Cecilia Ley Hankinson

Cecilia Ley Hankinson with Bob McQuarrie

Born in Olympia, Wash on March 26, 1944, Cecilia Ley Hankinson dominance in track and field earned her a place in the record books. A student at the Aquinas Academy in Tacoma, Wash., Hankinson had already made her mark on the sport by the time she graduated in 1962.

On June 4, 1960, Hankinson set a record with the fastest time of any female on the Pacific Coast in the 100 yard dash (11.3 seconds). She also recorded the highest jump of any female in the United States (5' 1/2"). Her performances earned Outstanding Athlete recognition at the Olympia meet. At the National Junior Olympics the same year, she set a senior division record with a high jump of five feet, two-and-one-half inches.

In July 1960, Hankinson placed sixth in the high jump at the senior women's Olympic trials in Abilene, Texas, at only 16 years of age. She broke the record the next year, setting an American girls' record at the National Junior Championships with a jump of five feet, three-and-one-quarter inches.

Upon graduation from Aquinas, Hankinson enrolled at Olympic Community College. She continued to compete in track and field, taking part in the Invitational Nationals in Los Angeles in 1962. In 1963 Ley competed in the AAU Pentathlon and set a Northwest record pentathlon record consisting of five events--80-meter hurdles, shot put, high jump, broad jump and the 200-meter dash.

The Olympic Committee chose Hankinson in 1964 to serve as a United States delegate for the Tokyo Olympics. In 1988, she became the first woman inducted into the Bellarmine High School Hall of Fame.

It wasn't all fame and glory for Cecilia and teammate Doris Severtson, who would go on to become a World Cross Country champion and Olympian better known as Doris Brown Heritage. Equipment for the Mic Macs Track Team under the guidance of coach Robert McQuarrie was primitive and scarce. Opportunities to compete were minimal but McQuarrie stood his ground.

"A large group of people in the Unites States are talking about the poor showing made b our women athletes in a dual track meet held in Moscow, Russia on July 20-21. Talk is cheap and cheap talk will not help our women athletes", said McQuarrie.

"Women interested in track receive very little encouragement from the public and they do not have a well-organized track program like the boys and men. We have tried for years to get track for girls in our schools, and to date we have made very little progress. In this country it took 70 years for women to be accepted in tennis and golf. We are hoping it will not take that long for them to be accepted in track," concluded McQuarrie.