SAN ANTONIO - The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) held its annual Convention and Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Dec. 18. Adams State was well represented throughout the night for its contributions to the sports of cross country and track & field.
The Grizzlies heard familiar names called throughout the evening festivities including that of Dr. Joe I Vigil as he was named the recipient of this year's George Dales Award.Also being recognized was Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach
Damon Martin as he was inducted into the
USTFCCCA Hall of Fame as a member of the 2018 class.
The George Dales Award, named in honor of longtime Western Michigan coach George Dales for his relentless pursuit in the growth and development of cross country and track & field over more than half of a century. This award is presented annually to an individual, who, like Dales, enhanced the profession of coaching cross country and track & field.
As a coach, Vigil's success is unparalleled. At the collegiate level, his Adams State teams won 19 combined national championships between the NAIA and NCAA Division II, with his men's cross country team notching an unheard-of perfect score (15 points) at the 1992 NCAA DII Championships. He coached athletes to a total of 425 All-America honors and 87 individual national titles. On the global level, Vigil coached in two Olympic games (1988 and 2008), helped athletes to a number of international medals and was recently heralded with the IAAF Coaching Achievement Award in 2018.
As a mentor, Vigil is second to none. Vigil, at one point, was the only American to lecture and present clinics on five continents. He is one of the original developers of the USATF Coaching Education Program and a founding member of The Athletic Congress (the precursor to the USATF) and was designated a Master Coach by USA Track & Field in 1997. His work left a lasting impression and his predecessor, Coach Martin, has kept that going while making his own mark in the record books.
Coach Martin's career began thirty-three years ago when he was hired as a graduate assistant for the women's cross country and track & field program at Adams State under Hall of Fame coach Dr. Joe I Vigil. Martin learned how to build championship programs by watching Vigil, and when Martin was promoted to head coach of the women's program in 1989 and taking over that same role on the men's program seven years later, he left his own stamp on the record books.
Adams State has won 35 national team titles and 96 conference team titles in the past 29 years under Martin's direction. The Grizzlies have garnered more than 1,000 combined All-America honors and won more than 100 individual national crowns during that same span.
Adams State was also recognized yet again for its success last year during the outdoor season. The Grizzlies were named the 2017-18 Jerry Baltes Division II Women's Program of the Year last May and were celebrated at this year's USTFCCCA Convention.
