16 weeks. I run free track and field camps in the summer from 8:30 to 3 o'clock every day. You drop them off and pick them up. I also do motivational speaking engagements with corporations, colleges, high schools and different books. And then my first book, I wrote it by myself with no ghost writers or co-authors, and that book will come out in December.
Dr. Ken Foreman
Q: What was it like for you to learn that you had been elected to the Hall of Fame?
A: Actually, having been nominated twice and passed over, I was in total shock. I couldn't believe that I had been nominated again, let alone voted in to the Hall of Fame. It's very exciting.
Q: How did you first get involved in coaching?
H: I was coaching at a private high school in 1947, and there were a couple of girls who hung around the edges and I started teaching them the long jump, and interestingly enough, the shot put as well. Subsequently I was hired at Seattle Pacific University, where my primary coaching responsibilities were men's basketball, track and field and cross country. In 1955, a high school coach called me to tell me that he had seen a young lady on the track that was beating his best sprinters, and he wanted to know if I would be interested in looking at her. My professional training had told me that if a woman sweats hard or lifted weights, her uterus would fall out (laughter). So I mulled the thing over and finally I asked them to bring her in after my basketball practice, which he did and we set a Coleman lantern at one end of a cinder strip and the young lady at the other end. I shot my gun into the night and she came flashing past the 100-yard mark in 11.5 (seconds). I had no idea what that meant. I told her to run it again and she did in the same time and that's when I suddenly realized this child was running in bare feet, and I also realized she had some talent. That was in October. In January of that year she ran in the national AAU meet and she performed very well against Ed Temple's stable of Tigerbelles; Mae Faggs, Lucinda Williams, Willye White, etc. So I suddenly became a sprint coach and I scarcely knew how to set up a set of blocks. Her name was Marsha Cosgrove and she went on to win a spot on the Melbourne Olympic team in 1956. In 1957, I went back to graduate school and taught at USC for three years, then I started coaching at Seattle Pacific again, and that's when Doris Brown fell into my life and she ran the first sub-5 minute mile by a woman, and I am suddenly a distance guru, and scarcely knew how to draw up a training schedule for distance runners. So it really was fortuitous that two outstanding young ladies came into my life and they made a coach of me. So I began working with girls and women at that time.
Q: Were you a track athlete before you became a coach.
A: In high school I was a four-sport guy. I was actually the world interscholastic rope climb champion and at 167 pounds I was fifth in the city of Los Angeles with the 12-pound shot put - I threw 54 feet, 7 inches. When I graduated in 1940, I went to work as a carpenter, but I was interested, for some reason, in the javelin. So I bought some javelins, fooled around with the javelins until December 8, 1941 when I enlisted in the Navy. When I came back I had the G.I. Bill and I went to USC and talked to their great coach Dean Cromwell and he gave me a pair of track shoes and a bonifide javelin, and so I began throwing the javelin. I also started participating in gymnastics again. I injured my heel planting the javelin and became a full-time gymnast and earned two all-American certificates at USC as a gymnast. When I went to Seattle Pacific they did not have any gymnastics equipment, so I started coaching track at the college level in 1950 and have been coaching ever since.
Q: During your career you founded the Falcon Track Club and the SportsWest Track Club. What was that like for you?
A: We teamed up with the University of Washington for a short while because it was very difficult raising funds for clubs. Sports West/Nordstrom Corporation chose to sponsor us for a couple years. Almost all the women early on were in club sports. It wasn't until 1975 that I was able to start a university team at Seattle Pacific, and we were one of the first college programs in America at that time and there were no scholarships. I got some of the best athletes available at that time at Seattle Pacific, so we had a head start and a pretty good program in an all girl club structure.
Q: You are considered one of the founding fathers of the athletic program at Seattle Pacific. What are your thoughts about your time there?
A: I guess that's true. They had a basketball team and they played only local schools. In 1953, I was appointed as the athletic director. I had what I thought was a strong track and field program. Our kids were competing at the Drake Relays and in the national NAIA meet in 1952, so we were headed in the right direction. I initiated cross country and we were beating the University of Washington and all the local schools. I hired a guy who was a baseball nut and he started a baseball program, and we also started a wrestling program. We had our club track and field program for girls and women operative right alongside. Somewhat later I befriended a great gymnastics coach at the YMCA in downtown Seattle. His name was George Lewis and he was producing Olympic quality women's gymnasts and I invited him to join us. I met a guy one day while I was running along the canal building boats and he was a crew nut and he started our crew program. I guess it's fair to say that I was involved with starting the athletic program at Seattle Pacific.
Q: You are best known to many as the coach of National Track & Field Hall of Famer Doris Brown Heritage. What made her so special?
A: She was not the most talented or most naturally gifted athlete that I've worked with, but she certainly was the most tenacious. She just wouldn't give up. She always did one more than I asked her to do. She ran the men into the ground and she was a gentle spirit. She was initially more concerned about her compatriots on the starting line than she was about herself. I have a great picture of her standing in the international cross country race in Maryland and she has her hands clasped behind her back and I'm sure she's thinking, 'I hope you do well, but I hope I do better.' She was a special lady.
Q: You coached a number of Olympians during your career. How special is it to lead someone to those heights?
A: Well it's pretty special. I make no claims about having done so unless I worked at least two years with an athlete. I could name seven such persons that I had the privilege to work with all the way to the Olympic Games. I guess, in the coaching profession, if you get somebody to stand on the top of the podium at any level it is a pretty heady experience. But seeing your athletes in a USA uniform competing in an international competition is more than heady. It frequently has brought me to tears to see my athletes performing, competing at that level. I don't know what else I can say. It's a great, great personal thrill to even be associated with such people, but to know that you might've had a little part in their lives, helping them get there is a great, great satisfaction.
Q: What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment in coaching?
A: I would have to go back to the fact that I played a significant role in creating opportunities for women to participate in sports. As I look back at my career spanning over 62 years now, I hold that as one of the top things that I've been permitted to do. Secondly, being able to associate with such a vast number of great, great human beings, both as athletes and as fellow coaches, I don't know how anybody could want any more from their life than that.
Q: What are you doing these days?
A: I'm coaching at a high school. When we moved to Hawaii, my wife is a purser for Delta Airlines and she was moved, so I had to resign my position at Seattle Pacific in 1999. We arrived here and discovered that the local high school was looking for a track coach, and so I volunteered before actually being hired. I've coached their cross country and track teams for the last 10 years. I also spend three to four hours a day trying to write and I have a yard that needs lots of attention. I build rock walls and pour cement sidewalks. My life is as full as it possibly can be.
Andre Phillips
Q: What's it like to be a Hall of Famer?
A: For me it's humbling and I'm very honored to be in the company of all the 400m hurdlers and all the people that have been inducted prior to me getting in there. Also for me, I knew since about 1976 when Edwin Moses won in Montreal that I really wanted to be a hurdler. So that in itself is awesome. It's great.
Q: How did you first get involved in track and field?
A: I was in eighth grade and I watched my older brother run in high school as a sophomore. I think he ran the 400 meters and that's when I became interested in track and field. Also at that time growing up I was one of ten kids, so there wasn't a lot of money to play organized sports, whether it be PAL football, baseball or any of those other sports. In track and field all I needed to do was just run - have tennis shoes and just run, so it was an easy sport for me to get in to without having to pay.
Q: What do you remember most about your high school career?
A: It worked out well. I started out as a high jumper and then I started running the hurdles, pretty much after seeing Edwin. I ended up winning the high school state meet my senior year and becoming an all-American, so I thought it went well. My junior and senior years were two great years.
Q: Why did you choose to attend UCLA?
A: I knew when I was 11 that I wanted to go to UCLA. I didn't know why or how. I remember Kareem Abdul-Jabbar playing in a game, and at that time he was Lew Alcindor, and I knew back then that I wanted to go to UCLA. When the opportunity arose I jumped on it. I went to a community college for two years, and then I went to UCLA my junior and senior years. My junior year wasn't as satisfying as I would've liked, but my senior year I won the NCAAs and broke the UCLA school record a couple times, and that was a good year for me.
Q: What was it about Edwin Moses that inspired you?
