After a great 2009 season I was feeling nostalgic.
Here is a look over thirty years ago when I was a senior.
Girls were competing for only the third year.
Fiber-glass poles had only been around a few years. I used steel and bamboo at first.
All the high school tracks in the area were dirt.
At least 9 boys school records are still the current record from that year.
1978 Montgomery team I was a part of
Boys
100
9.8y=10.97m Allen Kuhn, Cloverdale, still school record
9.8y=10.97m Bill Robnett, Petaluma
9.8y=10.97m Steve Gullickson, Montgomery
200
22.41c Bill Robnett, Petaluma 22.31 22.2y in 77
22.51c Steve Gullickson, Montgomery
22.61c Jesse Jones, Casa Grande
400
50.15c Greg Clark, Petaluma
51.24c Bob Warner, Analy
51.44c Mark Spaulding, Santa Rosa
800
1:55.77c Rudy Balli, Petaluma
1:55.97c Greg Clark, Petaluma
1:57.85c Kevin Farrell, Rancho Cotate
1600
4:18.33c Dave Royal, Petaluma 4:13.66c in 79
4:19.13c Armand Moreno, Piner
4:19.93c Rudy Balli, Petaluma
3200
9:11.03c Armand Moreno, Piner, Empire record until 2009
9:23.65c Dave Royal, Petaluma 9:12.32c in 79
9:39.06c Bob Luttrell, Rancho Cotate
110HH
14.98 14.7y Chuck Peterson, Montgomery
15.08 14.8y Jeff Eitnear, Montgomery
15.18 14.9y Mark Stryker, El Molino
330y Low Hurdles
38.0 Jim Flores, Piner, = roughly 38.54 300IH
38.1 Mark Stryker, El Molino, ran 52.76 400IH in 1979, 39.57 300IH pace.
39.0 Chuck Peterson, Montgomery
39.1 Bob Barham, Ukiah
39.2 Mike Trudeau, Piner
39.9 Mansen, Petaluma
400 Relay
43.69 43.7y Cloverdale, still school record
43.99 44.0y Santa Rosa
44.08 44.1y Montgomery
1600 Relay
3:26.04c Petaluma
3:27.43c Montgomery
3:27.63c Ukiah, still school record
HJ
6-6¾ John Williams, Piner 6-8 in 79
6-6½ Tim Ryan, Rancho Cotate
6-6 Al Sullivan, Sonoma Valley
6-6 Randy Hitchcock, Montgomery
6-4½ Marvin Colter, Piner
6-4 Ernie Ongaro, Analy
6-4 Mike Dunlap, Sonoma Valley
PV
14-7 Mark Patterson, Piner
13-6 Jim Crowhurst, Montgomery
13-6 Tony Bashaw, Ukiah
13-6 Tim Ryan, Rancho Cotate
LJ
23-0 Marvin Colter, Piner, still school record
22-11½ Jim Flores, Piner
22-9¾ Ray Marchbanks, Santa Rosa
22-4½ Jesse Jones, Casa Grande
TJ
48-7 Marvin Colter, Piner, still school record
47-9 Ray Marchbanks, Santa Rosa, still school record
46-11½ Allen Kuhn, Cloverdale, still school record
44-3 Ernie Ongaro, Analy
It has been almost 30 years since anyone has triple jumped as far as the jumpers prior to 1982.
Only one jumper has broken 46 feet this Millennium and that was 18 years ago. 46-0¼ Maurice White, Rancho Cotate 2001.
Of the seven best jumpers ever three were from 1978 and two from 1981.
