Eastern Washington University Athletics

A two-time All-American and still the school record holder in the 800 meters outdoors, Kiesel had a short but impressive two-year career at Eastern. A graduate of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash., he attended Spokane Community College before transferring to Eastern in fall 1976 when he competed for the school’s cross country team. In his first season, his personal record in the 800 meters dropped from 1:51.7 to 1:48.51 as he won the NAIA District 1 championship (1:53.6) and helped Eastern to the team title. He advanced to the NAIA Championships where he placed fourth with a school-record time of 1:48.51 to earn All-America honors. After missing the 1978 season because of an injury, he was the No. 2 ranked 800-meter runner in NAIA and Division II in 1979. He won the NAIA District 1 title in the 800 (1:53.2) and anchored the winning mile relay team (3:17.1) as Eastern won yet another team title. He failed to place at the NAIA Championships, but placed fifth in the NCAA Division II Championships with a time of 1:49.0 to earn All-America honors for the second time. He had great success in Oregon, winning the 500-yard title at the Oregon Indoor in Portland with a meet record and school record time of 59.5, then anchored the winning mile relay team that set a school record with a 3:31.7 time. Later in the year, he won the 800 at the prestigious Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. His outdoor 800 time (1:48.51) has stood as a school record since 1977, and his best indoor time of 1:51.7 in 1979 was a school record for 11 years. He ran the anchor leg of a 4x800 indoor team in 1977 that had a time of 7:43.6 that stood as a school record for nine years. Said former Eastern track and field coach Jerry Martin: “From my standpoint, his contributions to Eastern’s team success during that time were as great as the honors he won. He was very team-oriented and was always willing to run relays or any event when asked. He was a positive influence on younger runners.” Kiesel has already been inducted into the Community Colleges of Spokane Hall of Fame, and in 2009 he was inducted into the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Hall of Fame. He won the NWAACC championship in the 800 in both 1975 and 1976 with a best of 1:51.95 in 1976. He helped SCC win the 4x400 Relay championships both years with a best time of 3:11.60 in 1976. He went on to coach at Rogers and Mead high schools in Spokane, and his 2007 and 2008 cross country squads at Mead won the State 4A championship. Kiesel is a health and fitness instructor at Mead and is still the team’s boys cross country coach.