Hall of Fame
The 1978 men’s track and field team’s unique story began prior to the season, when Mike Mendiburu resigned and left them suddenly without a coach. To keep the team intact and the administration from dropping the program, team member Kelly Jensen and student Stan Goodell (who completed his eligibility the year before) stepped up to take on coaching duties, eventually leading the team to a district championship. “The bulk of the team wants the program to stay on its feet and are willing to do anything to see that it does,” Jensen told the Ashland Daily Tidings at the time. “As far as some of the guys who are worried, we feel we can resolve the problem by sitting down and laying it on the line.” Added Jensen: “We know the fine points, and of course the finest point is talent itself. We’ve got quite a bit of it on the team, I assure you.” Jensen backed up his words by winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NAIA Championships. Among the eight other Raiders who qualified for the meet in Abilene, Texas, Jim Morgan placed fourth in the 5,000-meter race, Lee Webb placed ninth in the decathlon, and Bill Yeoman was 26th in the marathon. Jensen had been the only Raider male to ever win a national title in a running event and in cross country until Eric Avila did both during the 2013-14 school year.
