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- James Segrest
James Segrest
As the lone representative of Bangs High School at the 1954 state meet James Segrest single handedly won the class B state title when he scored 34 points. Under the guidance of Coach Oliver Jackson, Segrest was a member of the 440 yard and 880 yard relay teams at Abilene Christian that set five world records in a three year span. The Wildcats team of Bobby Morrow, Segrest, Bill Woodhouse and Waymond Griggs became the first to run the 440 yard relay in under 40 seconds breaking the NCAA, American and world records with a time of 39.9 in 1957. They later reset those records with a 39.7 in 1958. Segrest was also a member of the 1958 U.S. track team that participated in the first dual meet with the Soviet Union in Moscow. He began his coaching career by guiding Monahans to the 1966 state championship. Segrest later served as the head track coach (1973-88) and athletic director (1988-95) at Odessa Junior College. His teams won 11 NJCAA National Championships, five indoor (1981-85) and six outdoor (1981-86). He was selected to coach the World University Games in 1978 and is a member of the NJCAA Track & Field Hall of Fame (1989), Abilene Christian Sports HOF (1991) and the United States Track Coaches Assn. Hall of Fame (1996). He is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2005.