a little history, a little humor

Hank Kraychir

The ambidextrous thrower

San Jacinto HS / Long Beach CC / USC

Shot: 59-2 left, 67-5 right; Discus: 172-0 left, 198-0 right

San Jacinto HS-1979: CIF Discus Title (188-07) *Division IV Record;

California State discus title (192-09)   

Long Beach CC: In 1982 Kraychir moved onto track and field’s national stage winning the So Cal and state meet shot, discus titles. *His 65-3½ winning state meet shot put is the still-standing state meet record after 26-years and was a *national record. His So Cal Finals efforts were remarkable: shot put 64-7½ (9 ft. better than 2^nd place); discus 183-9 (20 ft. better than 2^nd place).

USC: Kraychir was a four-time NCAA All-American. 1983: NCAA: SP-5^th 66-0½;

203-8 Discus PR 1984: PAC-10 2^nd 64-8; NCAA SP-7^th 63-4, discus-9^th 198-7; also…USC dual-1^st 198-0 discus

*Ambidextrous record: Unique to Kraychir’s throwing career is the furthest recorded ambidextrous shot/discus throws of all-time. Left-handed shot put of 59-2, 67-5 right handed for a total 126-7, left handed discus 172-0, right handed 203-8 for a total 375-8.

Coaching career: His years as a community college throws coach were extraordinary. During his eight years assisting at Long Beach CC and Mt. SAC the schools won six state team titles and his throwers won three hammer, five discus, and two shot put state titles. In 1999 his Mt. SAC hammer throwers went 1-2-3 at the state championships.

Personal: Kraychirs’s two daughters and two sons compete at the national level in the hammer throw for their respective age groups. One son is competing for Boise St., the other is a freshman throwing for the U.S. Military Academy.

California CC’s 800 impact…

USA National 800 Rankings, 1974-2001

*26 consecutive years of CCC 800 alums ranked in USA’s top 10

1974-James Robinson (Laney) 2^nd

1975-James Baxter (LACC) 7^th

1976-J.Robinson-2^nd, Baxter-7^th

1977-J. Robinson-4^th, Brian Donohue (Pierce) 10^th

1978-Robinson-1^st

1979-Robinson-1^st

1980-Robinson-2^nd, Johnny Gray (Santa Monica) 10^th

1981- Robinson-1^st

1982-Robinson-1^st, Gray-3^rd, Sandy Chapman (Mt. SAC) 9^th

1983-Robinson-2^nd, Gray-7^th

1984-Gray-2^nd, Robinson-3^rd

1985-Gray-1^st, Robinson-7^th

1986-Gray-1^st, Robinson-4^th

1987-Gray-1^st, George Kersh (Taft) 10^th

1988-Gray-1^st, Robinson-5^th, Kersh-6^th

1989-Gray-1^st

1990-Kersh-2^nd, Gray-3^rd

1991-Kersh-2^nd, Gray-3^rd

1992-Gray-1^st, Kersh-4^th

1993-Gray-1^st, Kersh-4^th

1994-Gray-2^nd, Kersh-7^th

1995-Brandon Rock (Taft)-1^st, Gray-2^nd

1996-Gray-1^st, Rock-2^nd

1997-Rock-3^rd, Gray-5^th,  

1998-Gray-2^nd

1999-Gray-5^th

2000- No CCC alum ranked in top 10

      “I have always been under the impression that most cc/track guys would benefit from the community college system-so many get 'lost' by jumping to a 4 year school out of high school.  This list proves that they do have great success after a stint in the CC system.”

–Dave Kemp (Glendale CC/ CS LA, member of Glendale’s 3:12.6 mile relay-unofficial national JC record-against open competition at 1956 Coliseum Relays)

-Hall of Champions-Calif. CC Outstanding T&F Athletes by Larry Knuth, 2009

Who’s calling?… President Jimmy Carter called to congratulate Boston marathon winner Bill Rodgers: “It was Tuesday, April 17, 1979 the morning after Boston and my new American record of 2:09.27 in the chilling rain and gloom. It was at my (running shoes) store.  The telephone rang and I heard Ellen (his wife) talking to somebody.

She said, ‘Who’s calling? The President? The President of what?’ ” - Marathoning by Bill Rodgers, Simon & Schuster, 1980

President Reagan & Track…Bob Young (UCLA/Bakersfield College) 1936 Olympian in the Berlin Games remembers one of the announcers at the annual Drfake Relays as a young sports commentator by the name of “Dutch” Reagan.  His first name was Ronald and he worked for W.H.O radio in Des Moines.  He would later become a well-known Hollywood “B” movie actor before becoming the Governor of California and the President of the United States.                                                                                -Bob Young interview by Bob Covey, Bakersfield College T&F coach, 1963-2005

Respect and notoriety for women’s track and field came slowly … When America’s Wilma Rudolph and her Tennessee State teammates rocked the track world with gold medal performances at the 1960 Rome Olympics the NCAA had still not recognized female athletics. Track & Field News, the bible of the sport, did not even cover the 1958 women’s championships. Only a few black colleges had women’s track and field programs and they competed under the rules of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). Most of the teams competing in the AAU Nationals were club teams, but by the late 1950s Tennesse State led by Coach Ed Temple dominated the meet. Eight of Temple’s athletes were on the first USA team which competed in the inaugural USA/USSR meet held in Moscow-1958.

    The mentality of the officials of that era toward women’s distance running was , to say the least, awkward.

   Just prior to the women’s 800 at the 1960 Rome Olympics a British journalist was overheard saying, “it was unconscionable-they should never allow women to run that far.” The sight of the women bent over, exhausted after that 800 left the media shaking their heads.

    Twelve years later a women’s 1500 was run at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Twelve more years and the women’s marathon was added in the 1984 LA Olympiad program.                                                               -Rome 1960 by David Maraniss, Simon & Schuster, 2008