Wagner coached both OSU athletes at the Pan American games in Mexico City, where they both won gold medals. He coached at OSU from 1966 to 1975, compiling a dual meet record of 49-24. He led OSU to four top six finishes at the NCAA Championships, where the 1969 squad finished second. Nine of his athletes won individual NCAA titles, and fifteen athletes won twenty-three All-American honors. Tom Woods was a four-time All-American in the high jump and captured the 1972 NCAA title. Huntley competed at OSU in 1975 and participated on two U.S. Olympic teams. In the early 1970s, OSU was called the “high jump capital of the world” by some sportswriters due to the success of Dick Fosbury, Woods, Huntley and other Beaver high jumpers.
Dick Fosbury attended OSU from 1965-1969 and is remembered today as the inventor of the "Fosbury Flop" high jump technique. He won two national championships and an Olympic gold medal while revolutionizing the sport with his innovative approach to jumping higher.
Huntley competed for OSU in 1975, and later competed for the United States national team in the 1976 and 1984 Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 1984. She was ranked the no. 1 female high jumper in the United States five times. She also served as an assistant track and field coach for OSU in 1981.
Kelly makes use of the straddle technique used by many high jumpers prior to the full implementation of the Fosbury Flop, created and popularized by Kelly's teammate, Dick Fosbury.
