Curt Carey the son of a veteran distance runner Carl Carey, Carl was on the winning 1954 Indianapolis Shortridge High School cross country team and placed 16th in the Worlds Veteran Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Carl got Curt running at an early age and at thirteen Curt could keep up with the pack in most ten milers until the later miles.

Curt continued running every road race in travel distance. One coach said that he would see him ten or more miles from home and he was sure that he would run to return. Curt’s training diary showed 120 – 140 mile a week was not uncommon. The high school coaching staff at South Putnam High School looked forward to him joining their team. However, Curt’s family moved to the neighboring Owen Valley school system in his freshman year, and he ran in the years of the tough southern Indiana cross country competition.

Kenneth Carter, Craig Peterson, Walter Monagan-Brown, Sortero Burnett

Gary West Side 4x400 relays have been the dominate relay since the IHSAA went metric in 1980 and for 41 years they have held the IHSAA State Meet record of 3:13.66. Only two other teams have broken the 3:15 mark (Center Grove 2011 and Hamilton Southeastern 2013).

“Words cannot adequately describe the impact and influence Coach Cooksey has had on our Midshipmen, the Academy and the sport of Track & Field over his unparalleled career,” Director of Athletics Chet Galadchuk said. “He is ‘an icon’ in our profession and one of the most universally recognized and appreciated educators within our coaching and faculty ranks. Coach has been one of a kind, the best at everything he does. A professional role model personified, and a man who always exudes the highest values of character, integrity and competitive spirit.”

Dru (Cox) Pearcy of Plainfield, Indiana graduate from Plainfield High School in 1977. While there, she was a four-year multi-sport, varsity letter holder. The first Mid-State Conference girls track championship was held in 1975, and Cox was conference champion in the softball throw the first three years of the event. As a freshman, she placed 6th in the First Annual IHSAA softball throw. She came away with the two conference championships in the shot put her junior and senior years. In 1977, her 440-yard relay team won the conference meet as well.

A 1976 Evansville Central graduate, Cuzzort set the school one- and two-mile records. He was a four-time NCAA Division 1 All-American (two in cross country and one in the indoor 2-mile and one in the outdoor 5.000 meter) at WKU. In 1979 and 1980, Cuzzort was named the Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Cross-Country Athlete of the Year while also earning OVC Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year and OVC All-Half Century Track and Field team honors. Running for Mason-Dixon AC in 1980, Cuzzort was on a team that won the United States Cross Country Championship. In 1982, he ran 7:52.74 in the 3,000 meters. Larry would go on to run professionally for the famous Sub 4 Track Club, where he set the American 15K road record.

Standing only 5’ 9” and weighting in at one-hundred and thirty pounds as a senior Cornell Garrett easily stood head and shoulders above the competition and his accomplishments outweighed those of the city’s best. In track “Nell” was virtually unbeatable. Recording Evansville best-ever times in the 100-yard dash (9.7) and the 220-yard dash (21.2) Garrett dominated the area track scene. He was three-time track state finalist in the 100 and 220 and anchored the 1977 state finalist 880-yard relay team. In that race he took the baton and passed four opponents to lead the Huskies to a fifth-place finish, but individually, he was a shine. During his junior year, Garrett placed second in the 100 and prepared to run his specially, the 220. As any one of the thousand onlookers can attest, it was Garrett’s race from the start. As he left the curve and entered the straightaway, he had a ten-yard lead over the state’s best. His time 21.3 tied the existing state record. Head Coach George Alvey stated, “No one ran the curve better than Cornell… he was smooth as silk and a great competitor.”