Tom Mahan
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Sport:
Track & Field |
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Year
Graduated: 1978, '80 |
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Year
Inducted: 2003 |
"You could tell from the beginning that Tom was going
to be a special competitor for us," said John Thomas,
who was an assistant coach on the Terrier track team when
Tom Mahan competed. "He was a tough, hard-working runner,
and there was no air about him. When practice was over, he
always remained to get in extra work.
"You knew that he would be one of the best hurdlers
in New England," continued Thomas. "It's when
he got onto the national scene that you realized just how
special he was."
At the time Tom enrolled at Boston University, the track
team was a small band of athletes who wanted to compete. Coached
by current Hall of Famers Billy Smith and Thomas, the team
traveled to meets in two cars that were owned by the coaches.
As a result, it was common to see a runner entered in several
events. For Tom, those events were the sprints, the relays,
and the hurdles.
In the end, hurdles won out.
During the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons, no one dominated
the hurdles in New England more than Tom did.
His best year was in 1977-78 when he won 11 of the 15 meets
in which he competed. During the indoor season, he won the
60-yard high hurdles at the Greater Boston and Yankee Conference
championships, while he was third at the Eastern Championships
and qualified for the NCAAs. There, he ran a :07.38 in the
trials and advanced to the quarterfinals where he clocked
a :07.38.
Unfortunately, that time was just off the mark needed to
advance to the semifinals.
Then, during the outdoor season, he won the Yankee Conference
60-yard high hurdles and the New England 110-meter high hurdles.
He finished sixth at the Eastern championships and qualified
for the NCAAs.
During his senior year of 1978-79, Tom went 8-0. The highlights
came when he won the Greater Boston titles in both the 60-yard
high hurdles indoors and the 110-meter high hurdles outdoors.
He also won the New England 120-yard high hurdles. His indoor
time of :07.1 in the 55-meter high hurdles and :13.77 outdoors
in the 110-meter high hurdles eclipsed the records of Hall
of Famer David Hemery. What's more, the :13.77 ranked
as the eighth-fastest in the U.S. and 22nd-fastest in the
world.
Today, nearly 25 years after he last competed for the Terriers,
his times are still school records