A: The fact that he won with class. I never heard him gloat or brag or turn around and look at us or put his hands up. I remember many times he was way ahead of the field and I always thought that was very classy. The other thing is that he revolutionized that event with his stride pattern, his long legs and the way he ran. He made that event more glamorous and exciting to get in to and I think that's the reason why it is the way it is today.
Q: At the 1988 Olympic Games you beat Moses for the only time in his career. What was that like for you?
A: When I came across the line and realized that I'd won, I automatically didn't think that I won the gold, it was I finally won one against Edwin. That was my initial thought. Winning the gold was the secondary thought. To me he's one of the greatest athletes - period - of all time.
Q: You held the Olympic record until four years later when Kevin Young set the world record at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Was it disappointing to lose the Olympic record?
A: He's a former Bruin, and I remember when he first started out I did my best to help him out as much as I could with the hurdles. So if anybody was going to break it, I was glad that he did it.
Q: What do you think of first when you look back at your career in track and field?
A: I think for me it's the camaraderie between the athletes. It's also knowing that at that given point in time I did my best. Whether I was injured, sick or had a bad race, I know that I did my best. But first and foremost it's all the guys. When you first stop traveling and running you think about all the people that you traveled with and all the camaraderie.
Q: What is your life like these days for you after track and field?
A: I started off teaching special education, and then I went on to get my masters in education and became an assistant principal at a big comprehensive high school, and I enjoyed it. I knew at some point that I was going to work with kids. I didn't know if it would be in coaching at a university or teaching or doing what I'm doing now.
Q: Earlier in your life you had assistance from family, teachers and coaches, and here you are many years later helping youngsters. Does it feel like your life has come full circle?
A: Absolutely. I heard this great line not so long ago that "service to others is the rent you pay for living," and that's so true. I feel blessed and rewarded every time I can turn a kid around. Even those days when I have to discipline or suspend a kid, I always let them know that I still like them, but I don't like their behavior. I do whatever I can to make that kid turn around.
Randy Williams
Q: What does it mean to you to be elected to the Hall of Fame?
A: It's not quite like winning a gold medal, but it's an honor. I'm happy and elated. It finally happened and it's something you appreciate, being with the elite group of people that are in there. I'm just happy to be there and it's something you aspire to and want to happen. I don't even know if I have words for it.
Q: How did you get your start in track and field?
A: I was walking home one day in seventh grade going out the back gate and they were having a track meet and I saw it. One man by the name Eugene McDowell long jumped 16 or 17 feet and it just looked like he went into the air and never came down and I was just so amazed and I took off and ran home and told my mom what I saw and asked if I could go out for track, and she said yes, and that's pretty much what happened.
Q: What was your career like as a high school athlete?
A: I did pretty well. I started in seventh grade when I jumped 16 (feet) 3 (inches). In eighth grade I jumped 19-0.25, and then I improved another three feet my freshman year from 19 to 22 feet, and it just went on from there. My sophomore year I was third in the state meet (California). My junior year I ended up second in the state, when a guy named Lynn Swann (Pittsburgh Steeler Pro Football Hall of Famer) beat me. I didn't know who he was and that he was all-world. He beat me by a quarter of an inch, and the guy who was #1 in the nation (James McCallister), I had him beat. Then here comes Lynn Swann with a jump, which I still don't think he beat me. To this day I don't believe he beat me. I just believe they wanted him to win and I've always said that. I ended up second in my junior year, and in my senior year I won the state meet with a jump of 26 feet 3 inches.
Q: Why did you go to USC and how was your experience there?
A: I've always been the kind of athlete that enjoys competing against the best. I never once wanted to go to UCLA or anywhere else because I always felt the best athletes were there. Although in high school, I knew more about Notre Dame than I did USC. Here in Fresno, Notre Dame football was on TV every weekend and I'm not sure why. So that's who I knew a lot about, but by the time I got my scholarship, I knew a lot about USC, but growing up I knew all about Notre Dame because the Fighting Irish were all over TV. I had a really good experience at USC. I was an A, B, C, D student (laughter). Part of that had to do with, like a lot of athletes, I was so involved with the track that I didn't really apply myself (in school) as my mom would say. But I was smart enough to graduate. I enjoyed my time at USC, both academically and athletically. I enjoyed the fact that the campus was small and it only took me five minutes to get to class.
Q: 1972 in Munich you won the Olympic gold medal as a 19-year old. What was that like?
A: It was my first time overseas and I was in La-La land just from that experience. I remember when I got to the village I saw some girls from Brazil speaking a different language and they were as dark as I was. I'd never seen that, and it's something I remember that these people looked like me and they were speaking another language. I was 18-years old when I first got there and the whole experience is what I today call the Olympic flavor, so to speak, which we don't get at any other meets. Walking into the stadium, and when they announced the United States of America and the crowd was, well I've been to USC football games with crowds of 90,000 to 100,000 people, but then I was on the field and that's the first time I've ever experienced walking in and seeing the crowd just erupt. It was quite an experience.
Winning and getting up on the podium there and hearing your country's national anthem played and knowing that why the reason why the world is hearing it is because of your efforts, I don't know. These things were meaningful but I don't quite know how to explain what they made you feel like. I turned 19 the week before I competed. It's almost like I don't know how it happened. Everybody trained hard, I imagine. I know what I did, I worked hard. I worked in practice and then went home and practiced sometimes after practice. I hear a lot of guys who accomplished a lot say the same things, and that's why I tell people the ingredients of being a champion are all the same thing. Champions all talk about going above and beyond and I can tell you I did it. I would do some weird things. I used to go out and push my car for leg strength (laughter).
Q: After winning the Olympic silver medal in 1976 you qualified for the 1980 Olympic Team. However, the government imposed boycott kept you from competing. How difficult was that for you?
A: It was especially difficult because I was getting older. Now guys compete until they're 35 (years old). I was getting older and I knew the writing was on the wall, and I figured that would be my last one, although I tried to make the team in '84. It was hard. Even though we didn't go, it has no less meaning to me than any other Olympic teams I made because I worked just as hard to make that one as I did the other ones.
Q: You're part of a great legacy of U.S. men's long jumpers that includes Jesse Owens, your fellow 2009 Hall of Fame inductee Willie Steele, Bob Beamon, Carl Lewis, Larry Myricks, Mike Powell and many others. What's it like to join them in the Hall of Fame?
A: I knew about the legacy and history. I could tell you how many times we didn't win the Olympics, and knowing that doesn't add pressure, but it makes you want to uphold the tradition when you're there. I was well aware of that. Not that I knew that I was going to win, but I didn't go there to lose. In the long jump, with the tradition the United States has in that particular event, you walk in there feeling not that you're above everybody else, but you walk in there knowing that this is an event we've done well in, and if I have anything to do with it we're going to keep it going.
Q: What is the accomplishment that you're proudest of in your track career?
A: I still hold the world junior record. I set it in Munich (1972 Olympic Games, 8.34m/27-4.50). It's been 37 years now and counting. I still have that and nobody's been able to take that away.
Q: What are you doing these days?
A: I just retired from the fire department. I enjoyed doing the job. I did it for 22 years and I just retired from that.
For more information on USA Track & Field and the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, visit: www.usatf.org
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
USATF announces 2009 Hall of Fame Inductees
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Contact:
Tom Surber
USA Track & Field
Media Information Manager
317-713-4690; Tom.Surber@usatf.org
USATF announces 2009 Hall of Fame Inductees
INDIANAPOLIS - Some of the greatest athletes of their generations, including track & field legends Joetta Clark Diggs, Andre Phillips, Randy Williams and Willie Steele, are joined by coach Dr. Ken Foreman as the 2009 inductees into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame. The Class of 2009 was announced Tuesday by USA Track & Field.
The Class of 2009 will be inducted Saturday evening, December 5, at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held in conjunction with USATF's 2009 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Ind.
"All of us at USA Track & Field congratulate these five talented individuals on their election to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame," said USATF Chairman and President Stephanie Hightower. "Their contributions have added tremendously to the legacy of USA Track & Field, and we all look forward to their induction ceremony next month in Indianapolis."
A seven-time winner of the women's 800 meters at the Millrose Games, Joetta Clark Diggs won numerous individual national championships and is a four-time Olympian.
Andre Phillips did his part in adding to the amazing legacy of U.S. men's 400m hurdles greats by winning gold at the 1988 Olympic Games and ending his career with nine top ten world rankings.
