Hall of Fame
A two-time All-America honoree in the discus throw, John MacMenamin remains one of the top throwers in program history. He set the program record of 179’ 3” in the discus throw during the qualifying rounds of the 1980 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which was believed to be the fourth-best throw in Division III history at the time.
The Granville High School product finished second in the discus throw at the 1978 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships and won the SUNYAC title in the event all four years of college.
In addition to his accomplishments in track and field, he competed as an offensive tackle and snapped punts on the Plattsburgh State football team during his sophomore year.
Date of Induction into Cardinal Sports Hall of Fame:
October 18, 2019
Where is he now:
John’s employment history includes 19 years at The Stuart News, most of which were as the circulation single copy manager; 19 years at Pressure-Pro, most of which were as a territory sales manager and his current occupation of salesman at American Pressure Systems.
He currently resides in Port St. Lucie, Fla., with his wife, Brenda, whom he met while attending SUNY Plattsburgh. They have four grown children: John Daniel (34), Juli (31), Amy (28) and Heather (26). John cites his greatest personal accomplishment as raising, along with Brenda, four children who “are great people and very successful.” He also is proud of Brenda and his active involvement in their local church. Professionally, he is most proud of his work at Pressure-Pro. He created a 56-page parts catalog that was used for nine years. When he started working there, they had 15 employees with annual sales of $5 million. When he left, Pressure-Pro had more than 100 employees with annual sales of $50 million.
Favorite Plattsburgh State Sports Moment:
“At the 1980 Division III nationals, the day before the finals was qualifying. It was the perfect wind for throwing discus, and I had my best throw ever (179’ 3”), which put me in second after qualifying. Someone came up to me and said it was the fourth-best throw in the history of the Division III nationals. Al Oerter won his first of four Olympic gold medals with a throw of 185’ 10”. Edwin Moses competed at one of the nationals I competed at. I remember walking behind him on the track. He had the longest legs, and the shortest shorts I’d ever seen! Of course he won the 400-meter hurdles. In the mile relay he ran anchor. When he got the stick, his team (Morehouse) was way behind. Edwin ran a smoking split and they won. Edwin Moses won 122 races in a row, 107 finals. He won the gold medal in the Olympics in 1976 and 1984. He also broke the world record four times. In the movie about the Dream Team, Michael Jordan talks about being in awe of Edwin Moses’ accomplishments. At one of the nationals I went to, Jim Ryan served us in the dinner line. Jim was the first high school runner to run the mile in under four minutes and won the silver medal in the Olympics in 1968.”
