There are asterisks next to the first two state track titles that the Punahou School boys team won in 1959 and 1960. Rain cut short the meets at Alexander Field, with the host Buffanblu leading both times the competition was halted. AL ROWAN / 1926-2003
Coached Punahou
to 20 state track titlesRowan, 76, competed in basketball
and track at Maui HighBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThose were also the first state titles for Punahou coach Al Rowan. There would be no more asterisks, but there would be 18 more championships over the next 32 years for Rowan, who died at Straub Hospital early yesterday morning.
The track community has suffered a great loss, said Honolulu Quarterback Club president Mark Zeug.
"We all looked to him to learn how to do it right," said Zeug. "I just saw him (Tuesday). At least two generations of high school kids were started by his command."
The 76-year-old Rowan suffered a heart attack during his morning walk in Manoa with Kelly, his wire fox terrier, on Feb. 1. He had been hospitalized since then, said daughter Lindy Rowan.
"Dad had a wonderful life," she said. "His loves were his family, track and terriers."
Alan Hazzard Rowan was born Dec. 29, 1926, in Paia, Maui. He was a standout athlete in basketball and track at Maui High.
Following military service in the U.S. Army, he ran track at the University of Southern California. His specialty was high hurdles.
After receiving his degree in physical education from USC, Rowan returned to Hawaii to coach and teach at Mid-Pacific Institute. He went on sabbatical to obtain his master's degree in physical education at USC, where he was also an assistant coach for the Trojan track team.
Rowan returned again to Hawaii and began a long coaching and teaching career at Punahou. His Buffanblu teams won titles over five decades, from 1959 to 1990, including three strings of four consecutive championships (1967-70, 1972-75 and 1977-80).
Rowan retired from Punahou in 1992. He continued to teach part-time at the University of Hawaii in the Kinesiology and Leisure Science Department, specializing in track administration, and was an expert on track surfaces.
A nationally certified starter, Rowan continued to officiate at local meets, from high school to the Aloha State Games and Senior Olympics and most recently for the revived Wahine track program. He had never missed a state track meet through last year, a string of 44 consecutive meets.
He was a life member of the Honolulu Quarterback Club. In 1999, he received the Scotty Schumann Award for lifetime achievement.
"He was already there when I started officiating in the late '60s," said Gordon Scruton, head of the Hawaii track officials association. "My three sons ran for him. Al was an excellent high school coach, primarily because he was a teacher. The kids responded to him.
"He was not big on zeroing on the super stars. He worked with everybody. He really enjoyed what he was doing."
Duncan Macdonald ran for Rowan in the 1960s and went on to become a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team.
"He was my coach and, when I became a coach, he taught me a lot," said Macdonald, now Punahou's cross country coach. "He dedicated his life to track and was very influential in our sport. A lot of people became involved in the sport because of him.
"Maybe he wasn't Hawaii's 'Mr. Track & Field,' but he was a giant in our little world and he will be missed."
Rowan is also survived by son William, of Medford, Ore., and two grandsons, Matthew and Scott. Rowan's wife, Janet, died in 1995.
Services are scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday at Punahou School Chapel. A fund is being set up at Punahou to benefit the track program. Donations can also be made to the Hawaiian Kennel Club.