Christy Allen ’91 was a three-sport letter winner during her undergraduate career at McPherson College. Still the McPherson College record holder in the javelin at 139’3”, she was a 1989 NAIA track & field All-American in the javelin throw after placing fifth at the National Outdoor Championships.
Prior to her NAIA championship performance, Allen won the 1989 NAIA District 10 title javelin title.
After winning the conference title in the discus as a freshman, Allen went on to be a two-time winner in the javelin at the KCAC championships. She first won the javelin title as a sophomore, then after suffering a severe knee injury her junior year, came back to win the KCAC title again as a senior.
As a freshman, she was the KCAC runner-up in the javelin, then as a senior placed fourth in the discus.
An honorable mention All-KCAC selection and four-year letter winner in volleyball as a defensive specialist, Allen also lettered four seasons in basketball for the Bulldogs.
Selected to the Who’s Who in American College and Universities, Allen graduated from McPherson College in 1991 with a BS in physical education and a minor in biology. She then earned her Master’s of Science in biomechanics with a minor in athletic training from Kansas State University in 1994. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Human Resource Development and Technology at the University of Texas-Tyler.
Allen has taught and coached at all levels of Texas high schools, moving from Peaster High School (Class 1A), to Rains High (2A) in Emory, then Bullard High (3A) and Jacksonville High (4A), before joining the staff at John Tyler High School (5A) in 1998.
Over the past 15 years, Christy has served as a head coach in basketball, softball, volleyball, cross country, track & field. Between 2002 and 2004, she directed the Sneaky Cleats Select Softball Club and currently is the fast pitch director for National Softball of the Texas National Youth Association.
Allen resides in Tyler, Texas, where she currently teaches chemistry, physics, Pre-AP and AP physics, AP environmental science, and research and design at John Tyler High School.
Vance Carlson ’50 originally entered McPherson College in the fall of 1943, only to interrupt his education and enter the U.S. Air Force early in 1944.
Upon his return to campus, after advancing to the rank of lieutenant during World War II, Carlson earned All-KCAC basketball honors in 1947.
His collegiate athletic career came to a premature end when, after signing a contract with the New York Yankee professional baseball club, he was declared ineligible to compete further in intercollegiate sports. He would go on to have a 10-year minor league career in professional baseball.
With his college eligibility ended, Vance continued to work toward his degree, graduating in 1950. During that time he began his officiating career in football and basketball at the high school and small college levels.
Carlson would go on to be known as one of the leading football referees in collegiate football. He would be enshrined in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 after a 27-year career as a collegiate football official, primarily for the Big 8 Conference. He worked 270 major college football games. Among those were15 major bowl games including two Orange Bowls in addition to the Sugar, Aloha, Peach, Bluebonnet, and Independence Bowls. Vance served as referee for national championship games in 1971, 1978, and 1983 as well as the Thanksgiving 1971 “Game of the Century” between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Nebraska. In basketball, he was selected to officiate in two NAIA national basketball tournaments.
Named to the Kansas Baseball in 1988 and Kansas Collegiate Officials Halls of Fame in 1992, Carlson managed McPherson’s Ban Johnson baseball team to three state championships and one state semi-pro runner-up finish between 1956 and 1959. In 1975, he directed the McPherson American Legion team to a state title.
A former member of the McPherson College Board of Trustees, Carlson received the College’s Citation of Honor in 1984. After 26 years as owner and manager of Starlite Lanes and Restaurant in McPherson, Vance retired to Hays, Kan., where he currently resides.
Lee Haun ’37 lettered four years in both football and track & field at McPherson College and twice in basketball. Haun, who had never played organized football prior to coming to McPherson, would go on to be named to the 1936 All-Kansas Conference first team after being named in 1935 to the All-Kansas Conference second team. As a freshman and sophomore, Lee earned honorable mention all-conference honors.
In 1936, after scoring 53 points on seven touchdowns and 11 of 16 PAT kicks, he was named to the Topeka Daily Capital All State second team, a team selected from the 18 four-year colleges in Kansas including the University of Kansas and Kansas State Agricultural College (later Kansas State University).
In track & field, Haun set a school record in the pole vault in 1935 with a clearance of 12-feet using a bamboo pole, a record that would stand 21 years. As a freshman, Haun tied for first in the pole vault at the conference meet, then won the title outright as a sophomore before placing second his final two seasons. A versatile athlete, it wasn’t unusual to find Haun competing in multiple events including the high jump, long jump, 100-yard dash, and high hurdles as well as running on relays and throwing the discus and/or shot. In 1934, he was part of a school record 440-yard relay.
After earning his BS in Secondary Education-Industrial Arts from McPherson College in 1937, Haun taught and coached first at Little River High School, and then Raymond High, where he started the football program. In 1942 he moved to Dwight, Kan., High. During his time at Dwight in addition to teaching and coaching, he also participated in town team baseball, basketball, and football for several communities in the surrounding area.
After 14 years of teaching and coaching, Haun returned to farming and ranching for the 16 years. He then returned to the classroom and athletic field as a teacher and coach for another 10 years at Wilsey and White City high schools. Teaching everything from industrial arts and typing to physical education and physics, he coached both boys and girls sports until his retirement in 1977.
At the age of 77 the competitive juices began to flow again and Lee returned to competitive athletics as the one and only member of the Parkerville Track Club (named after his boyhood home). He would go on to win several Kansas Senior titles in the shot, discus, long jump, and high jump. At the age of 80, Haun placed second in the discus, fifth in the shot, and seventh in the high jump at the 1993 National Senior Olympics. He would continue to compete in senior track & field at the state and national levels until 2000.
While attending the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, and upon watching the finals in the pole vault, Lee remarked he could still out vault most of the competitors if they were all required to use a red elm (tree) pole.
Over the years, Haun was instrumental in a number of students coming to McPherson College, volunteering many times to drive them to campus for a visit or to visit with faculty.
After leaving the farm for a final time in the fall of 2001, Lee passed away in June 20, 2004.
Roger Kamla ’74 led the NAIA in the discus throw throughout the 1974 season, topped by his McPherson school record throw of 188’8”, before finishing third at the NAIA National Outdoor Championships.
After qualifying for the 1973 NAIA national track & field championships in the discus, he opened his 1974 season by placing sixth at the NAIA National Indoor Championships in the shot put.
A four-year letter winner, and still the McPherson College record holder in both the shot put at 53’7” and discus, Kamla won three straight KCAC discus and shot put titles, sweeping those events his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.
Following his summa cum laude graduation from McPherson with a BS in chemistry in the spring of 1974, Kamla competed for the Houston-based Gulf Coast Track Club and placed fifth nationally in the discus at the USATFF national championships.
Between 1986 and 1995, Roger was named a USATF Masters Track & Field All-American as he competed in 14 national age-group championships. In 1995, Kamla placed second in the discus and fifth in the shot at the World Veterans Games.
Kamla has remained active in athletics, coaching youth soccer, basketball, and track & field, and serving as a track & field official for McNeese State and Louisiana State University as well as Barbe High School.
He is a past officer of the Texas-Louisiana chapter of Society of Plastics Engineers, and has continued his education in chemical engineering and business with studies at McNeese State University and the University of Wisconsin.
Kamla currently resides in Lake Charles, La., where he works for Westlake Chemical as a technical service and development manager. Active in the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, he assisted in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
