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By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist

In a conference not known for track and field, two track and field athletes are among the West Coast Conference’s Hall of Honor inductees for 2019, to be feted in a March 9 ceremony in Las Vegas.

Nominated by their alma maters for inclusion in the Hall of Honor are BYU’s Tiffany Lott-Hogan and Loyola Marymount’s Tara Welling (Erdmann).

Lott-Hogan was a versatile athlete who once broke a world record held by the great Jackie Joyner Kersee and represented the U.S. at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens as a heptathlete. Welling, meanwhile, is the greatest distance runner in LMU history and remains a competitive runner in road races eight years after graduation.

“I thought it was pretty cool,’’ Lott-Hogan said upon learning BYU had nominated her for the Hall. “It’s not the conference I was a part of (during her career in Provo from 1994-98) but to know BYU selected me, it’s an honor. This many years beyond my years in competition, in the running to be selected for this, it’s pretty cool.’’

At BYU, Lott-Hogan developed into one of the best heptathletes in the country, earning All-America honors in indoor and outdoor track and field with a best score in the seven-event discipline of 6,211 in 1997. That was also the year she broke Joyner Kersee’s world record (7.37) in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.30 seconds.

Welling, who competed at LMU under her maiden name, Erdmann, set school records in the 5,000 (15:50.20) and 10,000 meters (33:10.15) in her senior year in 2011 and the next year improved those times to 15:33.92 and 32:09.15. She finished sixth in the 2012 Olympic Trials at the longer distance.

As well, she is the WCC’s only three-time individual winner in cross country among the women. A look at her winning times from 2008, 2010 and 2011 show the dramatic progress she made during her career at LMU. Erdmann’s winning time in 2008 on the nearly 3-mile course at Crystal Springs on the Peninsula south of San Francisco was 21 minutes, 54 seconds. In 2010, she shaved her first-place finish to 20:21, a time she improved to 20:01 in her senior year in 2011, which remains the course record.

“I was really surprised that they would choose a track and field and cross-country runner,’’ Welling said of her impending Hall of Honor induction. “It’s really great. I absolutely love LMU. Every time I’m in L.A., I go to LMU and visit with (former coach) Scott (Guerrero). We’ve stayed in touch. He was at my wedding.’’

A few years later, she’s a first-time mom. Welling gave birth to daughter Malia on Jan. 11. Malia will undoubtedly be the youngest guest at the Hall of Honor ceremony, to be well cared for by Welling’s husband, Jordan, as well as her parents and in-laws.

“She’ll be there,’’ Welling said. “It will be her first airplane ride.’’

Having competed in track and field, Welling, 29, and Lott-Hogan, 43, will have some common ground in a 2019 class that includes three basketball players, two soccer players, a volleyball player, a rower and a tennis coach.

Welling is taking a break from road racing as she recovers her strength following her pregnancy. She intends to resume running later this year with a preference for half-marathons, or 13.1 miles. Lott-Hogan remains involved in track and field as an assistant coach at Weber State in charge of sprints, hurdles, high jump, long jump and triple jump, as befitting a multi-event athlete.

Lott-Hogan’s best marks in the seven events of the heptathlon are 12.72 in the 100 hurdles, 5-foot-10 in the high jump, 49-9 in the shot put, 24.35 in the 200, 20-4 in the long jump, 179-2 in the javelin and 2:22.50 in the concluding 800 meters.

It was at BYU that Lott-Hogan developed as a multi-event athlete under coach Craig Pool. She won NCAA heptathlon titles in 1994-95-97-98, sitting out 1996 while recovering from a torn ACL. She also won NCAA individual titles in the 100 hurdles and javelin in ’95 and ’97.

“I loved my college experience,’’ Lott-Hogan said. “I had amazing teammates. I had teammates who pushed me farther than I thought I could go. I loved the people I trained with. We had this synergy between us, making each other better.’’

It was at age 12 that Lott-Hogan decided she wanted to be an Olympian. It only took her 17 years to get there. She just missed making the 2000 Olympic team as she finished an agonizing fourth in the Trials but secured her spot four years later with a second-place finish at the Trials. She finished 20^th at Athens but realized her dream.

“It was pretty awesome,’’ she said. “I had this goal from the time I was 12 years old. By the time I made the 2004 Olympics I was 29. So, it was a long time coming. It worked out for me. What better place to go than Athens, Greece? To be on the field experiencing (the Opening Ceremony) was awesome. Your Olympic Games is under way.’’

Lott-Hogan lives in Ogden, Utah, with husband Brent and their three children, sons Keplar, 17, and Bennet, 13, and daughter Brene’, 8.

Welling grew up a soccer player in Tucson and did start running seriously until her sophomore year in high school. She did not develop fully in the sport until she came to LMU under Guerrero’s direction. The school, location and coach were what she was looking for in a college.

“It was the coach and the program and location and the school itself,’’ she said. “The first thing I looked at was the coach. Going to a powerhouse school was not a necessity to me. After taking my visit, I knew Scott was the one to take me where I needed to be. It was a long-term development from the coach’s point of view. It all went into finding the right fit.’’

Welling and her husband moved to Portland in 2012 for his job at Nike. Welling’s job at the moment is to care for what will be the youngest guest at the WCC’s Hall of Honor ceremony.