Hall of Fame induction: 2013

Alonzo was one of the greatest high school hurdlers ever in the state at William Penn. He set the current state 300m intermediate hurdles record of :37.23 in 1993. He was the Division I intermediate hurdle champion three times.

He won the National High School Intermediate Hurdle Championship with a time of :36.97. He is ranked #1 on the Delaware all-time list in the 400m intermediate hurdles with a time of :52.42.

He went on to excel at Taft Junior College where he won the national JUCO 400m hurdles title and after ACL surgery, starred at Lincoln University, where he sparked several national team titles.

He won the NCAA Division III 55m hurdle title indoors in 1999 in :07.43 and finished second in the outdoor 110m hurdles the same year in :14.35. He remains Lincoln school record holder in the 110m hurdles in :13.86.

Hall of Fame induction: 2013

Gwendolyn coached ten seasons as the Betty J. Costanza Head Coach of Womens Track and Field at the University of Pennsylvania. Harris became just the second coach in program history when she replaced long-time program mentor Betty Costanza in 2002. Harris led the Quakers to stellar results, having had at least one athlete reach the NCAA Championships with six different individuals earning All-America status. Overall, Penn athletes have established 170 top-10 marks, 70 school records, 20 individual Heptagonal champions, and eight individual ECAC titles. Penn athletes excelled in the Ivy League classrooms under Harris with 16 academic All-Ivy honorees.

Prior to being appointed head coach at Penn, Harris served as head coach of the James Madison University womens track and field program for 17 years. She saw a multitude of success at JMU, coaching 15 All-Americans, being named the NCAA District III Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year in 1998, and earning 1995 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Cross Country Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Dukes to the conference championship. One year later, Harris produced the Dukes first NCAA cross country qualifier in Bethany Eigel. Harris also used her expertise to coach Tiombe Hurd to become the nations top American collegiate female in 1995 and also saw a pair of her former athletes, Hurd and Julie Speights Henner, compete at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials. Hurd then competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Harris had a pair of stints with USA Track and Field 1995 and again in 2001. She has been a member of numerous committees including Chair of the NCAA National Championships in Eugene, Ore., in 2001. Harris, who has been a member of the NCAA Track and Field Committee since 1999, also served as president of the Eastern Collegiate Track and Field Association in 1998. After serving as vice president in 2002, Harris was reappointed to serve as president of the Eastern Collegiate Track and Field Association in 2003.

Harris graduated from Delaware State in 1974. Though there were no recognized womens varsity sports at the time she attended the University, Harris lettered all four years as a member of the basketball and played softball, field hockey, and track and field for club teams. In track and field, Harris ran in various events including the 75 yard Dash, 100 yard Dash and 220 yard dash, as well as the 4×100 and 4×200 relays. She also made several regional teams in field hockey and track and field.

Immediately following her graduation from Delaware State, Harris coached at Caesar Rodney High School in Delaware where she helped lead the program to four state championships and three conference titles during her six years with the school. Some of girls on the team held state records for more than 20 years.

For her accomplishments over the past 30 years, Harris was inducted into the Delaware African-American Hall of Fame in 2002 and was inducted into the Delaware State University Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2010.

Delaware T&F Hall of Fame member

Delaware T&F Hall of Fame member

Hall of Fame induction: 2012

Don is a 1961 graduate of Brandywine High School. After serving in the US Navy, he entered college at the age of 22. He attended West Chester State where he captained the track team his last two years, the Golden Era of West Chester track and field.

Competing as an intermediate hurdler, his team won the Pennsylvania State Colleges Championship in ‘68 and the MAC Championship in ‘69. In dual meets,

Don was undefeated in the 440 hurdles and ran a leg on the school’s record setting mile relay team. His team finished second in the NCAA Regional Division II Championships in ‘69 where he placed second in the intermediate hurdles. He is still second on the all-time performance list at West Chester.

Don went on to coach at Concord and Brandywine High Schools. While at Concord, his girls’ teams won three state championships (76, 77, and 82) and six BHC titles. Under Don’s tutelage, two future Olympic and Hall of Fame members, Terri Dendy and Vicki Huber Rudawsky, and a future two-time National Champion and Hall of Fame member, Mary Schilly Kniesly, were nurtured and developed. The 1982 team was one of the best ever assembled which included Dendy, Huber, and Melissa Grubb. This team finished first or second in fifteen out of eighteen events at the state meet. At Brandywine, his teams place second in the state meet four times and won five BHC titles.

Hall of Fame induction: 2012

Shayla Baine Gosa competed in her first track and field competition in 1983 as an eighth grader at New Castle Middle School. In 1985, she became a member of the Wilmington Track Club. The relationship with Coach Madric and the Wilmington Track Club awarded Shayla many opportunities, experiences, accomplishments, challenges and memories. Shayla won numerous state and county titles running for William Penn High School in the 100m and 400m dashes and the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays from 1984-87. She was a member of the 4x400m relay team that set a state outdoor record of 3:49.6 that still stands. As a member of the Wilmington Track Club, Shayla was East Coast Invitational and Junior Olympic 400m champion in 1987.

Shayla attended the University of Illinois on a track and field scholarship. Shayla went on to win Big 10 indoor and outdoor medals in the 400, 600, 800 and 4x400m relay on conference championship teams at the University of Illinois. She was also a member of the Illini’s 1990 4x400m relay team that set an American collegiate indoor record. Currently Shayla resides in Bear, Delaware with her 7 year old princess, Nina Gosa. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Wilmington DE Alumnae Chap¬ter) and Spirit Life Ministries International. Still an avid track and field fan, Shayla attends as many Delaware track and field events as possible and Penn Relays with her father, Josh Baine, every year. Now a senior program manager at JPMorgan Chase, Shayla attributes her career accomplishments and work ethic to GOD, her upbringing and participa¬tion in club and college athletics.

Hall of Fame induction: 2012

Jim Gano graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1976, where he was coached by Bill Crowther.

As a standout athlete, he set impressive personal records, including 1:56.5 in the 880 yards, 4:23.8 in the mile, and 9:38 in the 2-mile.

His high school career was marked by numerous accolades, including winning the 3000-meter Delaware State Outdoor Championship in 1976 and securing the Blue Hen Conference Cross Country Championship titles in 1973 and 1975.

He was the runner-up in the Delaware Cross Country Championship in 1975 and was selected for the Philadelphia/Delaware All-Area Cross Country Team during his senior year.

His outstanding performances earned him recognition as a High School All-American in 1976.

Continuing his athletic journey at the University of Delaware, where he graduated in 1980, Gano competed under the guidance of Coach Jimmy Flynn.

He was a four-year letter winner in both indoor and outdoor track & field and set five school records: 2:12.8 in the indoor 1000 yards, 2 Mile Relay (both records still stand), 1:52.7 in the outdoor 800 meters, as well as records in the indoor distance medley and outdoor sprint medley relay (1:51.7 split).

Throughout his college career, he consistently placed in major invitational and ECC conference meets, qualified for multiple IC4A Championships, and played a pivotal role in helping the University of Delaware outdoor track & field team secure three consecutive ECC Team Championships from 1977 to 1980.

In his senior year, he was named co-captain alongside Eddie McCreary, further cementing his leadership and contributions to the team.