Joni Huntley | gutfest

The 2016 Grand Marshal for the Dragging the Gut Festival is Yamhill County's own two time Olympian, and recent National High School Hall of Fame inductee - Sheridan's legendary All-American Joni Huntley!

Her accomplishment are long and detailed below, but she is best known for winning the Bronze Medal at the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984. She also was fifth at Montreal in 1976.

Huntley was born in McMinnville and raised in Sheridan where she graduated in 1974. At Sheridan she lead both her track & Field, and basketball teams to the state championship.

She was a three-time state champion in track & field in the high jump, becoming the first woman in America to clear six feet. In addition, she was state champion in the 100 yard hurdles, and the 100 yard dash. The All-American was the USA National High Jump Champion in 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977.

This isn't her only honor this summer. just weeks ago she was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Reno. As the first Oregon woman to enter the Hall, she's in good company with past Oregon honoreers: Steve Prefontaine, Danny Ainge, Dewey Sullivan, and Dr. Thad Stanford.

She was also honored this spring being named to the Pacific-12 Conference All-Century woman's track & field team. She holds the OSU's high jump mark (6-2) and second all-time in the long jump (19-6.25).

Huntley set the American high jump record of 6-0 1/4 that stood for 39 years. Her first year at OSU she was national AIAW Champion in the high, and long jumps. One of OSU's all-time great female athletics, she was ranked number one five different times in the U.S. in the high jump.

She won the Gold Medal at the Pan American Games in 1975, receiving the bronze there eight years later.

She was elected to the Oregon State Sports Hall of Fame in 1988, and to the Oregon Sports Hall of fame in 1990.

Joni Huntley was groundbreaking at Oregon State, being the first woman to receive an athletic scholarship there.

She retired from teaching in Portland, but keeps her hand in it as a part-time teacher, and as a supervisor at Concordia, also doing personal tutoring.

We are so happy to be able to honor Sheridan legend Joni Huntley who is one of the great female athletics in Oregon history. Her accomplishments set records, and broke new ground.

You can come down and wave and congratuate Joni Huntley when she appears at 7 p.m. being driven down the Gut as this year's Grand Marshal of the Dragging the Gut Festival, Saturday, August 27, 2016.

Congratulations 2016 Grand Marshal Joni Huntley!