Soles, Hagin and Lompoc legends join Mt. SAC cross country invitational icons as hall of fame inductees

By Erik Boal, DyeStatCAL Editor

The Mt. San Antonio College Cross Country Hall of Fame, which began in 2005, inducted a new class Tuesday in Baldwin Park.

Great Oak coach Doug Soles joined former El Toro coach Rick Hagin and the 1972 Lompoc boys team as inductees, along with the first group of Icons of the Mt. SAC Invitational.

Bob McGuire, Mark Gutierrez and the Ruh family -- Don, Sandi and Marc -- were recognized for their contributions to the invitational, celebrating its 67th year this season.

Soles, enjoying one of the most impressive seasons in his 11-year tenure at Great Oak, has led the Wolfpack to the past five Division I girls sweepstakes titles at the prestigious meet.

Great Oak, the top-ranked boys and girls teams in the state this season, set the all-time Mt. SAC girls course record last year at the Southern Section Division I final by clocking 87 minutes, 57 seconds.

Hagin coached at El Toro from 1985-2013, guiding 10 teams to the Division I state meet, including the 2005 runner-up. The Chargers advanced to the first two Nike Team Nationals in Oregon in 2004-05.

Hagin mentored a pair of Division I state cross country champions in Brandon Bethke (2004) and Juan Gonzalez (2012). Bethke, who attended the event in support of Hagin, was also a Nike and Foot Locker All-American in 2004.

Lompoc's 1972 team won the Mt. SAC Invitational and then returned later in the season to capture the Southern Section Division 4-A title in the first year the finals were held at Mt. SAC.

Roger Fabing, Steve Galbraith, Alvin Gilmore, Jim Warrick and Terry Williams represented Lompoc at the ceremony. Tony Nunez and Jim Schankel were unable to attend.

Williams won the section title in 1972, with Schankel, Warrick, Gilmore and Fabing all placing in the top 10 to produce a 26-point effort, still the lowest total for a large division champion. Lompoc defeated runner-up Palos Verdes by 92 points, the largest margin of victory in a championship meet in section history, to capture its fourth consecutive division title.

Warrick has been the coach at Lompoc for 33 seasons. Fabing is in his seventh season coaching at Orcutt Academy.

McGuire, who attended Mt. SAC, has been instrumental as a historian and special events contributor throughout the years for cross country as well as track and field events.

Gutierrez, who traveled from Washington D.C. to attend the ceremony, also attended Mt. SAC. He is responsible for the artwork on the invitational's annual T-shirt.

The Ruh family has contributed to the invitational for more than 50 years, with Don a past meet director. They still coordinate the elementary and middle school portion of the meet, with Marc responsible for the cover art and awards for the event.

Ken Reeves, a 2006 hall of fame inductee and Foothill Technology coach, was the emcee for the event, with Mt. SAC women's cross country coach and special events director Doug Todd serving as the host.