A little humor, a little history

The top ranked American high jumper in 2000-2001 was Nathan Leeper.
UC Irvine’s All American cross country/distance runner from the
late 1980s was Buffy Rabbitt.  

Sprints
Gervaise McGraw
Ganesha HS, Pomona,Ca.  /Mt. SAC/ USC

four state gold medals, multiple NCAA All-American
 

  • McGraw came to Mt. SAC a two-time All-American at Ganesha HS where she was the 1992 National Junior Champion and California state champion in the 400. She also won the bronze medal at the Junior Pan American Games that year in Venezuela.
  • McGraw led Mt. SAC to the state team title in 1983 as she won the 200 and 400 and ran on the winning 4x1(state meet record) and 4x4 relays. Her Mt. SAC bests were 11:59-100 meters and 23.16 for 200-meters.
  • A two-time All-American, McGraw set the USC school record of 52.24 in placing fourth in the NCAA 400-meters in 1986. The following year she placed eighth in the 400 at 53.1. She is on the still-standing USC record 1600-meter relay (3:28.93) that won the NCAA gold medal in ’87-Myra Mayberry (El Camino CC) was lead-off for the relay.
  •  Perhaps the most spectacular USC meet for her was her freshman season in the dual with UCLA. She ran on the winning 4x 100 relay, then ran a school-record 52.40 in the 400 for second place, scored another second in the 200 (23.66), and finished the day. Running a 53.4 leg on the winning Trojan 1600-meter relay. USC won 69-67.
    -USC T&F media guides
     


Palomar’s javelin legacy is special
Tushaus, Petranoff, LaPierre

 American, world, state meet records 
 

There was no men’s javelin in the state meet until 1971.
Several conferences did include the event beginning in the mid-60s.
1986 was the year the present javelin records began.
  

  • In the 60s … John Tushaus (Palomar CC/Arizona U.) …American record/ NCAA title, NCAA runner-up
     Tushaus left Palomar CC with a 228-9 best-longest national cc mark that year, but at Arizona he improved to win the 1965 NCAA title at 250’5 ½”. He was University of Arizona’s first NCAA champion in track and field. His ’65 PR was 252-3 ½”. The following year he was second in the NCAA at 257-6.
  • Tushaus (6-1, 180lbs.) set an American record with a throw of 284-0 in the 1966 Coliseum Relays that was fourth on the all-time world list. He was ranked first in 1966 USA rankings and threw 260’8” to win the AAU title.
  • Tushaus threw the javelin at Libby HS, Montana before enrolling at Palomar and said
    he initially learned the technique for the event by studying diagrams in an encyclopedia. 

·         Petranoff discovered the event at Palomar walking off the baseball field on his way to the locker room. Teammate Luc LaPierre showed the curious Petranoff the basics and he threw 190 on his first try. He progressed that year (1977), and he won the USA Jr. Championships with a throw of 247-9 which stood as the meet record until 1986 when the implement change took effect.

·          His world record 327-2 throw with the old implement occurred at the Pepsi Invite in 1983 at UCLA. Petranoff was ranked first or second in USA javelin rankings from 1982 until 1990 with the exception of 1988 when he was ranked fourth.

·          He threw a world best 295-9 to win the 1985 Mt. SAC Relay’s title. Today he is a member of those relays hall of fame.

·          He was world ranked in the top ten from 1982 until 1992. A credit to his durability is his number two USA ranking in the event in 1999-22 years after he discovered the event and over a decade after the implement was redesigned.

·         Petranoff was pictured on the front cover of Track & Field News, June 1983.

Luc La Pierre, a French Canadian, had winning throws of 236-8 and 266-8 to win the 1976 and 1977 state cc championships.

·          His longest winning state meet effort (266-8) held up nine years as the meet record until the implement change in 1986.

Attribution-1967 Palomar media guide/ USATF web site/ Tom Petranoff web site /
2007 cc state  meet program/ Track & Field News-July 1965
 


Ole Oleson
Santa Monica CC/USC 
Two NCAA gold medals

                                                                              

·         Santa Monica CC’s 1967 So Cal two-mile run champion and state runner-up in the event. Oleson won the 1967 state cross country individual title in the first state meet held in Fresno’s Woodward Park.

·          At USC, Oleson won the NCAA 1969 three-mile title and the 1969 NCAA Indoor 3000-meters.

·          His best USA ranking in the 5000 was fifth in 1969.  His best times were 8:44.6 two mile, 8:36.1 indoor two mile, 13:35.4 three mile, USC record 5000-14:02.6

·         Coached by Hungarian Mihaly Igloi at Santa Monica.

USC media guides/ 2007 state cc T&F program/ T&F News, July 1969