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 moment, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
1998 Women's Track and Field Finishes Seventh at Nationals
The CMS Women's Track and Field team broke through with its first SCIAC title in 1995, and three years later, the Athenas were making their mark nationally, earning a top-10 finish at the 1998 NCAA Championships by coming in seventh.
Bookending that run was standout Jennifer Culley, who won two SCIAC titles as a first-year in 1995. As a senior, she became the first CMS graduate to become a women's track and field national champion when she won the 400 meters at the 1998 NCAA Division III Championships (Gwynn Hardesty won a national title while competing for CMS in 1985, but as a visiting student from Smith College). Culley also came in second in the 200 meters, and was joined on the All-American list by Yarrow Moench (fifth in the 1500) and Indira Odamtten (seventh in the long jump). The 4x400 relay team of Odamtten, Culley, Pavla Dusek and Rachel Bullen also had a big performance at nationals, coming in fifth place to earn All-America honors and add to the CMS point total.
In SCIAC meets, the Athenas were also a perfect 16-0 during the year, 9-0 in duals and 7-0 at the SCIAC Championships, with a dominant 50-point win in the league championships over second-place La Verne. Culley (400), Odamtten (long jump) and Moench (5000) won individual league titles, and the Athenas won both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Kyna Powers set a school record in the pole vault, clearing 11 feet, and Amy Colton added one in the hammer throw (155'1").
Culley and Odamtten, who was also a member of the CMS women's soccer team, are members of the CMS Hall of Fame, with Culley earning induction in 2012 and Odamtten following one year later. Culley still holds the program's 400-meter record at 54.11 over 20 years later (over a second faster than second place), while Odamtten ranks fifth in the long jump, and the 4x400 relay still ranks fourth in Athena annals.
Pavla (Dusek) Tarango:
I was the only mid-distance runner on our 4x4 relay. Jen, Indira and Rachel were all sprinters and I was primarily an 800 meter runner. I remember early in the season, at the point when our relay became consistent and we began to practice hand-offs together, feeling very fortunate that I got to run with these talented sprinters. That's one bit of magic about the 4x4 - it crosses over between sprinters and mid-distance runners.
As we competed our way through the season that year, I think we all had a sense that our relay was special and had the potential to do well at Nationals. The entire process of training, qualifying for, and competing at Nationals was a huge thrill. In a 400 meter race, the first curve and straightaway go quickly, you dig deep in the second curve and then that last straightaway gets very real. Throughout the season, I vividly remember getting to the beginning of that second straightaway and seeing Indira standing there waiting for me...she looked so small and so far away!! The last straightaway is like that. But during our Nationals race, I remember the adrenaline and excitement made her seem somehow closer and I could sense that we've all got this.
Earning an All-American title was a dream come true. I was, and still am, honored to have earned the title alongside these incredible women and athletes.
Track and Field is thought of as an individual sport, but Coach Goldhammer fostered an incredible community of support (in addition to the grueling workouts that he was known for around campus!). I very much felt like I was part of a team every day and I felt that same strong sense of team in our relay. That was something special that Coach Goldhammer understood very well...if you can combine hard work and discipline with a strong team mindset, then you're on to something really great.
Indira-Josina (Odamtten) Martell:
The 1998 Track & Field season was one filled with so many joyful and memorable moments. I recall arduous practices to and at Padua, wind sprints, ice baths, joke-filled bus rides that calmed everyone's pre-meet nerves, brilliant performances, PRs and records being set or broken, hooted and hollered encouragement from infields or the stands, the distance teams well founded confusion at seeing the sprinters warm up with what appeared to be a walk but was actually a well-paced jog, laughter at team dinners on Friday evenings at Collins, Coach Goldhammer in all his yellow-with-a-touch-of-maroon glory on meet days, bananas that would appear on my lunch tray with gentle reminders that athletes cannot live on pizza and stir-fry alone, feeling air when I landed a long or triple jump, and the image of Coach's grandmother beating me to the finish if I didn't dig deeper for the needed hustle.
There are so many beautiful pieces that came together to make that year a standout among standouts, and I am grateful to have experienced it all with the team I did.
If I had to name one thing that made the 1998 season, and our moments at the NCAA Championships, a triumph, it was the team itself. Our team included the coaches who knew how to draw out our talents, the physical therapists at Ducey who taped us up and treated our injuries, the meet day volunteers who worked so we could have fun representing our schools, and the CMS community that would come out and support our efforts. When you ran, threw, vaulted or jumped, you felt that you did so with the well-wishes and encouragement of every single person on the team. The power of that camaraderie and kindness of spirit cannot be overstated. Teamwork made the dream work that year in a way that was truly magical.
