Rod DeHaven - Inducted 2013
A Huron High and South Dakota State grad, DeHaven was the entire U.S. marathon team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
The next year he placed sixth at the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, where he ran his personal best of 2:11:40. He also qualified for the 2004 Olympic trials but injury kept him from competing. He also competed in the 1,500 meters at the 1988 trials and the 10,000 and the marathon at the 1996 trials.
In 1994, he made his marathon debut, posting a time of 2:14:48 at the Twin Cities Marathon. In 1995, he set personal bests in the 5,000 (13:40) and 10,000 (28:06), finishing fourth at the U.S. Championships in the 10,000. In 1998, he emerged as one of the top Americans on the roads, winning the U.S. Half Marathon Championship, running a then career-best 2:13:01 at the Chicago Marathon and winning the USA Road Running Circuit. He was the top American finisher in the marathon at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain, finishing 24th.
At SDSU, he won the North Central Conference cross country title all four years, leading the Jackrabbits to four NCC titles. He placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Division II nationals all four years, and he led the Jackrabbits to the 1985 Division II title.
In track, he won one NCAA Division II title and was runner-up four times. He won the Division II indoor 1,500 in 1985 and finished in the top five in the 1,500 outdoors three times. In 1986, he was a Division I All-American in the mile, finishing eighth at the D-I indoor meet. He set seven school records, four of which still stand (indoor 1,500, 3:47.4; indoor mile, 4:00.96; outdoor 800, 1:48.67; and outdoor 1,500, 3:40.17). In all, DeHaven was a 16-time All-American and won 20 individual NCC championships.
At Huron, he won the 1,600 and 3,200 and anchored the Tigers’ winning 3,200 relay at the state track meets in 1983 and ’84, earning meet MVP honors both years. He also was unbeaten in cross country as a senior.
DeHaven has been the track and cross country coach at SDSU since 2004. The women’s cross country team won the 2006 Division I Independent Championship and the 2008 Summit League meet, while the men’s team won the 2005 Independent Championship and captured three of the last four Summit titles. On the track, the men and women have been runners-up in the Summit both indoors and outdoors during his tenure.
