But before ARPXC, Tallahassee saw at least three national championship cross-country events. The first of those was the fifteenth annual National Junior College Athletic Association Cross-Country National Championship, held at Seminole Golf Course on Saturday, 10 November 1973. The 1973 NJCAA meet is the topic for this "Results From The Attic" blog.
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| Cross-country at FSU's Seminole Golf Course |
Tallahassee Community College didn't have a cross-country program in 1973, but more than a few Florida two-year colleges did, such as Pensacola Junior College. PJC had hosted the NJCAA national championship meet in 1966 and 1972. Jacksonville's Florida Junior College (later Florida Community College-Jacksonville and now Florida State College Jacksonvillle) also competed in cross-country. FJC was selected to host the 1973 NJCAA meet, but turned to Tallahassee for a venue, where Florida State University had successfully held their Cross-Country Invitational and other meets on the Seminole Golf Course and adjoining FSU Dairy Farm (closed since 1969). So, as JuCo Review laconically reported, "The race was hosted by Florida Junior College of Jacksonville, Florida, but run at FSU because of superior facilities."
It wasn't a meet you could hold in a school yard. There were 35 teams and more than 360 athletes. Seminole Golf Course had ample wide opens spaces, and the course featured a 600-yard opening straight before the runners made their first turn, veering left to follow an old Dairy Farm Road. Even so, traffic was still a problem. Paul Stemmer, racing for Pittsburgh's Community College of Allegheny County, got caught up in the mob.
"Stemmer...started unusually slow and had to fight through the crowd of more than 360 runners," reported the Pittsburgh Press. "Because of his slow start, he was boxed in at the first turn 600 yards from the starting line and ran into the steel pole marking the boundary. It shook him up but he was not injured."
Failing to run through the pole, Stemmer went around it. Shaking off his collision, he moved up through the field to take fourth for the Wildcats, running 18:53. Five Allegheny County harriers cracked the top 25 and made NJCAA All-American--Stemmer, Howie Orndoff (13th, 19:09), Bob Beck (23rd, 19:21), John Jennings (24th, 19:22), and Brian Dodge (25th, 19:23). That gave Allegheny County 72 points. But well in front of Stemmer, John Roscoe of Southwestern Michigan had won the race in 18:41.5. Southwestern Michigan had two other All-Americans, Tim Tobin (12th, 19:09) and Brian Petroff (16th, 19:12). Their other two scorers were Pat Tobin (27th, 19:26) and Ed Muro (31st, 19:30). Those five totaled 72 points as well. Allegheny County and Southwestern Michigan had tied for the NJCAA title.
If you look through the finishers of the 1973 race, you'll see many athletes who went on to run for four-year schools. John Roscoe, the winner, raced for Kansas after leaving Southwestern Michigan. Roscoe also made the 1975 USA National Team that went to the World Cross-Country Championships in Rabat, Morocco, where his teammates included Olympians Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, and Jeff Galloway.
Once all 360 or so athletes had crossed the finish line, the meet was over. There was only one race. NJCAA didn't add Division II and Division III competition till 1991. Women had to wait till 1976 for their own championship. When Tallahassee hosts the NJCAA Championship again in 2022, the meet at Apalachee Regional Park will include Division I and Division II, men and women, for a total of four races.
Below are the results from the 1973 NJCAA Cross-Country National Championship Meet at Seminole Golf Course.
