Martin Luther King Jr. State Commission | Seite 18

Alumni Award
In the early 1960’s John Haaland
started his association with cross
country and track. Recruited by
the track coach at Manzano HS
to run both cross country and
track John showed promise at the
sports. After high school gradu-
ation he attended the University
of New Mexico, competing for the
Lobos. After graduation from
UNM John began his elementary
physical education teaching ca-
reer in APS. Noticing there were
no running programs for girls he
along with several other began
the Duke City Dashers running
club. The Dashers became nation-
ally prominent and won dozens of
national AAU titles. Many of the
young women who came through
the program went on to compete collegiately. The Duke City Dash-
ers were far ahead of others when it came to allowing and promoting
young girls from elementary schools all the way to high school to enjoy
the sports of cross country and track. From 1968 to 1982 John was
heavily involved with the Duke City Dashers. He then became girls
coach at Del Norte High School for many years. In 2001 he became
General Chairman of the Great Southwest Track & Field Classic, an
annual meet that draws hundreds of athletes from all over the country
to compete at UNM. Pictured above is Head Track & Field Coach Joe
Franklin giving John a framed turquoise jersey for all his efforts to
promote cross country & track in New Mexico. Thank you John!!