Dave Klicker, the most dominant athlete at the 1957 and 1958 Northwest Conference Track & Field Championships, won an NAIA national title in the 400-meter hurdles at the end of his junior season. He was national runner-up in the same event in 1956 and 1958.
Klicker, a native of Walla Walla, capped his dominance of the NWC at the 1958 meet, winning four events (220-yard dash, 120-yard high hurdles, 220-yard low hurdles, long jump) and placing second in the high jump.
With Klicker scoring more than a third of its points, Whitman defended its team title, and a banner headline in the Oregon Journal newspaper proclaimed . . . Klicker Goes Wild in NWC.
At the 1958 NAIA District Meet, Klicker tied his own district record in winning the 120-yard high hurdles. He also won the 220-yard low hurdles and anchored Whitman’s victorious mile relay team. He won the meet MVP award for a second straight year.
Klicker led Whitman to the NWC title in 1957, winning the 220 as well as the low and high hurdles, and placing second in the long jump and high jump. At the 1956 NWC meet, he won the low hurdles and tied for first in the high jump.
After Whitman, Klicker continued to train for the 1960 Olympics, but he lost his spot at the U.S. Olympic Trials due to changes in qualifying procedures. He died in 2006 after a long career as a teacher and coach in Walla Walla.
