The Crimson track team settled for a second and third place in individual races and three undistinguished performances in relay races Saturday night at the 72nd Annual B.A.A. Games at Boston Garden.
In the afternoon B.A.A. field events at Briggs Cage, the varsity's Tom Blodgett took first place in the broad jump and Stan Doten placed second in the 35-pound weight.
Blodgett leaped 23 feet, 2 1/2 inches in the broad jump to beat Yale's Jim Axtel by 3 1/2 inches and then competed at night in the Hillman 45-yard high hurdles. With a second in the second heat, Blodgett qualified for the semifinals but then withdrew because of a leg cramp.
Doten Takes Second
At 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon, Doten, University record holder, tossed the weight 56 feet, 11 inches, good enough for second behind New York A.C.'s Bob Backus. He then whipped off from the Cage for a final at Emerson Hall, arriving at 2:15 to take the exam--in his track sweat suit.
Larry Repsher, competing in the Jack Ryder 440 for New England collegiates, gained the one Crimson second place in the running events. Elbowing his way to second place by the third turn, Repsher stayed within 5-10 yards of the pace set by Jim Moreland of Brown. At the gun, the bespectacled IC4A 400 hurdle champion spurted ahead, with Repsher hot in pursuit.
Repsher attempted a five-yard sprint at the last turn, but lost by about seven yards at the tape.
In the Bingham 880 for New England college runners, captain Fred Howard held onto second place for most of the race. Before the gun lap Howard attempted to catch the pace-setter, Wesleyan's Steve Paranya, but an old Howard nemesis, Art Freeman of B.U., moved up on the outside and foiled Howard's bid. Howard finished in third place 20 yards behind Paranya and ten yards behind Freeman.
The two-mile relay team of Don King, Gus Schumacher, Harry Rich, and Don Kirkland fell back to third place on the first leg and never was able to close the lengthy gap. The mile quartet immediately lost the pole in the Big Three race and fell 15 yards behind Yale and Princeton, who battled for the lead. Yale, thanks to Tom Carroll, who held off the challenge of Princeton's Dick Edmunds in the anchor leg, won the race in 3:30.4, followed by Princeton and--25 yards behind--the Crimson.
Freshmen Finish Fourth
The freshman team of Jeff Peck, Dave Sowar, Jim Leath, and Ed Meehan fell off the pace early and finished fourth behind Yale, Holy Cross, and B.U.
Highlights of the B.A.A. Games were John Thomas' 7 foot, 3 inch high jump that now is only second best in the world; a new indoor record of 2:07.9 by smooth-pacing Ernie Cunliffe of Stanford; and the victory in the Hunter Mile of Hungary's Istvan Roszavolgi, who arrived in the country early Saturday morning.
Read more in News
All's Well That Ends Well