During his career as one of the world's elite athletes, Willie Steele won an Olympic gold medal and was ranked as the world's finest men's long jumper on four occasions.
Randy Williams was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year for consideration in the Veteran Athlete category. Williams was a two-time Olympic medalist in the long jump and was ranked #1 in the world in 1972.
Noted especially for his contribution to women's track and field, coach inductee Dr. Ken Foreman founded and coached the Falcon Track Club, served three stints as the head coach at Seattle Pacific University and was the head coach for a U.S. Olympic Team, World Outdoor Championships team and a U.S. World Cross Country Team.
About the National Track & Field Hall of Fame
There are four categories in which individuals may be voted into the Hall of Fame. Those categories are: Modern athletes, retired less than 25 years; Veteran athletes, retired more than 25 years; Coaches; and Contributors. Each category has its own selection committee that chooses the finalists from the list of nominations. Members of the selection
committees examine the nominations and evaluate their merit based on objective criteria. Elections for Modern and Veteran athletes are held each year.
Beginning in 2005, elections for Coaches are held in odd numbered years, with Contributors elections in even numbered years. Hall of Fame inductees, members of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame Board and Committees and members of the media comprise the electorate for the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.
Class of 2009 biographies
Biographies for the "Class of 2009" for the National Track & Field Hall of Fame follow:
MODERN ATHLETES
JOETTA CLARK DIGGS: During an amazing career that lasted nearly 25 years, Clark Diggs was recognized for being one of the greatest, and most consistent, women's 800m runners in U.S. history. A four-time Olympian ('88, '92, '96, '00), who competed in five Olympic Trials, Clark Diggs was a six-time U.S. Indoor champion ('88, '89, '90, '96, '97, '98); five-time U.S. Outdoor champion ('88, '89, '92, '93, '94); a four-time NCAA champion; and a two-time bronze medalist at the World Indoor Championships ('93, '97). She was the 1986 Olympic Festival champion, the gold medalist at the 1980 Pan American Games and the 1980 USA Junior Champion. She is also well known for her success at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York, where she won seven times.
ANDRE PHILLIPS: In winning the gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Andre Phillips picked the best possible time to notch his only career win over his idol and fellow National Track & Field Hall of Famer Edwin Moses. Phillips, who won the 1985 World Cup, the 1985 USA Outdoor title and was the 1981 NCAA 400m hurdles champion, was nine times ranked top ten in the world by Track & Field News, and ranked #1 globally in 1985, 1986 and 1988. He was world ranked #3 in the 110m hurdles in 1985.
VETERAN ATHLETES
WILLIE STEELE: Recognized as the world's finest men's long jumper of the late 1940s, Willie Steele was the favorite to win at the 1948 Olympic Games. Despite a sore ankle that allowed him only two attempts, both of Steele's jumps were good enough to win the gold over the world's best. A two-time USA Outdoor champion, Steele was the 1948 Olympic Trials champion, a two-time NCAA long jump champion, was considered the world's best long jumper in 1942 and 1946, and was world ranked #1 by Track & Field News in 1947 and 1948. He died on September 19, 1989.
RANDY WILLIAMS: The Olympic Games men's long jump gold medalist in 1972 and silver medalist in 1976, Randy Williams qualified for the 1980 Olympic Team, but did not compete because of the U.S. boycott. Williams won numerous national titles during his career including the USA Outdoor crown in 1973, he was USA Indoor champion in 1973, the NCAA Outdoor champion in 1972 and the NCAA Indoor champion in 1973. Williams was world ranked four times by Track & Field News, and was ranked #1 in the world following the 1972 season.
COACH
DR. KEN FOREMAN: The head coach at Seattle Pacific University from1950-1957, 1965-1978, 1985-1999, Foreman founded the Falcon Track Club in 1955 and served as the squad's coach in 1977. Foreman also founded the SportsWest T.C., which he directed 1977-1998. Foreman's Falcon TC squad captured the AAU cross country title in 1972, and he is well known for coaching National Track & Field Hall of Famer Doris Brown Heritage (5-time World Cross Country women's champion 1967-1971). Olympians he coached included Kelly Blair-LaBounty, Lorna Griffin, Pam Spencer and Sherron Walker. Foreman-coached athletes won 14 AAU titles (outdoor, indoor, cross country) by two athletes and one AIAW title. Foreman was named the U.S. women's head coach for the 1980 Olympic Games, and served as the Team USA head coach at the 1983 World Outdoor Championships. He was the U.S. World Cross Country Team coach in 1967, 1970 and 1973, served as the AAU Women's LDR Chair from 1968-1974, and was the recipient of the AAU/USATF Joseph Robichaux Women's T&F Award 1978.
For more information on the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, visit: www.usatf.org.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Contact:
Tom Surber
USA Track & Field
Media Information Manager
317-713-4690; Tom.Surber@usatf.org
USATF announces 2009 Hall of Fame Inductees
INDIANAPOLIS - Some of the greatest athletes of their generations, including track & field legends Joetta Clark Diggs, Andre Phillips, Randy Williams and Willie Steele, are joined by coach Dr. Ken Foreman as the 2009 inductees into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame. The Class of 2009 was announced Tuesday by USA Track & Field.
The Class of 2009 will be inducted Saturday evening, December 5, at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held in conjunction with USATF's 2009 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Ind.
"All of us at USA Track & Field congratulate these five talented individuals on their election to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame," said USATF Chairman and President Stephanie Hightower. "Their contributions have added tremendously to the legacy of USA Track & Field, and we all look forward to their induction ceremony next month in Indianapolis."
A seven-time winner of the women's 800 meters at the Millrose Games, Joetta Clark Diggs won numerous individual national championships and is a four-time Olympian.
Andre Phillips did his part in adding to the amazing legacy of U.S. men's 400m hurdles greats by winning gold at the 1988 Olympic Games and ending his career with nine top ten world rankings.
During his career as one of the world's elite athletes, Willie Steele won an Olympic gold medal and was ranked as the world's finest men's long jumper on four occasions.
Randy Williams was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year for consideration in the Veteran Athlete category. Williams was a two-time Olympic medalist in the long jump and was ranked #1 in the world in 1972.
Noted especially for his contribution to women's track and field, coach inductee Dr. Ken Foreman founded and coached the Falcon Track Club, served three stints as the head coach at Seattle Pacific University and was the head coach for a U.S. Olympic Team, World Outdoor Championships team and a U.S. World Cross Country Team.
About the National Track & Field Hall of Fame
There are four categories in which individuals may be voted into the Hall of Fame. Those categories are: Modern athletes, retired less than 25 years; Veteran athletes, retired more than 25 years; Coaches; and Contributors. Each category has its own selection committee that chooses the finalists from the list of nominations. Members of the selection
committees examine the nominations and evaluate their merit based on objective criteria. Elections for Modern and Veteran athletes are held each year.
Beginning in 2005, elections for Coaches are held in odd numbered years, with Contributors elections in even numbered years. Hall of Fame inductees, members of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame Board and Committees and members of the media comprise the electorate for the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.
Class of 2009 biographies
Biographies for the "Class of 2009" for the National Track & Field Hall of Fame follow:
MODERN ATHLETES
JOETTA CLARK DIGGS: During an amazing career that lasted nearly 25 years, Clark Diggs was recognized for being one of the greatest, and most consistent, women's 800m runners in U.S. history. A four-time Olympian ('88, '92, '96, '00), who competed in five Olympic Trials, Clark Diggs was a six-time U.S. Indoor champion ('88, '89, '90, '96, '97, '98); five-time U.S. Outdoor champion ('88, '89, '92, '93, '94); a four-time NCAA champion; and a two-time bronze medalist at the World Indoor Championships ('93, '97). She was the 1986 Olympic Festival champion, the gold medalist at the 1980 Pan American Games and the 1980 USA Junior Champion. She is also well known for her success at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York, where she won seven times.
ANDRE PHILLIPS: In winning the gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Andre Phillips picked the best possible time to notch his only career win over his idol and fellow National Track & Field Hall of Famer Edwin Moses. Phillips, who won the 1985 World Cup, the 1985 USA Outdoor title and was the 1981 NCAA 400m hurdles champion, was nine times ranked top ten in the world by Track & Field News, and ranked #1 globally in 1985, 1986 and 1988. He was world ranked #3 in the 110m hurdles in 1985.
