Chester "Chet" Cruikshank (May 25, 1913 – November 1970) was an American track and field athlete. Cruikshank was national champion in men's hammer throw in 1939 and 1942 and national junior champion in 1935; he was also a good discus thrower. During World War II he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in the Battle of Anzio.

Athletic career

Cruikshank became a top track athlete at Ault High School and remained so at Colorado State University.[1][2] His main events were the hammer throw and the discus throw,[2] but he also competed in other events, including shot put and high jump.[3] In addition, he played as an end on the Colorado State Rams football team, winning conference football titles in 1933 and 1934.[2]

At the 1933 NCAA championships Cruikshank placed second in the hammer throw, throwing 155 ft 11+1⁄4 in (47.52 m) and losing to Roderick Cox of Michigan by only an inch and a half.[4][5] At the national (AAU) championships later that summer Cruikshank threw 160 ft 6+7⁄8 in (48.94 m) and finished as the top American;[6] however, he still only placed second to Olympic champion Pat O'Callaghan of Ireland, who was also taking part and won the title.[6][7] In the 1934 NCAA meet Cruikshank threw the hammer 163 ft 10+3⁄4 in (49.95 m), but lost to Henry Dreyer, Pete Zaremba and Donald Favor; the top five all threw well beyond the previous year's winning mark.[5][8] In the discus Cruikshank placed sixth.[9]

Cruikshank set his personal discus best, 160.45 feet (48.90 m), in May 1935;[10] it was also a Rocky Mountain Conference record, but only briefly, as Hugh Cannon broke it the following week.[11] Cruikshank was allowed to compete in the 1935 NCAA championships, even though he was in his fourth year of collegiate track and field competition; at the time, collegiate eligibility was normally limited to three years per sport, and Cruikshank had been taking part in varsity track meets since his freshman year.[12] He was a leading favorite in the hammer throw,[12] but despite throwing 159 ft 10+1⁄4 in (48.72 m) he lost to Anton Kishon of Bates by almost nine feet and took second.[5][13] In the discus he placed seventh.[9] At the 1935 AAU championships Cruikshank won the junior hammer title; in the senior competition, he threw 165 ft 6+1⁄2 in (50.45 m) and placed second to Dreyer.[6][14][15]

Cruikshank entered the 1936 season as one of the favorites to qualify for the American team for the Olympics in Berlin,[16] but at that summer's Olympic Trials his best throw of 166 ft 10+5⁄8 in (50.87 m) was only good enough for fourth place. He lost to Donald Favor, who got the third and final Olympic spot, by less than eight inches.[17] Cruikshank won his first national senior hammer title in the 1939 championships, throwing 174 ft 1+1⁄2 in (53.07 m).[6] At the 1940 championships he threw 176 ft 3+1⁄4 in (53.72 m), which was and would remain his personal best,[10] but he still only placed third behind Stanley Johnson and Bob Bennett.[6][18] Cruikshank won his second national title in 1942 while on leave from the U.S. Army,[2] throwing 173 ft 8+1⁄2 in (52.94 m) and beating defending champion Irving Folwartshny by more than five feet.[6]

Due to World War II Cruikshank missed the national championships of 1943 and 1944, but he returned in 1945 and immediately placed fourth despite not having trained much during the war years;[2] the low quality of that year's competition helped, as he only needed to throw 147 ft 9+1⁄2 in (45.04 m), the lowest fourth-place mark since 1926.[6] He continued competing for several more years, placing in the top six at the national championships in every year until 1948;[6] he also placed sixth, with a throw of 161 ft 5+3⁄4 in (49.22 m), at the 1948 Olympic Trials.[19]

Cruikshank was inducted into the Colorado State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 for his achievements in football and track and field.

Military career

Cruikshank joined the military through Colorado State University's Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, serving in the Colorado Army National Guard before it was federalized.[20] During World War II he originally served in the 157th Infantry Regiment, formed out of the Colorado National Guard, and later in the 180th Infantry Regiment; he first saw action in Italy in the summer of 1943 as a major of the 180th Infantry.[2] In the Battle of Anzio in 1944 Cruikshank led his battalion as a lieutenant colonel, earning a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in the battle.[2][20] Cruikshank also earned both the Bronze Star and the Silver Star during the war.[2][21]

References

  1. ↑ "Seen from the Bench". Greeley Daily Tribune. September 27, 1932. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hirn, John (January 3, 2013). "Chester Cruikshank". CSURams.com. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ "The 1936 Silver Spruce". Colorado State University. 1936. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ "4 World Marks Bettered In N.C.A.A.; Louisiana State Wins". Daily Illini. June 18, 1933. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships: Men's Hammer Throw" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2014". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ Hoffman, John C. (July 1, 1933). "Cunningham, Metcalfe Win 2 Events Each". Hammond Times. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Torrance Gets Shotput Record". Spokane Daily Chronicle. June 23, 1934. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships: Men's Discus Throw" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  10. 1 2 All-Time List As At 31 December 1945, Association of Track and Field Statisticians
  11. ↑ "Athletes to Assail Fine Marks Saturday". The Daily Herald. May 23, 1935. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Cannon, Walton Cruikshank Gain Way to Select Field". Salt Lake City Tribune. June 22, 1935. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  13. ↑ "U.S.C. Wins NCAA Meet; Owens Breaks 3 Records". Nevada State Journal. June 23, 1935. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Schofield Wins In National AAU Meet; Excels Hurdle Mark". The Daily Herald. July 5, 1935. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  15. ↑ At the time, the United States junior championships were not an under-20 competition; athletes of any age could compete, but former champions from major collegiate, national or international meets were ineligible.
  16. ↑ Gould, Alan (Associated Press) (March 25, 1936). "Coast Leads in Olympic Stars". Prescott Evening Courier. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  17. ↑ Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field". USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-24. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Notes On An Ex-Champ Still At Top". Abilene Reporter-News. March 22, 1942. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  19. ↑ Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field". USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Valor awards for Chester G. Cruikshank". MilitaryTimes.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-19. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Sports Slants: Weighty Matters" (PDF). Amsterdam Evening Recorder. June 28, 1945. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
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