In 1966, PCC men's track and field athlete Dick Railsback broke the national JC record and set a then school record of 16 feet, 5.5 inches in the pole vault at the Western State Conference championships. Railsback went on to become one of the USA's top vaulters in the late 1960s. He won two Pac-8 Conference titles in 1967 and 1969 at UCLA, including setting the Bruins' school record of 17-6-1/4. That leap beat out future U.S. Olympic gold medalist Bob Seagren (then at USC) for the conference crown. In 1968, he won the U.S. National pole vault outdoor title and then was the country's indoor champion in 1971. He was ranked as high as fourth in the world in 1969. He was inducted into the U.S. Pole Vault Hall of Fame in 2018. Railsback passed away at age 75 on June 30, 2021.