Monday, May 4, 2020

NJCAA harriers came to Tallahassee to race for a championship in 1973

Leon County established the Apalachee Regional Park Cross-Country Course on the west side of Tallahassee, Florida in 2009. A few years later, in 2016, the venue hosted a national title meet for the first time--the USATF Master's 5K National Championship. By the end of the year, ARPXC had seen two more United States championships, the AAU National Championships and the USATF National Club Championships. After that, national title meets were an annual happening at ARPXC. 2017 was the Junior Olympic National Championship. 2018 was the USATF National Championship. 2019 was the USATF National Championship, the selection meet for the USA teams at the World Cross-Country Championship Meet. Apalachee Regional Park didn't land any nationwide meets in 2020, but the NCAA-D1 National Cross-Country Championship Meet is slated for ARPXC in 2021, and the NJCAA Division I and Division II National Championships are coming in 2022.


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.

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
  1. Allegheny County, 72
    Southwestern Michigan, 72
  2. Golden Valley Lutheran, 129
  3. Phoenix College, 164
  4. Lane, 170
  5. Lake City, 295
  6. Odessa, 303
  7. Mermac, 325
  8. Florida, 328
  9. Johnson and Wales, 376
  10. Miami Dade South, 386
  11. Mohawk Valley, 387
  12. Northwest, 413
  13. Lansing, 435
  14. Hutchinson, 460
  15. Haskell Indian, 462
  16. Brevard, 466
  17. Pensacola, 517
  18. Lincoln Land, 527
  19. Lakeland, 544
  20. Orange County, 549
  21. Colby, 564
  22. Butler County, 572
  23. Sante Fe, 605
  24. Oakland, 633
  25. East Oklahoma State, 651
    26. Camden County, 651
  26. Florissant Valley, 678
  27. John C. Calhoun, 706
  28. Erie, 733
  29. Allen County, 740
  30. Vincennes, 791
  31. Oakton, 831
  32. Jefferson State, 1008
  33. Somerset, 1021

