Crimson Track Team Tops Army, 57 1/2-51 1/2, on Victory in Final Relay

An iron-man performance by Mark Mullin led the varaity track team to a 57 1/2-51 1/2 triumph over Army Saturday afternoon in the Snake Pit. It took a victory in the meet's final event, the two-mile relay, to give the Crimson its first really big indoor success in more than two years.

Stan Doten, Fred Howard, Steve Cohen and Army's Joe Almaguer all broke or matched some sort of record, as did the Crimson's victorious two-mile relay unit.

Mullin covered three and one-half miles in an unexpectedly busy day. He won the mile in 4:23.8, as Army's heralded John Jones never threatened, and took second in the two-mile, behind Cadet Howie Roberts.

The gritty junior was not expected to run the two mile, and he looked tired during the race's closing stages. Thus it was with some surprise that the tense crowd of 300, including President Pusey, saw him take the mark with Art Bondshu, one of Army's best runners, at the start of the two-mile relay about 20 minues later.

With the scoreboard reading Harvard 52 1/2, Army 51 1/2, Mullin ran even with Bondshu for 400 yards, and then fell back. The crowd began to lose hope, but Mullin rallied with 160 yards to go, and handed Henry Rich a ten-yard lead over Cadet Jim Lau. Three times Lau moved up to challenge Rich, and three times Rich held off his old nemesis.

The Crimson's Gus Schumacher and Army's Ted Benz took off together, but Benz moved into the lead and held its for 500 yards. Then Schumacher made his move, and came home 10 yards ahead of his Cadet opponent. Howard increased the margin to 30 yards against Jones.

The time, 8:01.1, was a Cage record. Mullin contributed a 2:00.9 leadoff leg, Rich did a 2:02.6, Schumacher a 1:59.5, and Howard a blasing 1:58.1.

Earlier, Howard set a Cage record in the 1000, with a fine time of 2:14.8, as Schumacher followed closely behind. Doten's mark, made before most spectators had arrived, was perhaps even more impressive. On his final throw, Doten hurled the 35-lb. weight 64 ft., 5 1/2 in., for Cage, Harvard, and meet records. The toss was only two inches under the national collegiate standard, and stamps Doten as one of the four of five best in the world.

Cohen broke Sarge Nichols' Harvard Briggs Cage mark with a 52 ft., 4 2/4 in. effort in the shot, as he took second to Jerry Clements of Army. Almaguer tied the meet and Cage records with a 4.7 time or the dash.

The varsity might have been able to breathe easier if Tom Blodgett had not pulled a muscle in the hurdles. After winning the broad jump at 22 ft., 8 in., Blodgett staggered to a second behind Bill Hatch in the hurdles, but was unable to pole vault. He definitely will be out of the Holy Cross meet, and his future is uncertain.