CMC75 Moments: Hardesty Becomes First Athena National Champion for 1985 Women's Track and Field
As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moments, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
1985 Women's Track and Field: Hardesty Wins National Championship in 3000 Meters
One interesting piece of trivia to the rich history of CMS Athletics is that the first Athena to ever win an individual national championship was really more like a Pioneer in Athena's clothing. In the 1980s, exchange students between US colleges were a more common phenomenon than they are now, and when students visited a different college for a semester or an academic year, as long as they were enrolled full-time, they were eligible to compete in athletics.
Gwyn Hardesty was one such student-athlete. She enrolled at Smith College in Massachusetts in 1983, but for her sophomore year, as a budding mathematician, she traveled across the country to attend Harvey Mudd as a visiting student. While attending, she joined the CMS Women's Track and Field team, and took a national championship trophy home with her, capturing the 3000 meters in 9:42.46 at the 1985 NCAA Division III Championships for the first national title won by any CMS women's student-athlete. After returning to Smith, she won the national championship again as a junior for the Pioneers, and graduated with Smith school records in the 1500, the 3000 and the mile (her 3000 time still ranks third at CMS).
Post-graduation, Hardesty competed in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, where she finished 13th in the 10000 meters, and won the USA Track and Field national championship in the Marathon in 1998. She was inducted into the Smith College Hall of Fame in 2012.
Hardesty had the top individual highlight of the 1985 CMS Track and Field season, but it was a strong overall year for the Athenas as well, despite a modest-sized roster of 12 student-athletes under first-year Head Coach John Goldhammer. CMS finished second in the SCIAC to Occidental with a 5-1 league mark, and junior Diana Thomas set school records in the 100, 200 and long jump. Barb Backmann added a school record in the 400 meters and Canon Price matched Thomas with a new long jump record.
Thomas would go on to capture All-America honors as a senior the following year, finishing eighth in the 100 with a time of 12.56 and graduating with four school records (100, 200, long jump, triple jump). She would later earn a spot in the CMS Athletics Hall of Fame, along with three of her 1985 teammates, distance runners Cindy Nagle, Liane Kivela, and Sheilagh Boyle, who were part of a top-10 NCAA finish for the cross country team in 1984 under Goldhammer (along with Jessica Tisdale and Margaret Vandervert).
As for Hardesty, she was a good fit during her year at Harvey Mudd, and went on to earn her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Colorado in 1999. Hardesty-Coogan currently is the mathematics chair at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, her alma mater.
1985 Women's Track and Field Roster
Head Coach: John Goldhammer
Assistant Coaches: Pam Fontenette, Mike Maynard
Barb Backmann (So., CMC)
Sheilagh Boyle (So., Scripps)
Darlene Hand (Fr., HMC)
Gwyn Hardesty (So., HMC)
Liane Kivela (Fr., Scripps)
Cindy Nagle (Sr., Scripps)
Canon Price (Fr., CMC)
Diane Silver (Fr., CMC)
Diana Thomas (Jr., CMC)
Jessica Tisdale (Fr., CMC)
Margaret Vandervert (So., Scripps)
Rachel Yeaman (Fr., HMC)