Top 100 Men, 1973 NJCAA Cross-Country National Championships
  1. 18:41.5, John Roscoe (SWM)
  2. 18:46, Bernard Rose (ODE)
  3. 18:49, Jeff Jirele (ODE)
  4. 18:53, Paul Stemmer (ALG)
  5. 18:57, Glen Wilburn (LLC)
  6. 19:01, David Smith (HYF)
  7. 19:02, Gus Loukes (EMD)
  8. 19:03, Rob Waugh (PHX)
  9. 19:05, Mike Pinocci (ODE)
  10. 19:07, Trevor Viljoen (ODE)
  11. 19:09, Tim Williams (LNC)
  12. 19:09, Tim Tobin (SWM)
  13. 19:09, Howie Orndoff (ALG)
  14. 19:10, Robert Hodge (JWC)
  15. 19:11, Robert Blount (LCY)
  16. 19:12, Brian Petroff (SWM)
  17. 19:13, Dan Dwyer (MVC)
  18. 19:14, Kim Taylor (LBC)
  19. 19:15, Rod Cooper (LNC)
  20. 19:16, Fred Espinoza (GLN)
  21. 19:17, Dan Thomas (NWC)
  22. 19:18, Bill Lundberg (JCC)
  23. 19:21, Bob Beck (ALG)
  24. 19:22, John Jennings (ALG)
  25. 19:23, Brian Dodge (ALG)
  26. 19:25, Paul Carter (GVL)
  27. 19:26, Pat Tobin (SWM)
  28. 19:28, Kevin Collins (FJC)
  29. 19:28, Craig Palmquist (PHX)
  30. 19:28, Terry Baker (HGR)
  31. 19:30, Ed Muro (SWM)
  32. 19:31, John Philyaw (ICC)
  33. 19:31, Bob Little (VNS)
  34. 19:31, Ron Heiniger (ALN)
  35. 19:31, Mark Gilman (ALG)
  36. 19:32, Ray Woolery (PHX)
  37. 19:33, Dan Aunspaugh (LNC)
  38. 19:35, Tom Honer (HUT)
  39. 19:36, Jack Lindsey (MER)
  40. 19:37, Randy Huskey (CLK)
  41. 19:38, John Sekeka (BMN)
  42. 19:39, Mike DeLaBruere (WRH)
  43. 19:39, Mark Martin (MAT)
  44. 19:39, Rick Celietto (GVL)
  45. 19:39, Dave Lawrence (MGY)
  46. 19:41, Pat Kelleham (GVL)
  47. 19:42, George Segarra (PHX)
  48. 19:43, Jim Graham (ORG)
  49. 19:44, John Mornini (MGY)
  50. 19:45, Joe Siediecki (PSA)
  51. 19:47, Tony Morrin (GVL)
  52. 19:47, John Dawson (CLK)
  53. 19:49, Vin Fleming (JWC)
  54. 19:50, Mark Jordan (LCY)
  55. 19:57, Brad Rickman (FLV)
  56. 19:54, Brian Hudson (SWM)
  57. 19:55, Ron Stetina (MER)
  58. 19:56, George Whitmire (LCY)
  59. 19:57, Julius Stewart (BCK)
  60. 19:58, Jim Hardin (NWC)
  61. 20:00, Doug Peterson (GVL)
  62. 20:01, George West (FJC)
  63. 20:02, Neil Jareczek (WWC)
  64. 20:02, John Grabowski (OAK)
  65. 20:03, Don McMillan (LSG)
  66. 20:04, Sean Diltz (BRE)
  67. 20:04, Bruce Teague (MVC)
  68. 20:04, Ron Petzold (CBY)
  69. 20:05, Tim Hanley (ARS)
  70. 20:06, Alan Rosenbalm (MDS)
  71. 20:09, John Baxter (ALG)
  72. 20:09, Jerry Yunker (BRE)
  73. 20:09, Carl Johnson (LNC)
  74. 20:09, Dennis Myers (LNC)
  75. 20:09, Frank Kramer (LCY)
  76. 20:10, Matt Story (COB)
  77. 20:10, George Shorter (ORG)
  78. 20:10, Charles Todd (PSA)
  79. 20:10, Todd Petterson (LRJ)
  80. 20:10, Gordon Groseclose (NWC)
  81. 20:10, Marty Smith (FLV)
  82. 20:10, Dan Duffy (GVL)
  83. 20:10, Dennis Bell (SWM)
  84. 20:10, Wes Bruner (MDS)
  85. 20:11, Don Cherry (NEJ)
  86. 20:11, Dan Gilmer (MDS)
  87. 20:11, Pula Mina (HIJ)
  88. 20:14, Jim Wasson (CBY)
  89. 20:16, Tim Weaver (PHX)
  90. 20:17, Jim Urbon (LSG)
  91. 20:18, Dan Hertling (MER)
  92. 20:20, Lynn Long (EOS)
  93. 20:20, Don Slack (LLC)
  94. 20:20, Bill Thomas (FJC)
  95. 20:20, Ron Piro (DUP)
  96. 20:20, Joe Feller (SUF)
  97. 20:20, Mike Smart (ESX)
  98. 20:20, Vic Rosa (EOS)
  99. 20:21, Walt Zmijewski (LKC)
  100. 20:28, Richard Johnson (CAM)

Links
#2699
Bookmark and Share
Posted by Herb Wills at 3:35 PM
Labels: , , , , , ,

3 comments:

  1. Herb WillsMay 4, 2020 at 10:04 PM

    Odessa looks like the hard-luck team of this meet. They had FOUR athletes in the top ten--Bernard Rose (2nd, 18:46), Jeff Jirele (3rd, 18:49), Mike Pinocci (9th, 19:05), and Trevor Viljoen (10th, 19:07). Yet the team ended up seventh with 303 points. Odessa's fifth scorer must have finished somewhere around 300th place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TruthbetoldDecember 16, 2020 at 3:35 PM

      It's possible Odessa didn't have a full team in the race. It's happened in other championships. In fact,there is a HS meet I read about where one team went to States from that 'district' and the top ten non-winning-team athletes. Another 'team' sent at least five to States and I think they won or at least beat the team that beat them at 'districts'. It brought up interesting arguments and I'm recalling the 'individual' team could not win. Fascinating!

      Delete
    2. Herb WillsFebruary 13, 2021 at 12:33 PM

      My assumption would be that Odessa had a full team because they had a team score.

      Advancing five to State while not qualifying as a team seems unlikely, but it might be possible under some rules. I know that in 1974 only one team could advance to State from our District (there were only two teams in the District). But I don't recall how many athletes could advance as individuals, nor what the criteria were, so I can't say if it was theoretically possible for the losing team to send five individuals to State.

      It's certainly not possible under Florida's current FHSAA rules.

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)