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by Geoff Thurner GAINESVILLE, Fla. The U.S. Track Coaches Association (USTCA) announced Wednesday (December 2, 1998) that recent University of Oregon track and field head coach Bill Dellinger will be elected into its Hall of Fame this weekend. Dellinger will be recognized at an induction ceremony, Saturday, December 5, at the Clarion Hotel in Orlando, Fla. He will be joined by four others in the hall's fourth annual class, a group including Jim Kehoe of the University of Maryland, Joe Newton of York High School (Ill.), Tom Tellez of the University of Houston and Stan Wright (deceased) of Texas Southern University. "To be recognized by your peers in such a manner is one of the highest honors one can achieve," Dellinger said. "It's a humbling experience — there are some great names in the Hall of Fame, and it's a distinction that I'm proud to receive." The Grants Pass, Ore., native Dellinger finished his 26th and final season in the spring of 1998 at as one of its most distinguished head coaches. During his tenure, his teams finished among the top 10 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on 14 occasions, including winning the NCAA title in 1984. On the individual front, 59 of his athletes have produced 105 All-America performances outdoors including 18 NCAA titles. Most recently, Dellinger wrapped up his final cross country season last week at the NCAA Championships in Lawrence, Kan., leading Oregon to a fifth-place team finish — its 20th top-10 NCAA finish in his 32 years as cross country head coach. Over that span, his squads won four NCAA titles in 1971-73-74-77, while 23 Duck harriers combined for 41 cross country All-America honors including four NCAA titles. As an Oregon athlete prior to his coaching service, he enjoyed a distinguished career as a distance runner under the guidance of Bill Bowerman. He was the NCAA champion in 1954, finished second to teammate Jim Bailey the next year in the mile, and followed with the 5,000 crown in 1956. He continued his running career after his collegiate days, earning places on three successive U.S. Olympic teams (1956-60-64). He won the bronze medal in the 5,000 in 1964, then rekindled his Olympic experience in 1984 as the assistant coach for men's distance runners at the Los Angeles Games. Dellinger becomes the second Oregon coach inducted into the USTCA Hall of Fame. His mentor Bill Bowerman was part of the inaugural class in 1995 which also featured Don Canham, George Dales, James "Jumbo" Elliot, Stan Huntsman, Dr. LeRoy Walker and Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam. Other past inductees included Jim Bush, Terry Crawford, Oliver Jackson, Bob Jenkins, Brooks Johnson, Payton Jordan, Clyde Littlefield, Jess Mortenson, James Segrest, Ed Temple and Bob Timmons.
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