a little history, a little humor

Sexual discrimination? … Lesley Welch Lehane (Massachusetts) –1979 Foot Locker Championships finalist; NCAA,USA national cross country champion as a freshman at Virginia. On her entry into running at age 12 she said she ran road races with her sister and in one race, Bill Rodgers, the men’s winner, was awarded a trip to Bermuda. Lesley was the first woman across the line and won a blender!
–Foot Locker High School Cross Country Championships, 25th anniversary program, 2003

The Trackman’s Prayer
Now I lay me down the blocks.
I ask the Lord for socks and jocks.
If I should die before the gun.
I ask the Lord my race be won.

-Vincent E. Mathews, 1972 Olympic 400 meter champion
My Race Be Won by Vincent Mathews, Charterhouse, 1974

Some respect and spotlight for the throwers… Bert Bonanno, long-time successful coach at San Jose City College, hosted the 1984 Bruce Jenner Michelob Light Classic with a stellar world class field for the shot put- creative Bert labeled it “the Super Shot Put.”
“The poorest guy out there throws 69-2. We want to give the strength guys an arena and let them show off their form.”

    So, Bert set up the landing area in the center of the field, marked it with silver helium balloons and ordered the release circle placed on the near sideline, right where the 50-yard line would be. Center stage. Microphones were provided so the audience could hear the amplified grunts, yowl and screams of the competitors. The field included Brian Oldfield, one-time world record-holder, Michael Carter (still-holder of the outrageous 81’3 ½” prep national mark), UCLA’s John Brenner, and Dave Laut (San Jose CC/UCLA) responded with six 70-foot throws.
Bonnano is a member of the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame and California’s Community College T&F Hall of Fame.
-“They Showed the Way in San Jose” by Ralph Wiley, Sports Illustrated, June 4, 1984

IT'S HEP/DEC WEEK...
good luck to our multi-talented athletes

Hep/Dec state meet trivia

Women’s Heptathlon …began in 1981… first state meet winner Kathy Raugust (Hartnell) with 5147 points under the ’62 scoring tables … AND she won consecutive state titles in the high jump in ’80-81 (her ’81 win was at 5-10).
Double winners:
1988-89 Champion … Chris Diehl (San Mateo)
1990-91 Champion … Melanie Clarke (LA Valley) 5352 points under the ’86 scoring tables-still the state meet record.
2003-4 Champion… Lauryn Jordan (San Joaquin Delta)

Men’s Decathlon …began in 1970… Paul Cox (Saddleback) first state champion …only double winner under the ’62 scoring tables was Doug Fernandez (Long Beach CC) who won the titles in 1983-4 and still holds the state meet record of 7478 points (’83) under the converted scores from the 1985 tables.  Fernandez ALSO won consecutive state titles in the javelin in 1983-84 with a best throw of 227-0 (old implement) in ’83.
    The ONLY other double winner in the event was Chris Richardson (Cerritos) in
2004-5 who had a best point total of 6980 in 2005.
-2007 state meet program records

Coach Knuth Looks at Great California Community College Athletes of the Past and Their Impact on the Cross Country and Track & Field World

Russ Hodge
Foothill CC/ UCLA
state shot put champ, decathlon world record-holder

· Hodge was Foothill CC’s 1966 state shot put champion with a throw of 56’ 1 ¾”. 

· At UCLA Hodge often competed in four or five events for the Bruins. Built like a NFL linebacker Hodge had surprising sprint and jump skills-10.3 100-meters in the ’66 Salinas AAU-; 25-0 plus long jump, a 60-11 shot put during his UCLA career.

· In July 1966 during the Los Angeles Times International Games, he set a world record in the decathlon (8230) in what track experts then called the most competitive decathlon in history. Hodge and Bill Toomey, 1968 Olympic Champion, battled for two days with Toomey finishing only 11 points (8219) back.

· Hodge’s 8230 marks: 1st day, 10-.5, 24-7 ¾”, 56-7 ½”, 6-3 ¾”, 48.9
2nd day, 15.2, 165-5, 13-5 ½”, 211-7, 4:40.4

Hodge’s USA decathlon rankings were 2nd from 1964-66; 8th in ’69; 1st in ’70; 2nd in ’71; 10th in ’72.