Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Back on Track with Sythe
5/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
Good Times Again for 49er Track The heyday of collegiate track and field expired years ago, about the same time one could buy a gallon of gas with the change in their pocket. In the '60s under Dr. Jack Rose and assistant Dick Reese, two of the godfathers of Southern California track and field, the 49ers won the 1967 NCAA college division title, finished second twice, and produced Olympians like John Rambo and NCAA champs like Ralph Lee (800), Bill Crowley (1,500), George Lacey (distances), Walter Clements (hurdles), Bob Mills (high jump) and Jim Hannefield (shot). In the '70s under Rose and Ron Allice, the 49er facility was a veritable Olympic venue with three-time Olympic high jumper Dwight Stones, distance star Francie Larrieu-Smith, the greatest women's javelin thrower in American history, Kate Schmidt, sprinter Brian Saunders, pole vaulter Steve Smith, triple jumper Ray Dupree, long jumper Sherron Walker, pole vaulter Don Baird of Australia and British sprinter Andrea Lynch. Even in the years after Allice left, the program still produced Olympians like hammer thrower Bill Green, high jumper Joni Huntley and shot putter Ramona Pagel. Between 1960 and 1980, the 49ers won five conference titles and finished second or third 15 other times. Today, after two quiet decades, Long Beach State track is enjoying a renaissance under head coach Andy Sythe. The men's team won its first conference title in 30 years last weekend at Cal State Northridge and will have 16 men and six women entries in the NCAA West Regional championships Memorial Day weekend at BYU. To say it's a satisfying victory for Sythe is an understatement. He inherited a program that had been crippled in the '80s by NCAA restrictions and administrative apathy. When he arrived after a successful career as a decathlete at San Diego State, he had a quarter of the scholarships available to other Division I schools and the staff was comb-over thin. He was the only paid assistant on Ralph Lindeman's staff in 1987 and he was making a bite-sized salary of $6,000 a year. "I was familiar with both Jack and Ron and learned about the school's heritage right away," Sythe said. "I was very proud to be among the family that developed the program. "Coming here was quite a change. We were staff poor and didn't have the resources of other schools. My first year, we didn't have enough uniforms and sweats for everybody on the team, so we'd be swapping uniforms at meets. It was a tough start. "But it was rewarding. I chose Long Beach because I had the chance to learn under a good coach and develop my coaching ability in new and different areas. Whatever we accomplished those years was done with smoke and mirrors. I figured if I could outwork everybody, we'd have some success. We did a lot with a little. We literally squeezed the turnip." In 1997, Jason Hinkin won the NCAA title in the pole vault, and in 1998 the 49er men finished 17th in the NCAA championships, the school's best finish since the 1976 (11th) and 1977 teams (12th) featuring Stones and Baird. Sythe says the team's recent success third place in the Big West meet last year plus this season's title, and the best two back-to-back team performances by the women is due to the Beach Pride referendum and the assistant coaches he's hired. The Beach Pride revenue allowed him to bring the program up to the maximum in scholarships and flesh out his staff. Former Athletic Director Bill Shumard also added another full-time assistant position. Sythe filled those positions with Yvonne Scott-Williams, a former Olympic sprinter who represented Japan, and Matt Roe, a former cross country star at Portland who had done good work as a coach at Montana and Western Illinois. They supplemented a staff that included Dave Rodda, the longtime Lakewood youth coach who specializes in the jumps and multi-events, throwing coaches Greg Hodel and Todd Riech, and assistant Moose Thompson. Sythe also credits the psychological work of Dr. Kevin Sverduk, a Long Beach State professor who volunteered to help the athletes with their mental approach. The team Long Beach sends to BYU reflects the across-the-board success of Sythe and his staff. The 49ers will have seven entries in throws, six in jumps, one distance runner and two sprinters. John Temidara in the high jump (6-11) and triple jump, Ronald Carter in the triple jump, 400-meter sprinter Charles Lewis (46.62), Ed Cornell and Robert Jennings in the discus and Chris Richardson in the decathlon (school-record 7,605 points) have the best chances of advancing to the NCAA championships. Among the women, discus artist Emily Forsythe and javelin thrower Kim Heinz are the top contenders. "Matt has made a great impact on our distance program, and Yvonne has bolstered our sprints and hurdles," Sythe said. "I always felt we needed to support the sprint mentality because Long Beach is Speed City and has a lot of tradition. "Being a decathlete, I always dreamed of us having a broad-based program. We've been particularly good in the jumps and throws because we had coaches who taught good technique. Now we have the right matches in other events. "The success we've had wasn't built from finances and resources as much as the staff, having good specialists who could help our kids and attract recruits who believe in what we're doing." And doing it better than at any time in the last three decades. |
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