Linn-Benton Community announced that Garry Killgore will be part of the newest class into its athletic hall of fame on Sept. 23. Killgore is currently the director of athletics and professor in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Athletics (HHPA) at Linfield.
In his 34 years here, he has served as the head coach of the track and field and cross country programs, as chair of HHPA and in leadership roles on several institutional committees.
As a student at Linn-Benton, Killgore was a standout runner, and arguably one of the top cross-country student-athletes in school history. He still holds the record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and is in the top 10 lists for the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter. Killgore earned All-Conference and All-Region honors, qualifying for nationals in cross country.
He would finish his collegiate career, eventually earning a doctorate in exercise physiology and biomechanics, at Oregon State University.
“I am deeply honored to be inducted into the LBCC Hall of Fame,” he said. “Linn-Benton was critical in my development at a very difficult time of my life. I was a first-gen, poor kid who happened to be able to run okay, and I found my wife Lisa there and had absolutely wonderful mentors who challenged and supported me! I am so grateful for my experiences there.”
Killgore was inducted into the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. In his 21 years as head coach, Linfield had nine individual national championships, 96 All-Americans and 81 USTFCCCA All-Academic citations. He was a six-time NCAA West Region Track and Field Coach of the Year, a seven-time NCIC/NWC Track and Field Coach of the Year and was honored as the NCIC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the ’Cats to the team title in 1994.
