Hall of Fame induction: 1995

As a Dover schoolboy hurdler Neylan won the State Championship in the 120 yard high hurdles in 1961, and was a member of the shuttle hurdle relay team which established the State Record that remained unbroken for eleven years. Bob set a State Open record of 14.4 in the 120HH in 1963.

Neylan competed for the University of Alabama where he ranked second in the Southeastern Conference at 300 hurdles, and finished second in the SEC Conference Championship meet in the 120HH. He later ran for Florida State University and lettered in track there also.

As a coach at Dover High School he inherited a 1987 team in shambles, and took them to a third place finish in the State Championships, losing only one dual meet along the way. Bob’s record at Dover High School was 107 wins against only 13 dual meet losses from 1973 to 1982, and included four State Team Championships. He was cited as the Henlopen Conference Track Coach of the Year six times, and chosen as Delaware Sports Club’s Coach of the Year and Lower Delaware Gridiron Club’s Coach of the Year both in 1976.

Neylan was chairman of the DSSAA State Outdoor Track & Field Committee for eleven years, and has been meet director of the Outdoor Championship since 1982, making great progress in bringing our state’s Outdoor Championships to an elite level Delaware high school competition.

Hall of Fame induction: 1994

Father Beattie’s Salesianum teams won the Delaware State High School Cross Country Championship 13 times between 1966 and his departure in 1984. Six times a Salesianum runner won the individual state title from 1969 to 1983. Salesianum track teams won the state track title four times and the New Castle County Championships four times.

More than 20 Salesianum track and field athletes won State Championships. During his heyday in cross country at Salesianum, the school finished in the top four at the state meet 20 times.

Hall of Fame induction: 1994

One of the fine athletes developed by Howard High School’s George Johnson. Dick won the Delaware High School Low Hurdles Championship and the New Castle County High Jump Championship in 1957, and then attended the University of Michigan.

Cephas won a Big Ten Championship in the 220 yard low hurdles, setting a new Big Ten record, and was the school’s record holder at the indoor 60, 65, 70, and 75 yard low hurdles. His outdoor school records were the 220 yard low hurdles, both straightaway and around a curve, 440 yard and 400 meter intermediate hurdles, the high jump, and he was a member of the record holding 440 yard relay, and sprint medley relay teams.

Dick placed 6th in both the NCAA and AAU Championships in 1960, and went to the semi-finals of the 1960 Olympic Trials. He later became a member of the U.S. Military track team where he won a bronze medal in the 440 yard intermediate hurdles at the Military Olympics held in Brussels. He was also a member of the United States team that competed in Africa, where his 400 meter intermediate times were faster then the National Records of five of the six nations in which he competed.

Hall of Fame induction: 1994

Chris went to the Fosbury Flop before it even had a name and eventually soared to Olympic heights with it. His 7′ 3″ jump at the 1972 Olympic Trials earned him a berth on the U.S. team at Munich, where he cleared 6′ 11½”.

He won the NCAA Indoor Championships, Penn Relays, Martin Luther King Games, and the IC4A Championships that year by clearing 7′ 2″ or better. Chris was an outstanding jumper at Newark High School where he was State Division I Champion in 1968 & 1969, and won the State Open Decathlon Championship after the close of the scholastic season in 1970. Later at Colgate he was twice the NCAA Indoor High Jump Champion.

Dunn was named Delaware’s Athlete of the Year in 1972 and was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. Chris continued to compete until 1976 as a member of the touring professional International Track Association.

Hall of Fame induction: 1994

Fort has been president of the Delaware Sports Club for 16 years and during that time spearheaded the officiating division into one of the best in the region. Tom himself has worked at over 450 high school and college meets in Delaware alone.

Tom placed in the Conference Championships at two miles while running for the University of Missouri. He was a significant masters runner at 1500 and 5000 meters in the 1970’s, and since that time has dedicated himself to improving administration and officiating competence at the state level.

Fort was a member of the DSSAA State Track & Field Committee for several years. The Outstanding High School Track & Field Male Athlete of the Year award in Delaware is named for Fort.