The saying goes that “Father Time” is undefeated but Dave Quick may well have dispelled that theory. And they say big things come in small packages. There couldn’t be a better definition of this guy. He entered North High in 1969, stretching out at 5’ tall and weighing 80 lbs. He graduated a gigantic 5’8” and 122 pounds!!!
When Dave was a sophomore in what may have been a first and only time in North high school history, all three of his other brothers were in school at the same time. Mike (Class of ’71), Pat (Class of ’72) and Jack (Class of ’74) were all there at the same time!!
He graduated from Standard Jr. High in 1969, then went on to North High and competed in football and track and field all four years. While at North High he was on the Class “C” football team his first two years and JV’s as a junior. As a senior he was a defensive back on the varsity. Although weighing just 122 lbs., North’s legendary coach Turk Eliades had him listed at 40 pounds heavier in the program so teams wouldn’t run plays at him. To show you his heart, in one game he went up against the great Foothill High and future NBA star Lonnie Shelton (6’6”-250 lbs.) and defended all 5 passing attempts thrown to him.
After a stellar track and field career at North High, Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield, Quick went on the become somewhat of a legend on the Masters track and field circuit. The Masters is track and field’s equivalent to golf’s senior tour. His exploits as a triple jumper at all levels borders on amazing.
He set school records in the triple jump at every level. His high school idol and mentor was the great Mark Drennan and his big thrill was breaking his school record in the TJ. From there to Bakersfield College where he was an All-Metropolitan Conference selection both years under the legendary coach Bob Covey. As a soph he was the SoCal Champ and favored in the State meet but a motorcycle mishap kept him from competing. He was elected to the BC track and field Hall of Fame in 2004.
Cal State Bakersfield came calling after BC and as a Jr. was All-CCAA Conference and made All-American under another legendary coach, Charlie Craig. That year he set the school record in the triple jump at the conference meet with a leap of 51’3.” He was injured on his first jump and had actually fallen to 2nd place before convincing Coach Craig he could jump again, then winning the meet. He dropped out of school and incredibly returned to compete 16 years later and more than held his own. He placed 3rd in the CCAA Conference meet in 1996 at 40 years old. He also competed for CSUB in 2007 as a 41-year old in an indoor meet.