Lansford to be inducted into PC Hall
Kristi Lansford has taken a long and winding road in her career, which included a distinguished stop at Porterville College. The next stop for Lansford is a place in the PC Athletic Hall of Fame.
Lansford will be inducted into the PC Hall along with Jennifer (Borror) Gilliam during the PC Hall of Fame Banquet on March 9 at River Island. Also during the ceremony, Bob Perez will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Lansford, a 1983 Strathmore High graduate, attended Los Angeles Baptist College, now known as The Masters College, before enlisting in the Air Force. She completed basic training as the top recruit from her graduating class. She eventually worked as a surgical technician at the Air Force Academy.
She returned to the area and attended PC where she played softball, basketball and volleyball. In basketball, she was team captain, earned all-conference, all-state and All-American honors and became a record hold.
She credits PC professor Ted Wise for encouraging to reach her potential and to make education a priority. Lansford also credited her coaches at PC, Jill Motouch and Robin Goocher for her success.
She then returned to this area and began attending Porterville College where she participated in three sports: softball, basketball and volleyball, for two years.
Lansford went on to Cal State Bakersfield where she became the school’s first ever walk on in softball, eventually earned a starting spot on the team. She eventually earned a scholarship at Cal State Bakersfield where she also earned all-conference honors.
Lansford earned a bachelor’s in communications and physical education and a master’s in education at Cal State Bakersfield. She eventually served as an assistant coach at Cal State Bakersfield where she was part of a staff that was named the California Collegiate Athletic Coaching Staff of the Year.
Lansford also served as head softball coach at Texas’ Northwood University where she lead the program to a regional title. In 2001, Lansford became head coach at Division II San Francisco State, leading the program to three straight 40-win seasons and a trip to the College World Series. She also earned California Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year honors and several of her players were named as All-Americans and academic All-Americans. Those in their fourth year of eligibility also had a 100 percent graduation rate while Lansford was at San Francisco State.
Lansford went on to become the head coach at Division II Metro State College in Denver in 2011 and is in her second season as the program’s coach.
Borror was an All-American basketball player at Porterville College. Borror led PC to a conference title in 2005 and went on to start for a team at Chico State in 2006 that advanced to the Final Four. Perez is a long-time education in Porterville who is also known for his anti-gang efforts in the community. Former Fresno State and NFL Football star Lorenzo Neal, who’s also involved in the recruiting web site worldwideathlete.com, will be the keynote speaker.
Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6:30. Tickets are $50, $275 for a table of six and $350 for a table of eight. Seating is limited and the event is expected to sell out. To purchase tickets, call the Porterville College Foundation office, 791-2319 or 784-5300.
