Hancock officially joins NHSACA elite
Former Mullen track boss John Hancock recognized for stellar career.
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Former Mullen track and field coach John Hancock was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame on July 28 at the Lincoln Station Great Hall.
Hancock’s highlights for more than three decades include his boys teams developing into a power that took 11 Colorado team championships. He was innovative in technique and foresight, one of the principle authorities of his time and a devout believer of giving the sport a try. Local, state and national recognition. He coached an Olympian, others who made the Trials and enough high-enders to fill multiple teams.
Another Coloradan, Duane Lewis, was in the class. He was important in boys basketball for decades over three stops, notably in Jefferson County, and coached golf.
Also a longtime football assistant coach after excelling as a schoolboy and in college, Hancock’s name is permanently etched among some of the state’s best in NHSACA annals:
1996 – Lloyd Gaskill; 1997 – Warren Mitchell; 1998 – Guy Gibbs, Dick Katte; 1999 – Joe Sisneros; 2000 – James Grieve; 2001 – Maurice Ervin, Herman Motz; 2002 – John Martin, John Miles; 2003 – Don Miller, Ken Soper; 2004 – Don Gatewood, Larry Mills; 2005 – Bill Kalb, Carl Ramunno; 2006 – Manuel Gonzales, Ken Moore; 2007 – George Rykovich, Bob Smith; 2008 – Chris Brown, Ed Kintz; 2009 – Don Adair, Sandra Cole; 2011 – Bob Bledsoe; Kirk Price; 2014 – Ron Vlasin; 2015 – Ray Barron; 2016 – Bob Marken; 2017 – John Burke, Patty Childress; 2018 – Joe Shields, Pan Fagerlund; and 2019 – Vernon Kimball, Scott Yates.
Hancock retired in 2018 and resides in Evergreen.
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