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Merritt's Sprinting, Meyer's Stamina Bring Fifth Place In ACC Track Meet

By CLARK EMERSON

The record breaking
individual efforts of Kent
Merritt and Phil Meyer
coupled with surprise finishes
by several other Cavaliers
enabled Virginia to place fifth
in the ACC meet Saturday in
Raleigh, N.C.

Repeating his State Track
Meet performance, Merritt
again produced a 9.3 100 yard
dash, this time edging
Maryland's Nick Basciano by a
tenth of a second to set a
conference meet record. The
sensational news, however, was
Merritt's 9.1 qualifying heat
Friday that will not make the
record books due to an
unacceptably strong tail wind.

Merritt Goes 9.3 And 21.1

He was equally outstanding
in the semifinals of the 220
yard sprint, easily gliding to
the fastest qualifying time
(21.1 against the wind) despite
his not being a favorite in the
event.

The third-year man was
forced to abort the finals
though when a leg cramp
caused him to pullout after the
opening turn, relinquishing the
lead to eventual winner John
Krassny. The injury was not
listed as serious; Merritt did
not want to risk complications
which might harm his chances
in the NCAA nationals in early
June.

Three miler Phil Meyer, in
the words of one
knowledgeable observer,
"finally showed the ACC what
a great competitor he really
is." The track co-captain, who
has fared badly in past
conference meets, finished
third with a 13:49.0. The
time–20 seconds faster than
his effort Tuesday–broke his
old University record and
qualified Meyer for the
nationals. Along the way, he
set an unofficial school mark in
the two mile (9:19.8).

Jim McClurg broke another
school record with his best
jump of the season, 14'6", that
was enough for third in the
pole vault. Considering his
inability to clear 14 feet in the
States, McClurg's effort was an
unexpected windfall for Lou
Onesty's Cavaliers. The three
points he earned was the
difference between Virginia's
fifth place (21 points) and
Clemson's sixth (18 ½).

Tom Freshwater long
jumped to his best distance of

Trackmen Cleared Great Heights Over The Weekend

the season (23-5 ¾) and
fourth place. In his stronger
event, Freshwater leaped third
in the triple jump with 49 feet
even.

440 Relay Record

The relay teams completed
the Cavalier scoring. The 440
yard team finished third in its
event at 41.7–a new school
record by a tenth of a second.
Maryland won the quarter mile
relay with 41.3.

The mile relay group of Sam
Jesse, Tom Polansky Beecher
Halsey, and Julius
Solotorovsky ran 3:18.4 and
fifth. Virginia was the
defending champion.

Mike Pace in the 3000 yard
steeple chase was nosed out of
the fifth position at the finish
line. High hurdler Mike Seeds
and Solotorovsky in the 440
yard dash performed well in
their respective events but were
also unable to contribute
points to Virginia's total.

Maryland Takes Title

Extending an 18 year
winning streak, Maryland
dominated the two day event
taking 110 ½ points and a
large chunk of the first place
gold. Duke (63), North
Carolina St. (45), and North
Carolina (39) filled the second
through fourth places.