CCAA Announces 2017 Hall of Fame Class
SAN RAMON – A ground-breaking administrator, three track and field standouts--including a two- sport athlete who was also tabbed Division II Women’s Basketball Player of the Year--and a men’s soccer player make up the 2017 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Hall of Fame Class.
This year’s class consists of former Cal Poly Pomona tennis coach and administrator Karen Miller; Cal Poly Pomona track and field/women’s basketball player Debra Larsen; former Cal Poly San Luis Obispo track and field head coach Lance Harter; Cal State Bakersfield track and field athlete Cecilia Barnes; and Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s soccer player Kevin Gallaugher.
Miller served as Cal Poly Pomona’s head women’s tennis coach and as an instructor from 1974-1984. In 1985, she became the Broncos' director of athletics, a position she held for 15 seasons until her retirement in 2000.
Miller was a pioneer for women’s athletics and mentored countless individuals within the intercollegiate athletic community. As a coach, she guided the Broncos women’s tennis program to consecutive Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Championships in 1980 and 1981. The AIAW oversaw women's athletics until the NCAA began sponsoring women's sports in the 1981-82 academic year.
In 1985, Miller became the CCAA’s first-ever female director of athletics, playing a significant role in the Broncos’ women’s basketball (1985, 1986) and tennis (1991, 1992) programs’ NCAA Championships. She also oversaw one of the nation’s top NCAA Division I softball teams which made four NCAA World Series appearances in her tenure.
Prior to her retirement, Miller devoted much of her time to the community, serving as an advisory board member with the National Youth Sports Program, on the board of directors of the Pomona Valley YMCA, and as Cal Poly Pomona’s Governmental Affairs Liaison. She also designed an “Adopt a Sport” program, which helped bring individuals on teams closer together and provide peer support in a variety of innovative ways.
One of the student-athletes who thrived under Miller's leadership was Larsen, who remains one of the most decorated female student-athletes in CCAA history. She earned seven All-America awards during her three-year career (1984-1987) with the Broncos’ women’s basketball and women’s track and field teams. A two-time CCAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, Larsen was a member of two Division II National Championship squads, helping CPP to national titles in both the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons as well as a second-place finish in 1987. Following her senior season Larsen was named the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Player of the Year after averaging 16 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
Individually, Larsen was also a Division II National Champion in the heptathlon in 1986. Larsen earned six of seven All-American accolades in track and field, taking honors in the heptathlon, high jump, javelin, long jump and the shot put en route to also being named the CCAA Athlete of the Year in 1986. Larsen still holds the program record in the heptathlon. She remains tied for second in the high jump, third in the long jump, third in the shot put and fourth in the javelin. Larsen graduated with a degree in physical education and currently serves as the executive director of the Lakewood Meals on Wheels program.
Lance Harter coached the Cal Poly-SLO women’s cross country as well as women’s indoor and outdoor track and field 1981-1990. During his time with the three programs he was named Division II National Coach of the Year 10 times after leading Cal Poly to 14 NCAA National Championships, including eight-consecutive title in cross country (1982-89) and five outdoor track and field titles in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989 and 1990. Harter was also tabbed the CCAA Coach of the Year numerous times, while earning conference crowns in both outdoor track and field and cross country for nine-consecutive years.
In addition to his work with the Mustangs, Harter served as the coach for the 1984 U.S. team at the World Indoor Track and Field Championship in Paris, led the West squad to Championships at the 1982 and 1985 U.S. Olympic Festivals and guided the Team USA women’s track and field team to the 1987 World Championship. Harter was also an outstanding teacher during his tenure, earning Cal Poly’s Teacher of the Year award twice in nine years.
Also making a name for herself in the sport of track and field was two-time CCAA Track and Field Athlete of the Year (2005, 2006), 2005-06 CCAA Athlete of the Year, 2006 West Region Field Athlete of the Year, 2006 USTFCCCA Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year and Indoor Field Athlete of the Year Cecilia Barnes. From 2004-2006 she snagged five national titles, in the discus, hammer throw, shot put and the indoor weight throw. In 2006 Barnes became the first hurler in Division II and just the second across all three divisions to win three consecutive NCAA National Championships in the discus. The seven-time All-American still holds the CCAA record in the discus at 191-10. Immediately after graduating in 2006, Barnes went on to finish fourth in the discus at the 2007 USA Outdoor National Championship Meet.
Cal State Dominguez Hills defender Kevin Gallaugher remains the school's most decorated male student-athlete, earning NSCAA National Player of the Year in both 2008 and 2009. He captured a combined six All- America awards that include four first team nods. During his stellar collegiate career (2007-2009), Gallaugher was a six-time all-region and three-time CCAA First Team selection. Gallaugher led the Toros to consecutive three NCAA Tournament berths, which included an NCAA Division II National title in 2008. In 92 career matches he helped the Toro defense post 37 shutouts and hold opponents to just a single goal in 27 others.
Academically, Gallaugher served on the CSUDH Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
The CCAA will honor the five inductees on June 6, 2017 at the Pomona Mining Company in Pomona.
The CCAA Hall of Fame was created during the 2013-14 academic year, in conjunction with the celebration of the Conference’s 75th Anniversary. Past Inductees are:
Class of 2014
Nicole Duncan-Chance, Cal State LA
Bob Hiegert, Cal State Northridge; CCAA
Carmelita Jeter, Cal State Dominguez Hills
Darlene May, Cal Poly Pomona
Kim Morohunfola, Cal State San Bernardino
John Scolinos, Cal Poly Pomona
Class of 2015
Rudy Carvajal, Cal State Bakersfield
Sonja Garnett, San Francisco State
Ruth Van’t Land-Parkes, Cal Poly Pomona
Michael Krukow, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Gary Torgeson, Cal State Northridge
Class of 2016
Angela Collins, Cal State Northridge
Julia Cuder, UC San Diego
Shannon Donnelly, Stanislaus State
Joseph Patrick Douglass, Cal State Bakersfield
Jarin Todd, Sonoma State
Kathy Welter, Cal State Bakersfield