VETERAN ATHLETES
WILLIE STEELE: Recognized as the world's finest men's long jumper of the late 1940s, Willie Steele was the favorite to win at the 1948 Olympic Games. Despite a sore ankle that allowed him only two attempts, both of Steele's jumps were good enough to win the gold over the world's best. A two-time USA Outdoor champion, Steele was the 1948 Olympic Trials champion, a two-time NCAA long jump champion, was considered the world's best long jumper in 1942 and 1946, and was world ranked #1 by Track & Field News in 1947 and 1948. He died on September 19, 1989.
RANDY WILLIAMS: The Olympic Games men's long jump gold medalist in 1972 and silver medalist in 1976, Randy Williams qualified for the 1980 Olympic Team, but did not compete because of the U.S. boycott. Williams won numerous national titles during his career including the USA Outdoor crown in 1973, he was USA Indoor champion in 1973, the NCAA Outdoor champion in 1972 and the NCAA Indoor champion in 1973. Williams was world ranked four times by Track & Field News, and was ranked #1 in the world following the 1972 season.
COACH
DR. KEN FOREMAN: The head coach at Seattle Pacific University from1950-1957, 1965-1978, 1985-1999, Foreman founded the Falcon Track Club in 1955 and served as the squad's coach in 1977. Foreman also founded the SportsWest T.C., which he directed 1977-1998. Foreman's Falcon TC squad captured the AAU cross country title in 1972, and he is well known for coaching National Track & Field Hall of Famer Doris Brown Heritage (5-time World Cross Country women's champion 1967-1971). Olympians he coached included Kelly Blair-LaBounty, Lorna Griffin, Pam Spencer and Sherron Walker. Foreman-coached athletes won 14 AAU titles (outdoor, indoor, cross country) by two athletes and one AIAW title. Foreman was named the U.S. women's head coach for the 1980 Olympic Games, and served as the Team USA head coach at the 1983 World Outdoor Championships. He was the U.S. World Cross Country Team coach in 1967, 1970 and 1973, served as the AAU Women's LDR Chair from 1968-1974, and was the recipient of the AAU/USATF Joseph Robichaux Women's T&F Award 1978.
For more information on the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, visit: www.usatf.org.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
# # #
Forward email
This email was sent to conning@aol.com by tom.surber@usatf.org.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Division I Cross Country Rankings - Men West Region
Division I Cross Country Rankings -
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Gender: Ranking:
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
By Region Men Regional Week: Pre NCAAs
West
Rank School Change Totals
1 Stanford
2 Portland
3 Oregon
4 Washington
5 Cal Poly
5 Arizona State
7 UCLA
8 California
8 UC Santa Barbara
10 Washington State
11 UC Davis
12 UC Riverside
13 Loyola Marymount
14 Long Beach State
15 Boise State
Courtesy U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association • 1100 Poydras Street, Suite 1750, New Orleans, LA 70163 • 504-599-8900
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Gender: Ranking:
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
By Region Men Regional Week: Pre NCAAs
West
Rank School Change Totals
1 Stanford
2 Portland
3 Oregon
4 Washington
5 Cal Poly
5 Arizona State
7 UCLA
8 California
8 UC Santa Barbara
10 Washington State
11 UC Davis
12 UC Riverside
13 Loyola Marymount
14 Long Beach State
15 Boise State
Courtesy U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association • 1100 Poydras Street, Suite 1750, New Orleans, LA 70163 • 504-599-8900
Division I Cross Country Team Rankings - Top 30 Men
Division I Cross Country Team Rankings - Top 30
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Ranking:
Week:Pre NCAAs
National
Gender: Men
Men
Rank School First Place Votes Change Previous Total
1 Stanford 11 0 1 359
2 Oklahoma State 1 0 2 349
3 Alabama 3 6 326
4 Portland 3 7 317
5 BYU 9 14 306
6 Colorado 1 5 296
7 William & Mary 1 8 287
8 Oregon 5 3 281
9 Syracuse 2 11 256
10 Wisconsin 0 10 247
11 Iona 2 9 234
12 New Mexico 0 12 232
13 NAU 9 4 218
14 Georgetown 1 15 208
15 Washington 2 17 188
16 Oklahoma 2 18 170
17 Villanova 3 20 167
18 NC State 2 16 162
19 Arkansas 3 22 136
20 Florida State 1 21 122
21 Providence 2 23 120
22 Arizona State 9 13 103
23 Louisville 1 24 89
24 Iowa State 3 27 73
25 Auburn 0 25 64
26 Duke 4 30 51
27 Virginia 8 19 50
28 Michigan State 49
29 Texas 31
29 Minnesota 0 29 31
Courtesy U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association • 1100 Poydras Street, Suite 1750, New Orleans, LA 70163 • 504-599-8900
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Ranking:
Week:Pre NCAAs
National
Gender: Men
Men
Rank School First Place Votes Change Previous Total
1 Stanford 11 0 1 359
2 Oklahoma State 1 0 2 349
3 Alabama 3 6 326
4 Portland 3 7 317
5 BYU 9 14 306
6 Colorado 1 5 296
7 William & Mary 1 8 287
8 Oregon 5 3 281
9 Syracuse 2 11 256
10 Wisconsin 0 10 247
11 Iona 2 9 234
12 New Mexico 0 12 232
13 NAU 9 4 218
14 Georgetown 1 15 208
15 Washington 2 17 188
16 Oklahoma 2 18 170
17 Villanova 3 20 167
18 NC State 2 16 162
19 Arkansas 3 22 136
20 Florida State 1 21 122
21 Providence 2 23 120
22 Arizona State 9 13 103
23 Louisville 1 24 89
24 Iowa State 3 27 73
25 Auburn 0 25 64
26 Duke 4 30 51
27 Virginia 8 19 50
28 Michigan State 49
29 Texas 31
29 Minnesota 0 29 31
Courtesy U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association • 1100 Poydras Street, Suite 1750, New Orleans, LA 70163 • 504-599-8900
Monday, November 16, 2009
California Currents Coaches Newsletter
California Currents
Coaches Newsletter - Fall 2009
Please provide newsworthy information to Pacific Assoc. coaches chair Dave Shrock at dshrock@pacbell.net for inclusion in the next newsletter due out in the Spring. For current information refer to: www.pausatf.org Removal from this server list: If you no longer want to receive this coaches newsletter, please follow the directions at the bottom of this e-mail.
Upcoming USATF Coaching Schools and Clinics:
Level One Schools: Level 1 Schools, the most comprehensive track and field training in the nation, consist of 21 hours of instruction focused on the events of track & field and related sport sciences. The course consists of classroom instruction as well as hands-on training. The Level 1 program covers all events by emphasizing fundamentals, rules, safety/risk management, and instruction techniques in addition to specific event group training of endurance, sprints/hurdles, throws and jumps. Upon passing the exam, participants will be issued a Level 1 Certificate of Completion.
19-20 December, 2009: At Sacramento City College, Lillard Hall, room 101. 21 hour school covering all aspects of sports science and specific event groups with a youth emphasis. Click here for informational flyer.
16-17 January, 2010: At Chabot College, Hayward. 21 hour school covering all aspects of sports science and specific event groups. Click here for informational flyer.
PAUSATF Level 1 School Scholarships Available: To facilitate the goal of producing well educated coaches, the Pacific Association of USATF (including San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Stanislaus, Tuolumne counties north to the Oregon border in California, and central/northern Nevada) has made available twenty (20) scholarships to pay the tuition to attend a PA-USATF Level 1 Coaching Education School. Pacific Association registered coaches who complete and submit the application by Sunday, 28 Nov. at 5:00pm will become eligible to have their tuition fee paid to the Sacramento City College or the Chabot College Level 1 Schools. Recipients are responsible for their own transportation, USATF membership fees, accommodation, and meals. Click here for further information and application.
