Local track official to join IATO Hall of Fame

As a 32-year-old high school guidance counselor working in North Bend, Nebraska, Gary O’Daniels answered a call for volunteers to help the new coed high school state track and field meet.

At the time, O’Daniels was coaching cross country at North Bend High School. As a former track and cross country runner at Missouri Valley High School in western Iowa and at Graceland University, he had a natural interest in the sport and thought he could serve a need as the girls and boys meets merged into one weekend event.

Now, 42 years later, O’Daniels has turned that volunteer “hobby” into a Hall of Fame career.

O’Daniels, still involved in the sport as Creston Community High School assistant cross country coach and volunteer assistant girls track and field coach, will become one of the newest members of the Iowa Association of Track Officials Hall of Fame later this year.

The formal ceremony will be held as part of the Iowa Association of Track Officials and Iowa Association of Track Coaches annual clinic for coaches and officials in Ames in December.

Last year, O’Daniels received one of two awards for Assistant Cross Country Coach of the Year for his work with longtime Creston coach Pat Schlapia.

“He’s been my assistant coach for 12 years and it was great that he got one of two awards for assistant coach of the year at the same banquet last December,” Schlapia said. “As an official, Gary is very conscientious. He is very detailed, whether he’s working cross country or track an field. His knowledge and background in the sports and their rules makes him very successful. He cares about the sports and the people involved in them.”

O’Daniels, 74, retired from a career at Southwestern Community College that he began in 1986, said he got unexpected news while attending an advisory meeting the association holds each spring after the state coed meet.

“We go over recommendations and possible changes when the track coaches and officials get together in June,” O’Daniels said. “They informed me then that I was selected this year as one of two or three new inductees. I was surprised!”

Worked two states

O’Daniels certainly has the credentials. He was an official at the Nebraska High School State Coed Track and Field Meet for 25 years. He has been an official at the Iowa State Coed Track and Field Meet since the boys and girls meets merged in 2005.

O’Daniels is also active as an official at collegiate and national meets. He is a USATF Master Level official and has officiated at USATF championships — both indoor and outdoor — as well as NCAA track and field regional and national meets, NAIA indoor and outdoor national championship meets, the Drake Relays and numerous high school and middle school track and cross country meets in southern and western Iowa.

O’Daniels still works as starter at four cross country meets each fall in Corning, Creston, Osceola and Orient while working as an assistant coach for the Panthers. In the spring, his volunteer coaching work takes place mostly at practices, as he is busy working as an official at several meets.

Nonetheless, Panther girls coach Clay Arnold says O’Daniels is valuable in his work with the student-athletes as well as at several meets where he sees him perform his duties as an official.

“He loves teaching people about the sport being involved in it,” Arnold said. “He’s great with the girls. He’s top notch. During the season he works multiple meets and he does a bunch of college meets. He’s been to NAIA nationals and this year he went to the USATF indoor meet. He’s well respected by his peers and those who put on the meets here, that’s for sure.”

Racewalking expertise

Both Gary and wife Phyllis O’Daniels are USATF Master Level racewalk officials, working at many NAIA collegiate racewalk events as well as the Junior Olympics state and regional racewalking events. Gary is an accomplished racewalker himself, slowed recently by hip replacement surgery.

“I compete on a limited basis now,” he said. “I’m a year and a half out from hip replacement.”

At the 2013 USATF national championships hosted by Drake University, O’Daniels was the head racewalking official and has also been a racewalk judge or official at USATF national 50K racewalk championships.

O’Daniels worked in student services, the assessment center and served as special needs coordinator at SWCC before retiring in 2002. During that time, he got involved in coaching at Creston and as a volunteer assistant for Bill Huntington at Orient-Macksburg.

O’Daniels continue to serve as needed. Just this week, with Schlapia out of town with family, O’Daniels supervised the weekly Wednesday morning run for cross country athletes originating at the high school.

“I’ve been blessed with many great assistant coaches,” Schlapia said, “but Gary has been such a good resource. He really cares about the kids. It’s always great to see him working at the state meets and the Drake Relays each year.”

O’Daniels has worked as an umpire at the Drake Relays. At high school and collegiate meets he’s often officiated the throwing events for high jump, as well as clerking athletes during the check-in process.

It’s been quite a well-rounded career that started with answering that call for volunteers.

“He lives and breathes those sports and I think it’s awesome that he’s being recognized like this,” Schlapia said.