Hall of Fame
In the words of Coach Jim Crakes: “Rick Penman came to Point Loma College in the fall of 1987 as all-around athlete from Carlsbad High School where he had been a member of the cross country, track, soccer and golf teams. Because he was a person with the special gift of making the most of his talents, perhaps more than any other athlete under my tutelage, he was able to focus his competitive nature in such a way as to push far beyond what others with similar talents would achieve.”
Penman did some pretty remarkable things when he attended Point Loma as a student-athlete. He was the physical and spiritual leader of a small bank of dedicated runners who continued the school’s long domination of men’s District Three distance running from 1988 through 1992. He was the mainstay of cross country teams that won an unprecedented five consecutive GSAC Conference Championships and four consecutive District Three titles.
Whether it was the 3000m steeplechase, the 5000m and 10000m or the 26-mile marathon, Penman was always in the thick of battle for top honors. In the culmination of an exemplary collegiate career, he won the 1991 NAIA National Marathon Championship and it was the first time he had run that distance competitively.
In 1990, Penman was the Meguiar Outstanding Male Athlete award winner. He was also selected as an NAIA Academic All-American.
As a bio-chem major, he went on to Dentistry School and served several years as an assistant professor of pediatric dentistry at Loma Linda University.
The award for Outstanding Achievement by an Athlete was presented to Penman by Bob Brower
