Public nominations open for 2020 National HS Track & Field Hall of Fame

by Steve Underwood

PRESS RELEASE
 

NEW YORK – November 4, 2019 – Nominations are open for the National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020. Athletes, coaches, families, fans and anyone else with an interest in the sport is invited to participate in the nomination process. You can visit the Hall of Fame website at nationalhighschooltrackandfieldhof.org by the November 12, 2018 deadline to nominate your favorite prep track and field athletes of all time for the Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

The first class of 30 legendary athletes, coaches and contributors was inducted during a memorable ceremony at the New York Athletic Club in March of 2018. Then this past March at the same venue, the second class of 17 entered into the Hall.

These inductees included greats of HS track and field dating from the early 1900s through those graduating in 2004. The historic classes included current and recent superstars Allyson Felix and Alan Webb, baby-boomer era barrier breakers Jim Ryun, Steve Prefontaine, Michael Carter, Mary Decker, Renaldo Nehemiah, Kim Gallagher, Roy Martin and Gerry Lindgren, and legends of the past Jesse Owens, Betty Robinson, Bob Mathias and Bud Houser. Coaches and contributors inducted include Joe Newton, Don Norford, Fred Thompson and John Dye (See full list of 2018 and 2019 inductees below).

The classes have been selected by a committee of noted track and field historians and statisticians which has included Mark Bloom, Bob Jarvis, Dave Johnson, Mike Kennedy, Joe Lanzalotto, Walt Murphy, Jack Pfeifer, Josh Rowe, Jack Shepard, Jim Spier and Tracy Sundlun. Athletes who graduated in the year 2005 or earlier are eligible for new class, which will be inducted in New York during the March 13-15 New Balance Nationals Indoor weekend.

Athletes who have become newly eligible this year include 2005 T&FN Athletes of the Year and national record setters sprinter J-Mee Samuels and horizontal jumper Brittany Daniels, as well as record-setters and/or multiple #1 event-rankers like high jumper Scott Sellers, distance runner Sarah Bowman, triple jumper Kenny Hall, throwers Ryan Whiting, John Freeman and Rachel Yurkovich, sprinter Alexandria Anderson, vaulter Mary Saxer and sprinter/hurdler Nicole Leach. Elites who became eligible for the first time last year include Galen Rupp, Erica McLain, Jason Richardson, Ashley Owens, LaShawn Merritt, Gayle Hunter, Elzie Coleman, Shalonda Solomon and Natasha Hastings, among others.

Meanwhile, some of the top vote-getters and other legendary performers returning from last year include Carl Lewis, Houston McTear, Amy Acuff, Marty Liquori, Sanya Richards, Candy Young, Charlette Cook and Barbara Jones.

The full list of the Classes of 2018 and 2019 inductees is as follows:
 

ATHLETES

Ted Meredith
Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA, 1912

Sol Butler
Rock Island HS, Rock Island, IL, 1915

Bud Houser
Oxnard HS, Oxnard, CA, 1922

Lee Barnes
Hollywood HS, Los Angeles, CA, 1924

Frank Hussey
Stuyvesant HS, New York, NY, 1924

Frank Wykoff
Glendale HS, Glendale, CA, 1928

Jean Shiley
Haverford HS, Havertown, PA, 1929

Betty Robinson
Thornton Township HS, Harvey, IL, 1929

Cornelius Johnson
Los Angeles HS, Los Angeles, CA, 1933

Jesse Owens
East Tech HS, Cleveland, OH, 1933

Helen Stephens
Fulton HS, Fulton, MO, 1935

Billy Brown
Baker HS, Baker, LA, 1937

Joe Batiste
Tucson HS, Tuscon, AZ, 1939

Eddie Morris
Huntington Beach HS, CA, 1940

Alice Coachman
Tuskegee Prep School, Tuskegee, AL, 1942

Bob Mathias
Tulare HS, Tulare, CA, 1948

Milt Campbell
Plainfield HS, Plainfield, NJ, 1953

Willye White
Broad Street HS, Shelby, MS, 1957

Dallas Long
North Phoenix HS, Phoenix, AZ, 1958

Rex Cawley
Farmington HS, Farmington, MI, 1959

Gerry Lindgren
Rogers HS, Spokane, WA, 1964

Jim Ryun
East HS, Wichita, KS, 1965

Barbara Friedrich
Manasquan HS, Manasquan, NJ, 1967

Patty van Wolvelaere
Renton HS, Renton, WA, 1968

Reynaldo Brown
Compton HS, Compton, CA, 1969

Steve Prefontaine
Marshfeld HS, Coos Bay, OR, 1969

Casey Carrigan
Orting HS, Orting, WA, 1969

Margaret Johnson Bailes
Churchill HS, Eugene, OR, 1969

Lynn Bjorklund
Los Alamos HS, Los Alamos, NM, 1975

Mary Decker
Orange HS, Orange, CA, 1976

Kathy McMillan
Hoke County HS, Raeford, NC, 1976

Sheila Ingram
Coolidge HS, Washington, DC, 1976

Dwayne Evans
South Mountain HS, Phoenix, AZ, 1976

Chandra Cheeseborough
Ribault HS, Jacksonville, FL, 1977

Renaldo Nehemiah
Scotch Plains HS, Scotch Plains, NJ, 1977

Michael Carter
Jefferson HS, Dallas, TX, 1979

Kim Gallagher
Upper Dublin HS, Fort Washington, PA, 1982

Roy Martin
Roosevelt HS, Dallas, TX, 1985

Alan Webb
South Lakes HS, Reston, VA, 2001

Allyson Felix
Los Angeles Baptist HS, North Hills, CA, 2003


COACHES

Joe Newton
York High School, Elmhurst, Il

Don Norford
Long Beach Poly, Long Beach, CA

Fred Thompson
Atoms Track Club, Brooklyn, NY

Will Stephens
Will’s Spikettes, Sacramento, CA


CONTRIBUTORS

John Dye
Henderson, NV
Founder, Dyestat.com

Ed Grant
Madison, NJ
T&F Journalist

Jack Shepard
Westminster, CA
Boys HS Editor, T&F News


For more information on the High School Track and Field Hall of Fame, to make nominations or to view detailed biographies of the inductees, visit nationalhighschooltrackandfieldhof.org


About the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation, Inc.
The National Scholastic Athletics Foundation, Inc. (NASF) was founded in 1990.  It is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 c (3) organization with the mission of The mission of the NSAF is opening doors to the world for our youth, through athletics, and providing them opportunities to succeed. That includes supporting high school and junior-aged track and field athletes in the US through national high school competitions, including the New Balance Indoor and Outdoor Nationals; clinics and event-specific special projects; vigorous grant programs, which enable high school athletes to compete around the country, at USATF Junior Nationals, and internationally; and with program development grants, which are awarded in the winter and fall each year. The NSAF provides approximately $250,000 in grants annually. For information about how to get involved with NSAF, please visit nationalscholastic.org.

 

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