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USATF So Cal Board Member Bob Larsen Selected as Legend Coach

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Two-time Team USATF coach Bob Larsen selected as 2019 Legend Coach

7/19/2019 – Reprinted from USATF

INDIANAPOLIS — Bob Larsen, longtime UCLA coach and co-founder of the Mammoth Lakes High Altitude Training Group that spurred the resurgence in American distance running in the early 2000’s, is the 2019 USATF Legend Coach, USATF announced Friday.

Larsen will be recognized by USATF on Saturday, July 27th at 2:52 p.m., during the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, followed by a private reception that evening.

His 20-year career at UCLA included back-to-back NCAA outdoor titles in 1987 and 1988, 11 PAC-10 Championships and four NCAA National Coach Of The Year Awards. He’s a member of 10 halls of fame including USATF, USTFCCCA, and UCLA.

In a brilliant career that has spanned six decades, Larsen (and his staff) coached 13 athletes to a total of 25 national championships while in the collegiate ranks. As UCLA’s head coach, he held a 118-3-1 record in dual meets and was selected PAC-10 Coach of the Year eleven times.

Larsen guided marathoner Meb Keflezighi to four NCAA titles, Olympic silver at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and World Marathon Major victories at the 2009 New York City Marathon and the 2014 Boston Marathon.

He was a two-time Team USATF Coach as an Olympic Distance Coach in Athens in 2004 and World Indoor Championship distance coach in Doha in 2010.

He founded and coached the Jamul Toads club team to the AAU National Cross Country title in 1976. He is featured in the documentary City Slickers Can’t Stay with Me and the book Running to the Edge.

The USATF Legend Coach Award is in its sixth year and is selected by the USATF Coaches Advisory Committee. The inaugural award was presented to Hall of Fame Tigerbelle Coach Ed Temple in 2014, followed by Dr. Joe Vigil in 2015, Tom Tellez in 2016, Clyde Hart in 2017 and Brooks Johnson last year.

This year’s Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, July 25-28, will serve as the selection event for the Team USATF roster for the IAAF World Championships to be contested September 27 – October 6 in Doha, Qatar, and the USA vs. Europe Match held September 9-10 in Minsk, Belarus.

SoCal Track Club Wins 17th National Masters Team Title

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SoCal Track Club won it’s 17th National Team Title this past weekend at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships on July 11-14 in Ames, IA. SoCal scored 518 points to out pace TNT International T.C. out of Philly (365 pts), and Potomac Valley Track Club, from Washington D.C. (347 pts). Over four days of competition SoCal had 12 National Champions of which 7 were multiple Champions:

  • M70 Gary Patton, 5,000 (20:33.56), 800 (2:34.25), 1500 (5:22.75)
  • M85 Robert Culling, 2K Steeplechase (14:00.89), 800 (4:38.05), 1500 (8:54.51)
  • W50 Marioky Scott, Pentathlon (2771 Points), LJ (4.91M), HJ (1.20M)
  • M70 Michael Wiggins, 5K RW (29:43.11), 10K RW (1:00:04.67)
  • M55 George Papacalos 5K RW (37:54.42), 10K RW (1:17:45.51)
  • W70 Yoko Eichel 5K RW (33:13.70)
  • M70 Tim Wigger 2K Steeplechase (9:02.56)
  • M55 Robert Foster 100 (12.22)
  • M50 Jason Wyatt Shot Put (16.22M)
  • M60 Greg Holden Shot Put (16.13M)
  • M65 Quenton Torbert Shot Put (15.68M)
  • Men’s M70 4×100 Relay (1:03.27) Zisken, Flowers, Wigger, Patton
  • Men’s M40 4×400 Relay (4:05.60) Foster, Rhodes, Blackman, Chambers
  • Men’s M70 4×800 Relay (13:14.62) Patton, Wigger, Talib, Davison
  • Women’s W40 4×800 Relay (12:52.64) Centeno, Bonilla, Cane, Dietrich

National Champions from other USATF So Cal Masters teams:

SC Striders had 4 National Champions of which 3 were multiple Champions:

  • Kathy Bergen W75 100 (16.29), 200 (35.54), Javelin (17.09M), Discus (19.13M)
  • Brenda Matthews W70 100 (16.13), LJ (3.26M)
  • Damien Leake M65 100 (12.89), 200 (26.75)
  • Jeanne Bowman W65 200 (37.36)
  • W65 4×100 Relay (1:12.08) Bergen, Bowman, Jackson, Matthews

Pacific Coast Track Club:

  • M65 Thad Wilson 100 Hurdles (16.09)

Tachyon Athletik:

  • W40 Tonya Gordon High Jump (1.50M)

USATF So Cal Masters team places and point totals:

  • 1st SoCal Track Club — 518 points
  • 6th SC Striders — 172 points
  • 47th Tachyon Athletik — 24 points
  • 77th Pacific Coast T.C. — 8 points
  • 108th Trojan Masters — 3 points

Congratulations to all athletes that competed. Apologies if anyone was left off this list. We only listed National Champions from USATF So Cal.