Top row, left to right: Jerry Tucker, Gary Singer, Roger Casillas, Richard Flores, Henry Perez. Front row: Assistant Coach Dean Raymond, Richard Van Slyke, Keith Jacobson, Joe Cordova Jr. Not pictured: Coach Merv Smith
The 1974 Delta College Men’s Cross Country, coached by former Hall of Fame inductee Merwin “Merv” Smith (cross country and track) and assisted by Dean Raymond, was one
of the most successful Cross Country teams ever to compete from this area.
The talent and achievement of the Delta Men’s Cross Country Team won the Northern California Cross Country title in three consecutive years, 1973-75. The 1974 team consisted of local high school long distance running superstars. They won 20 consecutive dual meets, the 1974 Valley Conference Championship, placed 3rd in the State Meet, and also placed 3rd in the PAAU Junior National Cross Country Championship. Their combined 4-mile team time was an average of 19:30, a feat which has not been achieved in the last 45 years. Running under the banner “Big Valley Harriers” and “Sundance Track Club,” the Delta Cross Country runners also won several team races throughout Northern California. Members of the 1974 Delta Men’s Cross Country team included three sophomores and five freshmen.
