{"id":2957,"date":"2014-08-11T09:59:22","date_gmt":"2014-08-11T16:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about-hmc\/?p=2957"},"modified":"2019-04-17T11:51:36","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T18:51:36","slug":"runner-tony-gnecco-89-named-to-cms-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/2014\/08\/11\/runner-tony-gnecco-89-named-to-cms-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"Runner Tony Gnecco \u201989 Named to CMS Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a trademark smile, rose-tinted spectacles and a shock of curly red hair, Tony Gnecco \u201989\u2014the \u201cRed Rocket\u201d\u2014was known among track and field teammates for two rare talents: quiet, steady leadership and the ability to run like the wind.<\/p>\n

Claremont-McKenna-Scripps (CMS) Athletics will recognize those talents this fall when they induct the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) track and field champion into its Hall of Fame. Gnecco is the 16th Mudder to receive entry.<\/p>\n

The anchor on the 4×400 meter relay team that qualified the Stags for the NCAA Championships three out of four straight seasons, Gnecco was named Harvey Mudd College\u2019s Athlete of the Year as a junior. He was a two-time SCIAC champion (4×400 in 1988, 400 in 1989) and a two-time All-American (4×400 in 1988 [2nd], 4×400 in 1989 [8th]).<\/p>\n

Gnecco\u2019s individual and team performances earned him several CMS track and field records. In 1986, Gnecco set the record for first years in the 400 meter at 49.22. The relay team\u2019s 4×400 meter time from the 1988 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships still holds at 3:12.60. Gnecco is still fifth all-time among CMS runners in the 400 meter (48.46), and the 4×400 meter teams he anchored are still first, sixth and seventh all-time (they were first, second and third when he graduated). Gnecco credits the relay team with enabling his success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m honored and humbled by the committee’s decision to induct me,\u201d he says. \u201cA majority of my success\u2014and of my fond memories\u2014was being part of that 4×400 meter relay team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Head track and field coach John Goldhammer, who submitted Gnecco\u2019s nomination, says the athlete\u2019s grounded nature, humility and work ethic made him the natural heart of the Stags\u2019 championship relay teams during what he calls a \u201cgolden era\u201d for CMS track and field.<\/p>\n

\u201cTony was extremely focused,\u201d says Goldhammer. \u201cHe made every workout, was always there and improved every year, from freshman year all the way through to senior. True commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/a>

From left: Mark Messana CMC \u201989, Derek Elmore CMC \u201989, Kurt Hocker CMC \u201988 and Tony Gnecco ’89<\/p><\/div>\n

Goldhammer cites the 1988 NCAA Championships\u2014held at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota\u2014as being among his fondest memories during his 30 years with CMS Athletics. Gnecco and teammates Mark Messana CMC \u201989, Derek Elmore CMC \u201989 and Kurt Hocker CMC \u201988 placed second nationally in the 4×400, setting the current all-time CMS record for the 4×400 relay. Goldhammer remembers the competition like it was yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not a tribute to my memory, but to how hard they worked, how important it really was to them to win together,\u201d he says. \u201cCMS has had a lot of All-Americans and national champions, but this was special. That camaraderie, the chemistry of these four guys was unique,\u201d he says. Together, they were known as \u201cthe boys.\u201d At the group\u2019s core, Gnecco brought stability to that chemistry.<\/p>\n

Beyond the relay team, says Goldhammer, Gnecco’s leadership and commitment served as examples to the entire track and field squad. In recognition, the team voted him captain for the 1987 season.<\/p>\n

Former teammate and fellow North Hall resident Kelly Beck \u201990 (now CMS assistant track and field coach) also remembers Gnecco for his exemplary work ethic and leadership. During the late fall and winter months, in the lull between cross-country and track and field seasons, Gnecco organized practices to keep Beck and other teammates at the top of their game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was really a cornerstone of what the track and field program has become,\u201d says Beck. \u201cHistorically, it wasn\u2019t among our most successful programs, and it definitely became so, and I think he was integral to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gnecco earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in engineering and was widely involved on campus, serving as sports editor for The Muddraker<\/em> and as a proctor of Marks Residence Hall (South) during his senior year. He was also involved in the campus Christian Fellowship.<\/p>\n

After Mudd, Gnecco went on to a career in software development in Livermore, California, where he has lived for many years with his wife, son and daughter. Though his running days are behind him, he says, he coaches his daughter\u2019s soccer and track teams and frequently plays golf with his son, who is a member of the middle school squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very blessed to have great coaches throughout my life, especially in college,\u201d says Gnecco. \u201cI enjoy the chance to give some of that back to my kids and their teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gnecco and four other CMS alumni will be inducted during CMS\u2019 annual Hall of Fame Banquet, which will be held at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum at Claremont McKenna College on Saturday, Nov. 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a trademark smile, rose-tinted spectacles and a shock of curly red hair, Tony Gnecco \u201989\u2014the \u201cRed Rocket\u201d\u2014was known among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,12,27],"class_list":["post-2957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-award","category-engineering","category-sport"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}