23 January, 2010: VSAthletics NorCal SuperClinic: At Sacramento City College: Come join us in improving your coaching effectiveness in a one-day clinic devoted solely to maximizing your athlete's success. Sixteen nationally recognized clinicians will provide information that you will be able to apply immediately to your programs improvement in the event group areas of sprints/hurdles, endurance, throws, and jumps.Click here for further information, or go to www.VSAthletics.com
13 February, 2010:
USATF Coaching Education Developmental Coach Clinic: In conjunction with the James Logan (Union City) Willie Davenport Learn-by-Do Clinic. Five-hour clinic covering the basics of age appropriate training, setting up training sessions, and safety concerns for beginning coaches or volunteer parents. $25.00 fee includes entry into Logan Clinic, 32 page manual, handouts, and Developmental Coach Certificate upon clinic completion. For further info, click here for further information.
Refer to the national coaches' education website for further information and to register for the above schools:http://www.usatf.org/groups/Coaches/education/
2009 Podium Education Project: Will be hosted 10-13 & 17-19 December this year in Orlando, Florida. Sponsored by USATF High Performance, many of the nation's top scientists and coaches will again speak at this excellent learning opportunity that for many years was held in Las Vegas. For further info, refer to: http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?duid=USATF_2009_11_10_12_59_51
Youth-High School Notes:
2010 High School and NCAA Rule Changes have been posted on the Officials Rules page: www.usatfofficials.com/rules.html
Missing from the track: Coach Ed Parker passed away October 28 at the age of 79 with his wife Barbara at his bedside in the foothill town of Gold River. Coach Parker's life work was devoted to working with young people as a teacher and track coach at Mills High School, and later Jesuit High School in Sacramento. As the head coach with the nationally recognized Millbrae Lions TC in the 1960's and 70's, Parker coached both nationally and internationally, which included seven Olympians. The words that most described him by his fellow coaches and athletes were 'innovative and integrity'.
Track and Field overtakes basketball as the most popular high school sport for girls: According to figures released in September by the NFHS, outdoor T&F girls participation increased to 457,732 nationally, eclipsing girls basketball with 444,809, with volleyball third at 404, 243. For boys, 11 player football remained number one participation sport with 1,112,303, with T&F second at 558,007 and basketball third with 545,145.
National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship Coming to Reno in December: All athletes born between 1999-1992 are eligible to compete in the regional qualifier 29 Nov. in Reno, with top 20 finishers in each of the five age division eligible to compete in the National Youth Cross Country championships on 12 December on the same course. California High School Athletes: If you plan to compete at the CIF state meet on Saturday, 28 November located at Woodward, plan your after race travel to ensure you will be ready to compete in Reno on Sunday morning, 29 November. Entry deadline for the regional qualifier is 22 November. For Regional qualifying information, refer to: http://www.pausatf.org/data/2009/yxcregion16.htmlFor 12 December National Championship information, refer to: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USATFJuniorOlympicXCChampionships/
National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships Coming to Sacramento in July: Sacramento State plays host to the 2010 National Junior Olympics from 27 July-1 August. For preliminary information, refer to: http://www.pausatf.org/data/ytfjo2010passport.pdf
Check out the revamped youth web page filled with info, highlights, and photos at: http://www.pausatf.org/indexyouth.html
College, Open and Masters Notes:
With Cross Country in its championship phase, Coaches Committee College, Open and Masters Rep. Thomas Kloos provides a great college championship review:
http://www.pausatf.org/indexxc.html?data/2009/coachcollegewrap.html
Long time Cal Poly Coach Terry Crawford will leave SLO after an 18 year tenure to take on the role of National Coordinator of Coaching Services for USATF in Indianapolis. Crawford's successor has been narrowed down to a few finalists, with an announcement expected soon.
Coach Dan Pfaff, arguably one of the United States top technical event coaches, who recently completed a three year stint at the TriValley Training complex in Isleton and Stockton, has been hired by UK Athletics to lead their Lee Valley Olympic Training Centre in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. For further information, refer to:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/london_2012/article6612610.ece
Combined event coach Harry Marra, former San Francisco State coach who for many years also lead the VISA Decathlon team in San Mateo, has been hired at the new combined event, pole vault and high jump coach at University or Oregon.
San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton has hired former alum Heptathlete Lauryn Jordan as their new part-time women's track and field coach while Jesus Reyes who had coached the women for the previous four years shifts to coach the men's program.
For the latest on NCAA rule interpretations and changes, go to:
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/ncaa/sports+and+championship/track+and+field/playing+rules/index.html
2010 National Masters Track and Field Championships come to Sacramento 22-25 July, 2010: To be held at Sacramento State's Spano's Athletic complex. The nation's top masters athletes from ages 30-95 will compete in the national championship, which also act as a tune-up for 2011 World Masters Championships also to be held at Sacramento State. For preliminary information, refer to: http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAMastersOutdoorTFChampionships/
Officials Training Clinics:
The Pacific Association sponsors informative officiating clinics to educate those wanting to officiate or better understand the rules of Track and Field. Fees are nominal, and all coaches, parents, and anyone interested are encouraged to attend! 2009/10 dates will be posted soon, so refer to:http://www.pausatf.org/indexofficials.html, and click on clinics.
Coaching Resources:
American Track & Field magazine, six times in print a year, free to head coaches, of for an additional $10 for assistant coaches or to be sent to coaches homes website: http://www.american-trackandfielddigital magazine: http://www.american-trackandfield.com/fall-2009-cross-country-yearbook
Athletes Only magazine, five times in print a year, free to high school, club, college teams, $10 for individual subscriptions. website: http://www.atf-athlete.com
digital magazine: http://www.atf-athlete.com/view-american-track-field-athlete-online
California Track & Running News, six times in print a year, included in all California association USATF membership fees. website: http://www.caltrack.com; digital: http://www.caltrack.com.
Coaching Athletics Quarterly magazine, free to college, club coaches, $10 to all others, http://www.coachingathelticsq.com
digital: http://www.coachingathleticsq.com/read-online
SpeedEndurance: website with many informative articles in Pdf. format: http://www.speedendurance.com
The USOC Coaching Department, in partnership with its USA Coaching Coalition (USACC) partners - the NCAA, NFHS, and NASPE is proud to announce the launch of a new coaching education website: http://www.USACoaching.org. This website will be the go-to clearinghouse for all coaching education information and resources.
The USOC also publishes a quarterly free e-zine with valuable article on training and the Olympic movement: http://www.teamusa.org/resources/olympic-coaching-materials/coaching-education-center.html
Coaches Committee Elects New Officers to 2010-2012 Terms:
The following coaches have been elected by you to represent your interests in USATF. Do not hesitate to contact any one of us:
Youth-high school representative-Roosevelt Kent: rkent@rjuhsd.us. Currently coach at Granite Bay HS and the Roseville PAL Express Track Club, one of Roosevelt's goals is to promote better communication between high school and youth coaches, while setting up a mentorship program for young coaches
Open-Collegiate-Masters Representative-Tom Kloos: tdkrun@yahoo.com. An elite steeplechaser, Thomas also severs as the assistant T&F/XC Coach at Univ. of San Francisco. Thomas's goals are to promote USATF completion opportunities to athletes at the end of the collegiate season.
Coaches Education Representative-Ken Grace: kgrace@chabotcollege.edu. Long time community college coach at CC San Francisco and Chabot College, one of Ken's many goals is the organization of regional clinics for athletes.
Coaches Committee Chair-Dave Shrock: shrockd@mjc.edu. Having served in this position for the past eight years, one of Dave's several goals is to increase the communication between the many diverse coaching groups and offer increased educational opportunities and support.
Creation of the Pacific Association Legacy Coach Award:
In recognition of the many influential coaches who have served in our association who have selflessly strengthened our sport(s) through teaching, mentoring, and promoting our profession, the Coaches Committee is initiating an annual Legacy Coach Award. Criterion will be weighted heavily on coaches who were not only great coaches, but who also inspired and trained/mentored many of us to become coachesourselves...hence the idea of a Legacy Coach Award. Coaches submitted for consideration should have:
- exhibited qualities of ethical coaching
- mentored former athletes or younger coaches to become successful coaches in their own right
- having coached for a period of time in the Pacific Association
- contributed to several aspects of the association, while promoting the sports of USATF
- candidate could come from any coaching level
Please submit names of nominees with details of their contributions as noted above to Dave Shrock at dshrock@pacbell.net. The deadline for submission of nominees is 31 December, 2009, with announcement of the inaugural recipient 23 January at the VSAthletics Nor-Cal SuperClinic.
