Hall of Fame
Track & Field (1969-70)
Jalal Ali “Joe” Keshmiri won Far Western Conference championships in both the shot put and discus in 1969 and 1970. He transferred from Hancock College in Santa Maria, Calif., where he was the top-ranked junior college shot put and discus thrower. He started his athletic career as a soccer goalkeeper in Iran but switched to the throwing events after a coach noticed him throwing an errant discus that nearly hit him in the head during a match. Keshmiri competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and finished 20th in the discus but was unable to compete in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich because the Iranian government considered him an American citizen. Between 1966 and 1974, he won three golds, three silvers and one bronze at the Asian Games and held the Iranian record in the discus.
A 1974 graduate with a degree in physical education, Keshmiri continued competing in the masters division, holding the M60 American record in the discus for many years and briefly holding the world record in the shot put. Keshmiri stayed in Reno and worked as a contractor. He passed away in Reno in 1999. His son, Kamy, went on to win three NCAA titles in the discus for the Wolf Pack from 1990-92 and was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.
