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Distance Power Easton Trademark
Kansas will once again present a strong distance crew in the Känsas Relays this year to keep a distinction which has marked Bill Easton-coached teams since he moved here from Drake in 1947
Dalzel Career Second Fiddle
The most underrated and unsung track performer in University history was Art Dalzell, who had the misfortune of serving out his varsity career at the same time as Wes Santee.
While Santee broke records in running roughshod through the league races and capturing the public's attention with his long winded comments. Dalzell went unnoticed.
Yet, were it not for Santee, Dalzell would have been the league's best performer in the mile half-mile double.
With a 4:13.7 mile clocking and a 1:52.8 performance in the half mile, he rates among all time Jayhawker distance greats. He ran through the 1320-yard run in a tremendous 3:01 as part of a distance medley team that dipped under the world record in 1954.
He ran fifth in the NCAA mile as a senior. As a service trackman last year, he narrowly missed a spot on the Olympic team in the 1500-meter run.
With the heavy competition from his teammates, he won only one conference championship. That came when he splashed through a 1:56.7 half mile in the mud and rain as a sophomore.
Converted Hurdler Top Quartermiler
Coming out of Belle Plaine High School as class B state low hurdles champion, Don Smith went on to become KU's finest quarter-miler in history.
He owns the swiftest quarter mile ever run by a Jayhawker performer. He blazed 47.6 in the conference outdoor meet at Ames in 1953 to win his only Big Seven individual crown
However, also in 1933, he finished in second place in the NCAA quarter mile behind Jim Lea in a 47.7 burst around two turns.
The Jayhawkers displayed their power in the Texas Relays by winning the distance medley, 2-mile and 4-mile relays. The distance men have been a main factor in the Kansans domination of Big Seven cross country, indoor and outdoor track during the past six years.
Since the Big Seven meet, the Jayhawkers also have added new power to their already strong distance crew. The newcomer is Tom Skutka, sophomore miler from Hibernia, N.J., who became eligible for varsity competition shortly after the close of the indoor season.
Running for Morris Hills High School, he was the first schoolboy to break 4:20 in the mile, clocking a national prep record of 4:19.5 two years ago. That record has been broken since then, but it does not dull Skutka as one of the brightest prospects as a college middle-distance man.
The smooth-striding 20-year-old's most impressive time during the indoor season was a 9:30 in the 2-mile. He clocked 1:58.2 for the half, and 4:18.2 in the mile on a wet track in the time trials before the Texas Relays. All of these times are expected to improve as the season progresses.
Easton also has available a long list of men who displayed their ability during the indoor season. This list includes Jerry McNeal, Bernie Gay, Jan Howell, Lowell Janzen, Harold Long, and Grant Cookson.
McNeal is rivaling Herb Semper as the most consistently good 2-miler in Big Seven history. He ran the fastest indoor 2-mile ever run by a conference athlete against Michigan State during the past indoor season, 9:06.1. He handed Selwyn Jones, 1956 NCAA 10,000 meter champion a 13-second whipping on his own track.
McNeal Wins Second Two-Mile
He won his second successive Big Seven indoor title in 9:29.1, coming back from a 4:19.5 fourth-place finish in the mile. He also was the Big Seven cross country champion. McNeal was clocked in 4:16 in the time trials before the Texas Relays in the mile.
Bernie Gay won the Big Seven indoor mile at Kansas City in 4:15.1, his career low, and appears to be headed for his best year. He also was clocked in 4:15.4 during the indoor dual season.
HE STANDS ALONE—Lowell Janzen, one of the finest half-milers in Big Seven history, reached his all time low of 1:49.6 in a relay carry at the Texas Relays. He won the 1957 Big Seven indoor half mile and 1956 outdoor half mile. He was sixth in the NCAA 880 in 1956.
—(Daily Kansan photo)
—(Daily Kansan photo)
distance aces. The group swept all three of the longer distance relays at the Texas Relays with Lowell Janzen doing a splendid job on the halfmile run.
FINALLY SLOWED THEM DOWN—KU's great distance corps of Tom Skutka, Jan Howell, Jack Schroeder, Bernie Gay, Jerry McNeall and Hal Long have provided the Jayhawker track team with the usual line of leather lunged
The Gardner senior finished third in the 1955 indoor mile and fifth in the 880-yard run. In 1956 he ran third in the Big Seven cross country and 20th in the NCAA.
Jan Howell, another senior, has improved steadily since his sophomore season. He has dipped to as low as 4:10.2 in the outdoor mile. His career indoor low is 4:15.4 against Michigan State during the recent indoor season, which placed him second to teammate Gay.
He finished third in the Big Seven indoor meet in 4:19.0. In 1955 he ran a 9.32.6 2-mile in the conference outdoor meet to gain second place. His career best in the 2-mile was at the 1955 Drake Relays, where he finished fifth in 9.30.7. He also finished second in the 1956 Big Seven cross country meet.
Janzen Among Best
Lowell Janzen has proved himself to be one of the finest half-milers in Big Seven history. He won the 1957 conference indoor crown in 1:54, which is the third swiftest time ever recorded on the Kansas City track. In 1956 he won the conference outdoor crown in 1:52.1. This is the third best winning time in meet history and is Janzen's career low.
Grant Cookson is a senior veteran who faces tough competition with all the outstanding KU performers, but has proved his worth by helping the Jayhawkers gain the 2-mile relay championship in the Texas Relays.
Janzen is also capable of running a 48.5 quarter, and on occasions has anchored the mile relay team. He also holds the school and Michigan State field house record of 2:13.1 for the 1000 meter-run.
Harold Long is one of the best 880-mile combinations KU has. In 1956 he won the Big Seven outdoor mile in 4:14.9. His outdoor career low in the half is 1:55.2. He finished second in the conference meet during the past winter in 1:54.7. In that same meet he also gained a third place in the mile.
In 1955 Long finished fifth in the Big Seven cross country meet, but was sidelined by sickness during most of the 1956 season. His exceptional range assures him of much relay duty during the outdoor season.
Of the seven times the four-mile relay has been won by the same team at the Texas, Drake and Kansas Relays in the same year, KU has performed the feat four times.
The oldest record on the books for the KU Relays is the 100-yard dash record set in 1930 by Cy Leland of Texas Christian when he ran : 94.
Bob Karnes, KU's great distance man, won more individual Big Seven track championships than any runner in Jayhawker history. He took a total of 17 individual crowns.
AN OLYMPIC PERFORMER ON THE GO—Eddie Southern, Texas' great sprinter-hurdler, was an Olympic performer.
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