Track & Field Schedules Needed:
To get your meet on the master Pacific Association schedules, please send meet information ASAP to Bill Hawkes: flojo1049@yahoo.com. The full Pacific Association schedule will be available late November at: http://www.pausatf.org/data/calendar.html
Heard Around the Track:
The 2010 Run for the Dream Indoor Track & Field Meet has moved from the Martin Luther King weekend to Friday, February 5th and Saturday, Feb 6th, with regional high school qualifying meets tentatively scheduled for 23 January. The meet will be held in Fresno's Save Mart Center on the Fred and Madeleine Arnold Tartan Track. Preliminary meet info available at: www.RunfortheDream.com.
The Pacific Association is in discussion with USATF to host the 2010 National T&F Club Championships the weekend of 10-11 July either at San Francisco State or Col. of San Mateo. Stay tuned for this great mid-summer competition opportunity.
Additional Information:
Websites for additional information and resources: National: www.usatf.org; Northern California and Nevada Pacific Association: www.pausatf.org; California Central Valley Association, from Merced county south: www.central-california.usatf.org; southern California: www.scausatf.org; and San Diego-Imperial, refer to: www.sdusatf.org.
Forward email
This email was sent to conning@aol.com by dshrock@pacbell.net.
Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Email Marketing by
Pacific Association USATF | 120 Ponderosa Court | Folsom | CA | 95630
Coaches Newsletter - Fall 2009
Please provide newsworthy information to Pacific Assoc. coaches chair Dave Shrock at dshrock@pacbell.net for inclusion in the next newsletter due out in the Spring. For current information refer to: www.pausatf.org Removal from this server list: If you no longer want to receive this coaches newsletter, please follow the directions at the bottom of this e-mail.
Upcoming USATF Coaching Schools and Clinics:
Level One Schools: Level 1 Schools, the most comprehensive track and field training in the nation, consist of 21 hours of instruction focused on the events of track & field and related sport sciences. The course consists of classroom instruction as well as hands-on training. The Level 1 program covers all events by emphasizing fundamentals, rules, safety/risk management, and instruction techniques in addition to specific event group training of endurance, sprints/hurdles, throws and jumps. Upon passing the exam, participants will be issued a Level 1 Certificate of Completion.
19-20 December, 2009: At Sacramento City College, Lillard Hall, room 101. 21 hour school covering all aspects of sports science and specific event groups with a youth emphasis. Click here for informational flyer.
16-17 January, 2010: At Chabot College, Hayward. 21 hour school covering all aspects of sports science and specific event groups. Click here for informational flyer.
PAUSATF Level 1 School Scholarships Available: To facilitate the goal of producing well educated coaches, the Pacific Association of USATF (including San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Stanislaus, Tuolumne counties north to the Oregon border in California, and central/northern Nevada) has made available twenty (20) scholarships to pay the tuition to attend a PA-USATF Level 1 Coaching Education School. Pacific Association registered coaches who complete and submit the application by Sunday, 28 Nov. at 5:00pm will become eligible to have their tuition fee paid to the Sacramento City College or the Chabot College Level 1 Schools. Recipients are responsible for their own transportation, USATF membership fees, accommodation, and meals. Click here for further information and application.
23 January, 2010: VSAthletics NorCal SuperClinic: At Sacramento City College: Come join us in improving your coaching effectiveness in a one-day clinic devoted solely to maximizing your athlete's success. Sixteen nationally recognized clinicians will provide information that you will be able to apply immediately to your programs improvement in the event group areas of sprints/hurdles, endurance, throws, and jumps.Click here for further information, or go to www.VSAthletics.com
13 February, 2010:
USATF Coaching Education Developmental Coach Clinic: In conjunction with the James Logan (Union City) Willie Davenport Learn-by-Do Clinic. Five-hour clinic covering the basics of age appropriate training, setting up training sessions, and safety concerns for beginning coaches or volunteer parents. $25.00 fee includes entry into Logan Clinic, 32 page manual, handouts, and Developmental Coach Certificate upon clinic completion. For further info, click here for further information.
Refer to the national coaches' education website for further information and to register for the above schools:http://www.usatf.org/groups/Coaches/education/
2009 Podium Education Project: Will be hosted 10-13 & 17-19 December this year in Orlando, Florida. Sponsored by USATF High Performance, many of the nation's top scientists and coaches will again speak at this excellent learning opportunity that for many years was held in Las Vegas. For further info, refer to: http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?duid=USATF_2009_11_10_12_59_51
Youth-High School Notes:
2010 High School and NCAA Rule Changes have been posted on the Officials Rules page: www.usatfofficials.com/rules.html
Missing from the track: Coach Ed Parker passed away October 28 at the age of 79 with his wife Barbara at his bedside in the foothill town of Gold River. Coach Parker's life work was devoted to working with young people as a teacher and track coach at Mills High School, and later Jesuit High School in Sacramento. As the head coach with the nationally recognized Millbrae Lions TC in the 1960's and 70's, Parker coached both nationally and internationally, which included seven Olympians. The words that most described him by his fellow coaches and athletes were 'innovative and integrity'.
Track and Field overtakes basketball as the most popular high school sport for girls: According to figures released in September by the NFHS, outdoor T&F girls participation increased to 457,732 nationally, eclipsing girls basketball with 444,809, with volleyball third at 404, 243. For boys, 11 player football remained number one participation sport with 1,112,303, with T&F second at 558,007 and basketball third with 545,145.
National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship Coming to Reno in December: All athletes born between 1999-1992 are eligible to compete in the regional qualifier 29 Nov. in Reno, with top 20 finishers in each of the five age division eligible to compete in the National Youth Cross Country championships on 12 December on the same course. California High School Athletes: If you plan to compete at the CIF state meet on Saturday, 28 November located at Woodward, plan your after race travel to ensure you will be ready to compete in Reno on Sunday morning, 29 November. Entry deadline for the regional qualifier is 22 November. For Regional qualifying information, refer to: http://www.pausatf.org/data/2009/yxcregion16.htmlFor 12 December National Championship information, refer to: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USATFJuniorOlympicXCChampionships/
National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships Coming to Sacramento in July: Sacramento State plays host to the 2010 National Junior Olympics from 27 July-1 August. For preliminary information, refer to: http://www.pausatf.org/data/ytfjo2010passport.pdf
Check out the revamped youth web page filled with info, highlights, and photos at: http://www.pausatf.org/indexyouth.html
College, Open and Masters Notes:
With Cross Country in its championship phase, Coaches Committee College, Open and Masters Rep. Thomas Kloos provides a great college championship review:
http://www.pausatf.org/indexxc.html?data/2009/coachcollegewrap.html
Long time Cal Poly Coach Terry Crawford will leave SLO after an 18 year tenure to take on the role of National Coordinator of Coaching Services for USATF in Indianapolis. Crawford's successor has been narrowed down to a few finalists, with an announcement expected soon.
Coach Dan Pfaff, arguably one of the United States top technical event coaches, who recently completed a three year stint at the TriValley Training complex in Isleton and Stockton, has been hired by UK Athletics to lead their Lee Valley Olympic Training Centre in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. For further information, refer to:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/london_2012/article6612610.ece
Combined event coach Harry Marra, former San Francisco State coach who for many years also lead the VISA Decathlon team in San Mateo, has been hired at the new combined event, pole vault and high jump coach at University or Oregon.
San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton has hired former alum Heptathlete Lauryn Jordan as their new part-time women's track and field coach while Jesus Reyes who had coached the women for the previous four years shifts to coach the men's program.
For the latest on NCAA rule interpretations and changes, go to:
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/ncaa/sports+and+championship/track+and+field/playing+rules/index.html
2010 National Masters Track and Field Championships come to Sacramento 22-25 July, 2010: To be held at Sacramento State's Spano's Athletic complex. The nation's top masters athletes from ages 30-95 will compete in the national championship, which also act as a tune-up for 2011 World Masters Championships also to be held at Sacramento State. For preliminary information, refer to: http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAMastersOutdoorTFChampionships/
Officials Training Clinics:
The Pacific Association sponsors informative officiating clinics to educate those wanting to officiate or better understand the rules of Track and Field. Fees are nominal, and all coaches, parents, and anyone interested are encouraged to attend! 2009/10 dates will be posted soon, so refer to:http://www.pausatf.org/indexofficials.html, and click on clinics.
