The Cavalier daily. :: Thursday, May 1, 1969 :: University of Virginia Library

At this time, when a new era
seems to be upon the University
sports scene, an era when the
University's athletic teams may well
become consistent winners,
perhaps it is time to think of
future, rather than past
accomplishments.

While the football, wrestling,
swimming, tennis, and lacrosse
teams have enjoyed phenomenal
success recently, there is certainly
room for improvement in some
areas. One of these concerns the
track program, and the
construction of a new track. At
present, our thinclads are running
on a not-quite-six lane track,
constructed in the vintage year of
1901, just a mite before the Wright
Brothers. The track is by no means
close to adequate, and it gets a little
crowded when six hurdlers make a
mad dash for the tape. Just like
Grand Central Station at five
o'clock. Someone could be hurt
should a hurdle be kicked and fall
the wrong way.

There has been talk of building a
new track. In fact, every day it is
closer to becoming a reality. Plans
originally called for a
conventional eight lane track.
However, some far-sighted
individuals concerned with the
track program, such as former
trackmen Ed Eardy and Vince
Derry, along with Coach Onesty,
have been working for a nine-lane
Tartan-surface, all-weather track.

Mr. Sebo and the Athletic
Department favored the idea, but
could offer no additional funds to
cover the extra cost that the
installation of the Tartan surface
would require. So the funds have
been coming as donations from
track alumni. In all, over $130,000
has been raised, including that
which has come from the Athletic
Department. Estimates on the cost
of the track, however, are in the
neighborhood of $170,000, leaving
an additional $40,000 to be raised.

Both Mr. Hardy, a student in the
E-school, and Coach Onesty have
expressed optimism that the Tartan
track can be ready for next season.
But the money must be raised
before too long, for the deadline
for beginning construction in order
to have the track for next season is
October 1.

The effects of a new track such
as this could truly be
monumental. Just as is the case in
swimming, many times the
facilities at a particular school
dictate the caliber of team that
school will have. It is terribly hard
for a non-scholarship school, such
as Virginia, to attract quality
trackmen, or swimmers for that
matter, when in most cases the
facilities at their high schools are
superior to those here. Not only
would the new track attract more
athletes, but their performance will
undoubtedly be greatly improved
when they compete on a surface
that wasn't built in the gay nineties
era.

The proposed nine-lane track
would not only be ideal for dual
meets and tri-meets, but it would
also give track fans in this area a
chance to view something such as
the ACC conference meet or the
state high school finals. Just as with
the proposed swimming pool, the
track is an investment in the future
of athletics at Virginia-an
investment which many feel the
University cannot afford to let pass
by.

In spite of the present
conditions. Coach Onesty and his
tracksters have managed to become
winners within the past two
seasons. Ts year's dual meet
record is 4-2, and the outlook is
bright for the future. It would be
even brighter, Coach Onesty says, if
the new track were to become a
reality. One of his major problems,
lack of depth, would surely be
alleviated, for the Tartan surface
would certainly attract more
athletes.

It remains then for the alumni,
or anyone else interested in the
welfare of athletics at the
University, to see that the Tartan
track does indeed become a reality.
And who knows, maybe in the not
too distant future, we may find
ourselves cheering a Martin Liquori
or a Richmond Flowers, or another
Mike Harvey, clad in Virginia's
orange and blue.