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February 28, 2006
Release: #0606
News Release
For Immediate Release
COA Announces 2006 Hall of Fame Inductees
SACRAMENTO, CA .
. . The Commission on Athletics (COA)
will induct three new members into the California Community College Sports Hall
of Fame at the 9th Annual COA Convention in Sacramento, CA. The 2006 inductees
are Dr. Mark Crear (Mt. San Antonio College), Jim McAuley (College of the Redwoods)
and Kate Schmidt (Long Beach City College).
The COA Sports Hall of Fame
is the highest honor bestowed in California community college athletics. Founded
in 1984, the Hall of Fame has sought to recognize those who have made the most
of their experiences as California community college student athletes, coaches
and administrators, maximizing their own potential to better themselves and
those with whom they come into contact. Crear and Schmidt become the 53rd and
54th inductees into the COA Hall of Fame's Athletic category, while McAuley
will join 34 former administrators in the Hall's Service category.
The COA Hall of Fame Induction
Banquet will be held on Thursday, April 6 at 11:45 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel
in Sacramento, CA. To purchase tickets, please print, complete and return the
convention registration form available at www.coasports.org.
Dr. Mark Crear, Mt. San Antonio College
Dr. Mark Crear was born
in San Francisco and raised in Southern California. While attending Rowland
High School (Rowland Heights, California), he discovered his hurdling talent
when an assistant coach told him he "looked like a runner". After
graduating from Rowland, he enrolled at Mt. San Antonio College where he quickly
began to hone his raw talent.
A member of the Mounties'
1987 and 1988 track and field teams, Crear finished second in the 100 m hurdles
at the state championships in both his freshman and sophomore years. His performance
at Mt. San Antonio earned Crear a full athletic scholarship to the University
of Southern California. In 1990, he placed 3rd at the NCAA Outdoors with a time
of 13.65 seconds. Two years later, Crear won the Pac-10 with a time of 13.50
seconds and then the NCAA outdoors with a time of 13.49 seconds.
Crear captured a silver
medal in the 100 m hurdles at the 1996 Olympics, despite running with a broken
arm. He returned in 2000 to claim bronze. Crear was ranked three times as the
#1 110 meter high hurdler in the world (1995, 1998, 1999), he was the Goodwill
Games champion in 1998, the U.S. Outdoor National champion in 1994 and 1999,
and is a three-time World Grand Prix champion.
In 2002, Crear earned a
doctorate degree in theology from the International Theological University.
Currently, he is pursuing a career as a motivational speaker, and conducts personal
and professional seminars for leading corporate and business clients and public
audiences around the world.
Jim McAuley, College
of the Redwoods
Upon graduating from Polytechnic
High School (San Francisco), Jim McAuley enrolled at City College of San Francisco,
where he starred on the football team as an all-conference center and linebacker
from 1949-1950. He went on to attend Humboldt State University (Arcata, CA),
where he played both football and baseball, again earning all-conference honors
in football. He graduated with a BA in Natural Resources and a MA in Physical
Education.
He began his coaching career
at Arcata High School, where he coached football and baseball from 1956-64.
He spent one year at Santa Rosa Junior College, where he coached baseball and
was an assistant with the football team. In 1966, he was hired as the head baseball
coach at College of the Redwoods. A year later, he was named head football coach,
a position he held for the next ten years, during which he also served as head
golf coach (1969-1975). In 1976, McAuley was named Director of Physical Education
and Athletics.
As head football coach at
Redwoods, McAuley built an astounding record of 87-13-1, with his only losing
season coming in his first year (3-6). His tenure included three state championships,
two Northern California championships, nine consecutive Golden Valley Conference
championships, and four undefeated seasons.
McAuley was the recipient
of the College of the Redwoods Outstanding Faculty Award in 1972. He is a member
of the Arcata High School Athletic Hall of Fame, the College of the Redwoods
Athletic Hall of Fame, the Humboldt State University Athletic Hall of Fame,
the California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame,
and the California Community College Athletic Directors Association Hall of
Fame.
Kate Schmidt, Long Beach City College
Kate Schmidt wasted no time
using her javelin to take the track and field community by storm. In 1968, at
age 14, she narrowly missed making the U.S.A. Olympic team, and only one year
later won the women's nationals. This began a decade of javelin dominance by
Schmidt, earning her the nickname "Kate the Great".
Schmidt set the American
javelin record ten times, and set a world record in 1977 of 227 ' 5" (69.32
m), and that same year was named the Track and Field News Female Athlete of
the Year. She was a member of three U.S. Olympic teams, winning bronze in 1972
and 1976. Over the course of her career, Schmidt won seven national titles and
placed in the top three in twelve of thirteen national championships between
1972 and 1984.
In the midst of her rise
to fame, Schmidt attended Long Beach City College, and went on to attend California
State University at Long Beach and the University of California at Los Angeles.
Schmidt was inducted into
the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Long Beach City College
Hall of Fame in 2002.
In 1982, she founded "Home
Bodies", a company that provides physician-supervised rehabilitation exercise
programs in a pool or on land. Schmidt is a well-respected expert in the field
of water exercise, and has consulted for two books on the subject. She is currently
an assistant coach at Occidental College, specializing in throws events.
For more information on
the COA Annual Convention and COA Hall of Fame, and for the latest news and
updates of all 23 COA-sanctioned sports, please visit www.coasports.org.
COA
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