Coaching Resources:
American Track & Field magazine, six times in print a year, free to head coaches, of for an additional $10 for assistant coaches or to be sent to coaches homes website: http://www.american-trackandfielddigital magazine: http://www.american-trackandfield.com/fall-2009-cross-country-yearbook
Athletes Only magazine, five times in print a year, free to high school, club, college teams, $10 for individual subscriptions. website: http://www.atf-athlete.com
digital magazine: http://www.atf-athlete.com/view-american-track-field-athlete-online
California Track & Running News, six times in print a year, included in all California association USATF membership fees. website: http://www.caltrack.com; digital: http://www.caltrack.com.
Coaching Athletics Quarterly magazine, free to college, club coaches, $10 to all others, http://www.coachingathelticsq.com
digital: http://www.coachingathleticsq.com/read-online
SpeedEndurance: website with many informative articles in Pdf. format: http://www.speedendurance.com
The USOC Coaching Department, in partnership with its USA Coaching Coalition (USACC) partners - the NCAA, NFHS, and NASPE is proud to announce the launch of a new coaching education website: http://www.USACoaching.org. This website will be the go-to clearinghouse for all coaching education information and resources.
The USOC also publishes a quarterly free e-zine with valuable article on training and the Olympic movement: http://www.teamusa.org/resources/olympic-coaching-materials/coaching-education-center.html
Coaches Committee Elects New Officers to 2010-2012 Terms:
The following coaches have been elected by you to represent your interests in USATF. Do not hesitate to contact any one of us:
Youth-high school representative-Roosevelt Kent: rkent@rjuhsd.us. Currently coach at Granite Bay HS and the Roseville PAL Express Track Club, one of Roosevelt's goals is to promote better communication between high school and youth coaches, while setting up a mentorship program for young coaches
Open-Collegiate-Masters Representative-Tom Kloos: tdkrun@yahoo.com. An elite steeplechaser, Thomas also severs as the assistant T&F/XC Coach at Univ. of San Francisco. Thomas's goals are to promote USATF completion opportunities to athletes at the end of the collegiate season.
Coaches Education Representative-Ken Grace: kgrace@chabotcollege.edu. Long time community college coach at CC San Francisco and Chabot College, one of Ken's many goals is the organization of regional clinics for athletes.
Coaches Committee Chair-Dave Shrock: shrockd@mjc.edu. Having served in this position for the past eight years, one of Dave's several goals is to increase the communication between the many diverse coaching groups and offer increased educational opportunities and support.
Creation of the Pacific Association Legacy Coach Award:
In recognition of the many influential coaches who have served in our association who have selflessly strengthened our sport(s) through teaching, mentoring, and promoting our profession, the Coaches Committee is initiating an annual Legacy Coach Award. Criterion will be weighted heavily on coaches who were not only great coaches, but who also inspired and trained/mentored many of us to become coachesourselves...hence the idea of a Legacy Coach Award. Coaches submitted for consideration should have:
- exhibited qualities of ethical coaching
- mentored former athletes or younger coaches to become successful coaches in their own right
- having coached for a period of time in the Pacific Association
- contributed to several aspects of the association, while promoting the sports of USATF
- candidate could come from any coaching level
Please submit names of nominees with details of their contributions as noted above to Dave Shrock at dshrock@pacbell.net. The deadline for submission of nominees is 31 December, 2009, with announcement of the inaugural recipient 23 January at the VSAthletics Nor-Cal SuperClinic.
Track & Field Schedules Needed:
To get your meet on the master Pacific Association schedules, please send meet information ASAP to Bill Hawkes: flojo1049@yahoo.com. The full Pacific Association schedule will be available late November at: http://www.pausatf.org/data/calendar.html
Heard Around the Track:
The 2010 Run for the Dream Indoor Track & Field Meet has moved from the Martin Luther King weekend to Friday, February 5th and Saturday, Feb 6th, with regional high school qualifying meets tentatively scheduled for 23 January. The meet will be held in Fresno's Save Mart Center on the Fred and Madeleine Arnold Tartan Track. Preliminary meet info available at: www.RunfortheDream.com.
The Pacific Association is in discussion with USATF to host the 2010 National T&F Club Championships the weekend of 10-11 July either at San Francisco State or Col. of San Mateo. Stay tuned for this great mid-summer competition opportunity.
Additional Information:
Websites for additional information and resources: National: www.usatf.org; Northern California and Nevada Pacific Association: www.pausatf.org; California Central Valley Association, from Merced county south: www.central-california.usatf.org; southern California: www.scausatf.org; and San Diego-Imperial, refer to: www.sdusatf.org.
Forward email
This email was sent to conning@aol.com by dshrock@pacbell.net.
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Pacific Association USATF | 120 Ponderosa Court | Folsom | CA | 95630
James Logan Turkey Trot
JAMES LOGAN HIGH SCHOOL
Is Proud to present
Our 2nd Annual
Turkey Trot
Race Information
When:
Sunday November 22, 2009
Time:
Open 5K & 10K starts at 9:00 a.m.
Grades K - 4
start at 10:00a.m.
400 meters
Grades 5-6
start at 10:30a.m.
800 meters
Grades 7— 12
start at 11:00 a.m.
1 mile
High School
Ages 19 –29 30-39 40-49
50-59 60-69 70-Older
Please note:
All listed times are estimates- please arrive early for all events.
Cost:
Grades K - 8 $10
5K & 10K Runners $15
1st 200 runners to register will receive a free t-shirt !
Location:
Cesar Chavez Middle School
2801 Hop Ranch Road
Union City
Registration form:
Name of runner: _____________________________
Grade: ______ School: ________________________
Parent Name: __________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
_______________________________________
E-mail: ________________________________________
Home #: ______________ Cell Phone#:______________
Running Event: (please select 1)
800 meter
1 Mile
5K
10K
Please make checks payable to:
James Logan High—Cross Country
Mailing address:
James Logan High School
1800 H Street
Union City, CA 94587
Attn: Coach Lee Webb
Is Proud to present
Our 2nd Annual
Turkey Trot
Race Information
When:
Sunday November 22, 2009
Time:
Open 5K & 10K starts at 9:00 a.m.
Grades K - 4
start at 10:00a.m.
400 meters
Grades 5-6
start at 10:30a.m.
800 meters
Grades 7— 12
start at 11:00 a.m.
1 mile
High School
Ages 19 –29 30-39 40-49
50-59 60-69 70-Older
Please note:
All listed times are estimates- please arrive early for all events.
Cost:
Grades K - 8 $10
5K & 10K Runners $15
1st 200 runners to register will receive a free t-shirt !