An important detail about the women's 4x4 team that bears mentioning is the strength of diversity that was harnessed to create that 5th-Place All-American moment at Nationals in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jennifer Culley, Pavla Dusek, Rachel Bullen, and I were all so different in where we came from, in temperament, and in what we brought to the track. Instead of our differences being problematic, we understood this to be what set us apart from so many other teams and we leaned into it. Each one of us had a job to do — Pavla's was to get the party started with a strong first leg, mine was to create a lead on the second, Rachel's to maintain the lead on the third, and Jen's was to lengthen the lead and bring us home. On that spring day at Macalester, it all came together.
Jennifer (Culley) Thomas:
I remember the build-up to Nationals, we had a strong team overall and all of us were determined to perform at our very best so there was a real shared determination. Our 4x4 was no exception. We were a mix of sprinters and middle distance runners so very different styles of running, but that's what made us even more extraordinary I think. The way we supported each other and also pushed each other, made our All-American moments so worthwhile.
I know I felt quite a bit of pressure and we all knew Coach had high expectations, but I remember once we were on track, all at our positions, it just felt right and I knew we were ready to compete hard. We each brought something special to our respective legs. Being last leg also comes with its anxiety as you have to watch the entire race unfold, constant calculating and recalculating how to run that final leg based on our positioning and how the other teams are forming. In one sense, it was like watching it in slow motion, but then once I had the baton in sight, the adrenaline just took over and my aim was to pick off as many runners as I could and bring it home for my team. A lot of it becomes such a blur, but I remember the relief (we didn't drop the baton) and excitement finishing All-American and a real sense of achievement, not just for myself, but for all of us. And to see the pride on Coaches face was priceless, a welcomed contrast of being yelled at to do better during training, lol!
I had many memorable moments throughout my time on team. But I think what has really stayed with me was the sense of family we had and Coach was a true father figure to me. Coach convinced me to join the team and by my final year, I knew it was the best decision I had made. I needed the team more than anyone could ever know. Despite my performance, confidence and newly discovered talent, I actually had quite a tough time personally throughout my time on the team and track was what literally saved me and Coach Goldhammer's unconditional support, love and care made me into a successful athlete and the woman that I am today, so for that I will be eternally grateful. Everyone on the team was like one big extended family and I loved everyone for that. It's difficult to get that sense of 'team' in track & field sometimes, because of the focus on individual performance, but we had it! My records, titles, All-American rankings are all badges of honor that I continue to carry with me, but I didn't get there on my own – my track family was with me the entire way.
I have a real appreciation for the life skills that being on the team taught me, none of which I really understood at the time. Resilience, determination, pushing beyond where you think you can go, teamwork…the list could go on. As I'm now a parent, I find myself trying to replicate these life lessons for my boys through sport and I use all of these skills myself every day. It's easy to just focus on the performance output, but the team, competitions, training, highs and lows all taught me valuable life lessons and ultimately it's that strong foundation and the standards and values that we had as a team that led us to have the successes over the years.
1998 Women's Track and Field Roster
Head Coach: John Goldhammer
Assistant Coaches: Kelly Beck, Ron Randell
Rachel Ban (So., 400/800, Scripps)
Jenny Blakley (So., Throws, CMC)
Amanda Brooks (Fr., Jumps, CMC)
Rachel Bullen (Fr., Sprints, CMC)
Amanda Cleveland (Fr., Throws, CMC)
Amy Colton (Sr., Throws, Scripps)
Jennifer Culley (Sr., Sprints, Scripps)
Kay Dolan (So., Javelin, CMC)
Pavla Dusek (Jr., Middle Distance, CMC)
Abbie Erler (So., Sprints, CMC)
Salena Gerdes (Fr., Javelin/Jumps, Scripps)
Hanna Hjord (So., Jumps/Hurdles, CMC)
Kristin Jorge (So., Javelin/Pole Vault, Scripps)
Rana June (Fr., Distance, CMC)
Vanessa Koutropas (Fr., Jumps, CMC)
Christana Larson-Wille (Fr., Pole Vault, Scripps)
Lara Lovelace-Macon (So., Javelin, Scripps)
Joelle Marty (Jr., High Jump, CMC)
Elizabeth Millan (Fr., Discus, HMC)
Yarrow Moench (So., Distance, CMC)
Indira Odamtten (So., Sprints/Jumps, Scripps)
Brandi Page (So., Distance, CMC)
Melissa Paulissen (Sr., High Jump, CMC)
Kyna Powers (So., Pole Vault/Hurdles, Scripps)
Kasey Richer (Jr., Javelin, CMC)
Jovana Spiva (Fr., Throws, CMC)
Jennifer Stuart (Sr., Distance, CMC)
Claire Todd (So., Middle Distance, CMC)
Jamie Trubia (So., Jumps, Scripps)
Dianna Turner (Sr., Javelin/Discus, CMC)
Teresa Vaught (Fr., Distance, CMC)
Lakesha Wilson (Sr., Sprints, CMC)
Rhiannon Wood (Fr., Distance, Scripps)
Tricia Yeo (Fr., High Jump, CMC)