Team Standings, 1973 NJCAA Cross-Country National Championships
- Allegheny County, 72
Southwestern Michigan, 72 - Golden Valley Lutheran, 129
- Phoenix College, 164
- Lane, 170
- Lake City, 295
- Odessa, 303
- Mermac, 325
- Florida, 328
- Johnson and Wales, 376
- Miami Dade South, 386
- Mohawk Valley, 387
- Northwest, 413
- Lansing, 435
- Hutchinson, 460
- Haskell Indian, 462
- Brevard, 466
- Pensacola, 517
- Lincoln Land, 527
- Lakeland, 544
- Orange County, 549
- Colby, 564
- Butler County, 572
- Sante Fe, 605
- Oakland, 633
- East Oklahoma State, 651 Camden County, 651
- Florissant Valley, 678
- John C. Calhoun, 706
- Erie, 733
- Allen County, 740
- Vincennes, 791
- Oakton, 831
- Jefferson State, 1008
- Somerset, 1021
Top 100 Men, 1973 NJCAA Cross-Country National Championships
- 18:41.5, John Roscoe (SWM)
- 18:46, Bernard Rose (ODE)
- 18:49, Jeff Jirele (ODE)
- 18:53, Paul Stemmer (ALG)
- 18:57, Glen Wilburn (LLC)
- 19:01, David Smith (HYF)
- 19:02, Gus Loukes (EMD)
- 19:03, Rob Waugh (PHX)
- 19:05, Mike Pinocci (ODE)
- 19:07, Trevor Viljoen (ODE)
- 19:09, Tim Williams (LNC)
- 19:09, Tim Tobin (SWM)
- 19:09, Howie Orndoff (ALG)
- 19:10, Robert Hodge (JWC)
- 19:11, Robert Blount (LCY)
- 19:12, Brian Petroff (SWM)
- 19:13, Dan Dwyer (MVC)
- 19:14, Kim Taylor (LBC)
- 19:15, Rod Cooper (LNC)
- 19:16, Fred Espinoza (GLN)
- 19:17, Dan Thomas (NWC)
- 19:18, Bill Lundberg (JCC)
- 19:21, Bob Beck (ALG)
- 19:22, John Jennings (ALG)
- 19:23, Brian Dodge (ALG)
- 19:25, Paul Carter (GVL)
- 19:26, Pat Tobin (SWM)
- 19:28, Kevin Collins (FJC)
- 19:28, Craig Palmquist (PHX)
- 19:28, Terry Baker (HGR)
- 19:30, Ed Muro (SWM)
- 19:31, John Philyaw (ICC)
- 19:31, Bob Little (VNS)
- 19:31, Ron Heiniger (ALN)
- 19:31, Mark Gilman (ALG)
- 19:32, Ray Woolery (PHX)
- 19:33, Dan Aunspaugh (LNC)
- 19:35, Tom Honer (HUT)
- 19:36, Jack Lindsey (MER)
- 19:37, Randy Huskey (CLK)
- 19:38, John Sekeka (BMN)
- 19:39, Mike DeLaBruere (WRH)
- 19:39, Mark Martin (MAT)
- 19:39, Rick Celietto (GVL)
- 19:39, Dave Lawrence (MGY)
- 19:41, Pat Kelleham (GVL)
- 19:42, George Segarra (PHX)
- 19:43, Jim Graham (ORG)
- 19:44, John Mornini (MGY)
- 19:45, Joe Siediecki (PSA)
- 19:47, Tony Morrin (GVL)
- 19:47, John Dawson (CLK)
- 19:49, Vin Fleming (JWC)
- 19:50, Mark Jordan (LCY)
- 19:57, Brad Rickman (FLV)
- 19:54, Brian Hudson (SWM)
- 19:55, Ron Stetina (MER)
- 19:56, George Whitmire (LCY)
- 19:57, Julius Stewart (BCK)
- 19:58, Jim Hardin (NWC)
- 20:00, Doug Peterson (GVL)
- 20:01, George West (FJC)
- 20:02, Neil Jareczek (WWC)
- 20:02, John Grabowski (OAK)
- 20:03, Don McMillan (LSG)
- 20:04, Sean Diltz (BRE)
- 20:04, Bruce Teague (MVC)
- 20:04, Ron Petzold (CBY)
- 20:05, Tim Hanley (ARS)
- 20:06, Alan Rosenbalm (MDS)
- 20:09, John Baxter (ALG)
- 20:09, Jerry Yunker (BRE)
- 20:09, Carl Johnson (LNC)
- 20:09, Dennis Myers (LNC)
- 20:09, Frank Kramer (LCY)
- 20:10, Matt Story (COB)
- 20:10, George Shorter (ORG)
- 20:10, Charles Todd (PSA)
- 20:10, Todd Petterson (LRJ)
- 20:10, Gordon Groseclose (NWC)
- 20:10, Marty Smith (FLV)
- 20:10, Dan Duffy (GVL)
- 20:10, Dennis Bell (SWM)
- 20:10, Wes Bruner (MDS)
- 20:11, Don Cherry (NEJ)
- 20:11, Dan Gilmer (MDS)
- 20:11, Pula Mina (HIJ)
- 20:14, Jim Wasson (CBY)
- 20:16, Tim Weaver (PHX)
- 20:17, Jim Urbon (LSG)
- 20:18, Dan Hertling (MER)
- 20:20, Lynn Long (EOS)
- 20:20, Don Slack (LLC)
- 20:20, Bill Thomas (FJC)
- 20:20, Ron Piro (DUP)
- 20:20, Joe Feller (SUF)
- 20:20, Mike Smart (ESX)
- 20:20, Vic Rosa (EOS)
- 20:21, Walt Zmijewski (LKC)
- 20:28, Richard Johnson (CAM)
Links
- Results of the 1973 NJCAA Cross-Country National Championship Meet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ7UctBSVp_hKb8H__DdG4rThLexgRaR3argjP8bIEjsBMUQYBHTpVjMG7kT6RUs1xH3NY8l8sCCX8j/pubhtml
- Find cross-country races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1