Location:
Cesar Chavez Middle School
2801 Hop Ranch Road
Union City
Registration form:
Name of runner: _____________________________
Grade: ______ School: ________________________
Parent Name: __________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
_______________________________________
E-mail: ________________________________________
Home #: ______________ Cell Phone#:______________
Running Event: (please select 1)
800 meter
1 Mile
5K
10K
Please make checks payable to:
James Logan High—Cross Country
Mailing address:
James Logan High School
1800 H Street
Union City, CA 94587
Attn: Coach Lee Webb
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Central Coast Section Top Ten Times
Central Coast Section Top Ten Times
Boys
PAUL SUMMERS 12 GUNN 14:41
GARRETT ROWE 12 MOUNTAIN VIEW 14:52
WESTON STRUM 12 PIONEER 14:58
MITCHELL MORIARTY 12 APTOS 15:00
IAN MYJER 12 MOUNTAIN VIEW 15:03
PHILIP MACQUITTY 12 PALO ALTO 15:03
DAVID PEREZ 12 SALINAS 15:14
PARKER SCHUH 11 MOUNTAIN VIEW 15:16
LUCA SIGNORE 12 LYNBROOK 15:24
BENJAMIN HECK 12 CARLMONT 15:26
Girls
JESSIE PETERSEN 11 CARLMONT 17:28
ALLISON STURGES 10 MOUNTAIN VIEW 18:00
NINA ANDERSON 10 NOTRE DAME SAL 18:16
ERIN HICKS 12 LOS ALTOS 18:18
ERIN ROBINSON 11 GUNN 18:19
LAUREN CROSHAW 10 ARAGON 18:19
ATHENA ALARCON 10 GILROY 18:20
MARTINA DE GEUS 12 MOUNTAIN VIEW 18:22
MARISSA FERRANTE 12 APTOS 18:31
MEGAN SHEARER 10 CARLMONT 18:31
Boys
PAUL SUMMERS 12 GUNN 14:41
GARRETT ROWE 12 MOUNTAIN VIEW 14:52
WESTON STRUM 12 PIONEER 14:58
MITCHELL MORIARTY 12 APTOS 15:00
IAN MYJER 12 MOUNTAIN VIEW 15:03
PHILIP MACQUITTY 12 PALO ALTO 15:03
DAVID PEREZ 12 SALINAS 15:14
PARKER SCHUH 11 MOUNTAIN VIEW 15:16
LUCA SIGNORE 12 LYNBROOK 15:24
BENJAMIN HECK 12 CARLMONT 15:26
Girls
JESSIE PETERSEN 11 CARLMONT 17:28
ALLISON STURGES 10 MOUNTAIN VIEW 18:00
NINA ANDERSON 10 NOTRE DAME SAL 18:16
ERIN HICKS 12 LOS ALTOS 18:18
ERIN ROBINSON 11 GUNN 18:19
LAUREN CROSHAW 10 ARAGON 18:19
ATHENA ALARCON 10 GILROY 18:20
MARTINA DE GEUS 12 MOUNTAIN VIEW 18:22
MARISSA FERRANTE 12 APTOS 18:31
MEGAN SHEARER 10 CARLMONT 18:31
Sac-Joaquin Section Top Ten Times
Sac-Joaquin Section Top Ten Times
Boys
Name Grade Division School Time
Kurt Ruegg 12 1 NAPA 15:40
Chris Kigar 11 3 EL CAMINO 16:00
Trevor Halsted 11 1 DAVIS SR. 16:05
Corey Coates 12 1 DAVIS SR. 16:16
Josh Mercado 12 2 DEL CAMPO 16:16
Jared Lester 12 2 FAIRFIELD 16:18
Steven White 12 2 ROCKLIN 16:19
Amjed Aboukhadijeh 12 1 OAK RIDGE 16:23
Grayson Hough 12 1 DAVIS SR. 16:28
Nathan Williams 12 1 OAK RIDGE 16:30
Girls
Karlie Garcia 9 2 OAKMONT 18:11
Hayley Scott 12 1 OAK RIDGE 19:02
Breanna Lewis 12 1 SHELDON 19:03
Maryssa Mcduffy 9 1 GRACE DAVIS 19:11
Emma Freeman 11 3 DEL ORO 19:13
Shannon Harcus 12 3 PLACER 19:14
Madeleine Ankhelyi 9 3 VISTA DEL LAGO 19:17
Christine Bowlus 12 1 DAVIS SR. 19:24
Brooke Holt 11 2 GRANITE BAY 19:25
Claire Miller 9 1 NAPA 19:34
Boys
Name Grade Division School Time
Kurt Ruegg 12 1 NAPA 15:40
Chris Kigar 11 3 EL CAMINO 16:00
Trevor Halsted 11 1 DAVIS SR. 16:05
Corey Coates 12 1 DAVIS SR. 16:16
Josh Mercado 12 2 DEL CAMPO 16:16
Jared Lester 12 2 FAIRFIELD 16:18
Steven White 12 2 ROCKLIN 16:19
Amjed Aboukhadijeh 12 1 OAK RIDGE 16:23
Grayson Hough 12 1 DAVIS SR. 16:28
Nathan Williams 12 1 OAK RIDGE 16:30
Girls
Karlie Garcia 9 2 OAKMONT 18:11
Hayley Scott 12 1 OAK RIDGE 19:02
Breanna Lewis 12 1 SHELDON 19:03
Maryssa Mcduffy 9 1 GRACE DAVIS 19:11
Emma Freeman 11 3 DEL ORO 19:13
Shannon Harcus 12 3 PLACER 19:14
Madeleine Ankhelyi 9 3 VISTA DEL LAGO 19:17
Christine Bowlus 12 1 DAVIS SR. 19:24
Brooke Holt 11 2 GRANITE BAY 19:25
Claire Miller 9 1 NAPA 19:34
North Coast Section Meet of Champions Cross Country Champions
NCS Cross Country Champions
Hayward HS
Boys
Division I
2008 Mike Roderick 12 Monte Vista 15:19
2007 Jack Leng 12 Castro Valley 15:04
2006 Andy Peabody 12 College Park 15:26
Division II
2008 Wyatt Landrum 12 Liberty 14:47
2007 Sterling Lockert 11 Petaluma 15:24
2006 Blake McDowall 12 Montgomery 15:40
Division III
2008 Sterling Lockert 12 Petaluma 15:04
2007 James Attarian 12 Dublin 14:51
2006 Greg Drosky 11 Las Lomas 15:18
Division IV
2008 Dan Milechman 10 Tamalpais 15:18
2007 Matt Duffy 12 St. Mary’s 15:36
2006 Matt Duffy 11 St. Mary’s 15:25
Division V
2008 Steven Iglehart 12 Branson 15:37
2007 Hank Carl 12 South Fork 15:34
2006 Brian Cole 12 St. Helena 15:55
Girls
Division I
2008 Colleen Lillig 11 California 17:38
2007 Colleen Lillig 10 California 17:54
2006 Alycia Cridebring 9 College Park 18:07
Division II
2008 Jacque Taylor 11 Casa Grande 17:17
2007 Nicole Hood 10 Carondelet 17:08
2006 Jacque Taylor 9 Casa Grande 17:23
Division III
2008 Isabel Andrade 11 Petaluma 17:47
2007 Lauren Curtin 10 Maria Carrillo 18:11
2006 Laurie Finnegan 11 Campolindo 18:21
Division IV
2008 Theresa Devine 11 Marin Catholic 18:14
2007 Sarah Sumpter 12 Healdsburg 16:59
2006 Brittney Escamilla 12 El Molino 18:15
Division V
2008 Lucy McCullough 10 Marin Academy 18:35
2007 Lucy McCullough 9 Marin Academy 18:37
2006 Alexandra Roger 11 Marin Academy 18:29
Hayward HS
Boys
Division I
2008 Mike Roderick 12 Monte Vista 15:19
2007 Jack Leng 12 Castro Valley 15:04
2006 Andy Peabody 12 College Park 15:26
Division II
2008 Wyatt Landrum 12 Liberty 14:47
2007 Sterling Lockert 11 Petaluma 15:24
2006 Blake McDowall 12 Montgomery 15:40
Division III
2008 Sterling Lockert 12 Petaluma 15:04
2007 James Attarian 12 Dublin 14:51
2006 Greg Drosky 11 Las Lomas 15:18
Division IV
2008 Dan Milechman 10 Tamalpais 15:18
2007 Matt Duffy 12 St. Mary’s 15:36
2006 Matt Duffy 11 St. Mary’s 15:25
Division V
2008 Steven Iglehart 12 Branson 15:37
2007 Hank Carl 12 South Fork 15:34
2006 Brian Cole 12 St. Helena 15:55
Girls
Division I
2008 Colleen Lillig 11 California 17:38
2007 Colleen Lillig 10 California 17:54
2006 Alycia Cridebring 9 College Park 18:07
Division II
2008 Jacque Taylor 11 Casa Grande 17:17
2007 Nicole Hood 10 Carondelet 17:08
2006 Jacque Taylor 9 Casa Grande 17:23
Division III
2008 Isabel Andrade 11 Petaluma 17:47
2007 Lauren Curtin 10 Maria Carrillo 18:11
2006 Laurie Finnegan 11 Campolindo 18:21
Division IV
2008 Theresa Devine 11 Marin Catholic 18:14
2007 Sarah Sumpter 12 Healdsburg 16:59
2006 Brittney Escamilla 12 El Molino 18:15
Division V
2008 Lucy McCullough 10 Marin Academy 18:35
2007 Lucy McCullough 9 Marin Academy 18:37
2006 Alexandra Roger 11 Marin Academy 18:29
Saturday, November 14, 2009
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