Gehert Kleinspehn
Sport: Track & Field: (Inducted 1977-78)

Gehert Kleinspehn came to Lafayette with just one year of track and field experience, but when he left the campus in 1919, he had shattered nearly all Leopard records from 880 yards through the mile. The captain of the 1919 track team, Kleinspehn established himself as one of the all-time Lafayette greats and one of the finest middle distance runners in the nation during a sparkling five-year varsity career.

He was the first Leopard athlete to win a first place medal in the IC4A meet, and his 4:24 clocking in the 1918 IC4A competition not only outclassed the field that day, it was the fastest time recorded by a collegian in the mile that year. He also captured the Middle Atlantic States Conference titles in the half mile and the mile, setting a new meet record with his 4:47.4 time. He was named to several All-America teams in 1918. Kleinspehn set new College standards in the half mile, the 1,000-yard run and the mile. The Edward Hart Fellowship student in Chemistry, Kleinspehn earned his degree at Lafayette in 1918 before going on to the Harvard Graduate School of Science as a university scholar.

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