48-7½ Rob McCorkel, Petaluma #1 1981
48-7 Marvin Colter, Piner #1 1978
47-9 Ray Marchbanks, Santa Rosa #1 1978
47-4¼ Jim Brown, Santa Rosa #2 1971
46-11½ Allen Kuhn, Cloverdale #1 1978
46-3 Tyree Gray, Montgomery #1 1973
46-3 Jeff Johnson, Petaluma #2 1981
SP
53-6½ Chris Sorensen, Analy
51-8¼ Ken George, Piner
51-4 Bob Frye, Petaluma
DT
167-8½ Brian Lake, Casa Grande, still school record
164-3 Chris Sorensen, Analy 164-9 in 77
162-3 Steve Jones, Calistoga, still school record
160-4 John Harpe, Laytonville, still school record
159-6¼ Dave Troppy, Santa Rosa
Girls, list includes those in top 50 still and NBL & SCL Champ
100
SCL Janice Richardson, El Molino 11.5 = 12.83m
NBL Kay Quinn, Montgomery 11.8 = 13.13m
200
SCL Peggy Rogers, Sonoma 26.4c
NBL Lisa Wolford, Ukiah 27.1c
400
NBL 58.40c Deanne Neff, Montgomery
SCL Jackie Boriolo, El Molino 60.1c
800
NBL Denise King, Ukiah 2:25.5c
SCL Chari Redeker, Healdsburg 2:25.6c
1600
NBL Dana Flint, Ukiah 5:29.4c
SCL Cathy Larrouy, Piner 5:40.0c
3200
NBL Dana Flint, Ukiah 11:36.5c
SCL Cathy Larrouy, Piner 12:44.7c
100mLH
SCL Annette Richardson, El Molino 15.16c
NBL Julie Walters, Petaluma 15.55c
300LH
Event began 1981
400 Relay
SCL Casa Grande 51.34c
NBL Ukiah 51.84c
1600 Relay
NBL Ukiah 4:11.9
SCL Sonoma 4:15.1
HJ
5-6 Deanne Neff, Montgomery, still school record
5-2 Julie Walters, Petaluma
SCL Lesley Johnson, Analy 4-10
PV
Event began 1995
LJ
NBL 18-0 Deanne Neff, Montgomery
SCL 17-0¾ Terri Robinson, Casa Grande, still school record
TJ
Event began 1982
SP
36-7¾p Sandi Binns, Clear Lake, 40-2¾ 8lb, still school record
NBL Cindy Peterson, Ukiah 36-3 8lb
SCL Tina Vale, Analy 34-2
DT
116-3½ Cindy Peterson, Ukiah
SCL Tina Vale, Analy 101-0
In 1978
Following on the oil crisis Japanese car Imports account for half the US import market for the first time.
The first ever Cellular Mobile Phone is introduced in Illinois and Space Invaders appears in arcades Launching a Craze for Computer Video Games .
Movies include Grease, Saturday Night Fever and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Popular TV shows: Happy Days, Little House on the Prairie, The Rockford Files, Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live, Wheel of Fortune, Charlie’s Angels, Quincy, M.E., The Muppet Show, CHiPs, The Love Boat.
Sweden becomes the first nation to ban aerosol sprays that are thought to damage earth’s protective ozone layer.
The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois)
The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Japan’s Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.
David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam” killer in New York City, is sentenced to 365 years in prison for six killings.
First appearance of the comic strip Garfield
The first so-called test-tube baby, Louise Brown, is born.
William and Emily Harris, founders of the Symbionese Liberation Army, plead guilty to the 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst.
Muhammad Ali beats Leon Spinks for the world heavyweight boxing title.
Jonestown mass suicide: In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones leads his People’s Temple in a mass murder-suicide; 913 die, including 276 children.
In San Francisco, California, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.
Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco,
California’s first woman mayor (she served until January 8, 1988).
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 805
Average Cost of new house $54,800.00
Average Income per year $17,000.00
Average Monthly Rent $260.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 63 cents
1LB of Bacon $1.20
Dozen Eggs 48 Cents
Some of the top songs that year.
1. Shadow Dancing, Andy Gibb
2. Night Fever, Bee Gees
3. You Light Up My Life, Debby Boone
4. Stayin’ Alive, Bee Gees
5. Kiss You All Over, Exile
6. How Deep Is Your Love, Bee Gees
7. Baby Come Back, Player
8. (Love Is) Thicker Than Water, Andy Gibb
9. Boogie Oogie Oogie, A Taste Of Honey
10. Three Times A Lady, Commodores
13. You’re The One That I Want, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
15. Lay Down Sally, Eric Clapton
16. Miss You, Rolling Stones
17. Just The Way You Are, Billy Joel
19. If I Can’t Have You, Yvonne Elliman
24. It’s A Heartache, Bonnie Tyler
25. We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You, Queen
32. Take A Chance On Me, Abba
34. Last Dance, Donna Summer
35. Hopelessly Devoted To You, Olivia Newton-John
36. Hot Blooded, Foreigner
37. You’re In My Heart, Rod Stewart
39. Dust In The Wind, Kansas
41. Short People, Randy Newman
48. Slip Slidin’ Away, Paul Simon
63. You Needed Me, Anne Murray
68. Hey Deanie, Shaun Cassidy of “the partridge family”
71. Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Crystal Gayle
74. Copacabana, Barry Manilow