TUES 6 APRIL 2004
Alumnus donates to UI track, honors influential coach
By Betsy DalessioArgonaut Staff
When Gerry Hagedorn graduated from the University of Idaho in 1946, he hoped to someday be able to give back to the track program that helped him develop as a person.
That dream will come true Wednesday.
Hagedorn, a prominent farmer and Moscow native, has donated $100,000 to the UI track program and has requested that his donation be in honor of his former UI track coach, Mike Ryan.
“Mike was my mentor,” Hagedorn said. “He taught me everything I knew about throwing the discus and the javelin. He taught me how to be a good sport and not to get down on myself.”
Ryan coached the UI track and field team from 1935-1946. He won the Canadian National Marathon in 1910, the World Marathon in London in 1911 and the Boston Marathon in 1912. He was also a member of the 1912 U.S. Olympic team.
Before coming to UI he coached cross country at Bates College in Maine and was an athletic trainer for the Boston Redskins.
Hagedorn said there were people who hitchhiked from New York just to be coached by Ryan.
The track program will honor the former coach by naming the newly remodeled track and field office after Ryan. Bob Ryan, one of Mike Ryan’s sons, will attend the event and give his father’s Boston Marathon trophy to UI to be displayed in the new office.
Hagedorn said the javelin Ryan gave him in about 1939 is also on display in the office.
“He was an idol for a lot of us,” Hagedorn said.
The event will take place at the Dan O’Brien Track and Field Complex on the UI campus, and a public reception will be held from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
TODAY
UI women’s golf at Dixie Classic, St. George, Utah; UI men’s golf at Thunderbird Invite, Goodyear, Ariz.; Intramurals: 4-on-4 flag football entry dueWEDNESDAY
Intramurals: cribbage entry dueTHURSDAY
Intramurals: powerlifting entry due; 4-on-4 flag football captain’s meeting, 4 p.m.FRIDAY
UI women’s tennis vs. Utah State University, Boise; UI track at Pelluer Invitational, Cheney, Wash.SATURDAY
UI men’s tennis vs. Montana State University, Boise; UI women’s tennis vs. Weber State University, Boise; UI men’s track at Brutus Hamilton Invitational, Berkeley, Calif.; UI women’s track at Brutus Hamilton Invitational, Berkeley, Calif.; UI baseball vs. Eastern Washington, Guy Wicks Field, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Palouse Thunder vs. West Plains, Kibbie Dome, 7 p.m.SUNDAY
UI men’s tennis vs. University of San Francisco, Boise; UI women’s tennis vs. Boise State University, Boise; UI baseball vs. Eastern Washington, Guy Wicks Field, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.Note: Intramurals — Entries for team sports will open one week before the entry deadline. For more information call the Campus Recreation office at 885-6381. Outdoor Program — For more information call the office at 885-6810.
Sports calendar items must be submitted in writing or e-mailed to arg_sports@sub.uidaho.edu by Sunday or Wednesday before publication. Items must include a date, deadline or some other kind of time element.
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