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University Daily Kansan
Friday, April 21, 1961
LAST RELAYS-KU's distance ace is Billy Mills, the Big Eight cross-country and indoor two-mile champion. The 6-0, 155 pound senior, participating in his last Kansas Relays as a Jayhawker is scheduled to run on the four mile distance medley relay teams tomorrow. As a junior Mills represented the United States at the International Cross-country meet at Asaopalo, Brazil. Competing against 300 performers from all over the world, the KU star finished fifth.
No Football for Mills
By Steve Clark
Upon entering high school a 5-3, 104 pound Billy Mills, who had never heard of track, set his sights for a football career. However, the Haskell high school football coach took one look and told the native of South Dakota he would never be a football player.
The coach did need boys for a cross-country team and since Mills had nothing else to do he decided to run. Little did he know he was at the starting point of an outstanding track career that would see him forget about football and gain national acclaim in the distance races.
TODAY MILLS, a KU senior, is the Big Eight cross-country and indoor two-mile champion. He ran 15:03:6 at Oklahoma State to win the harrier title by five yards, and defeated Missouri's distance ace, Bob Hanneken, for the indoor title with a 9:17.4 clocking.
A list of Mills' accomplishments on the cinders runs almost indefinitely. "My greatest honor," Mills said, "was being selected in my junior year to represent the United States in the International Cross-country meet at Asaopaolo, Brazil."
At Asaopalo the Jayhawker competed against 300 outstanding runners representing their respective countries and finished tenth.
Cross-country has been Mills' "bread and butter" sport. The KU cross-country captain has placed in the top six at the NCAA meet the past three years. As a sophomore he finished fifth, as a junior, sixth, and last fall he again placed fifth.
IN BIG EIGHT cross-country he placed fourth his sophomore year, second his junior, and first this year.
In indoor track he has been among the top distance performers in the Big Eight for three years. In his sophomore year he finished third in the two-mile run. The next year he won second places in both the mile and two-mile. This year in addition to winning the two mile, he placed third in the mile to pick up badly needed points for the Jayhawks' Big Eight victory.
Mills has been equally proficient outside. He ran a 9:06 two-mile as a sophomore to finish second in the Big Eight behind Miles Eisenman of Oklahoma State.
LAST YEAR HE SLUMPED in the Big Eight meet, placing only third, but bounced back to take fifth at the NCAA and sixth at the
Olympic trials in the 5000 meters. The five that placed ahead of him in the Olympic trials were all older, stronger, and more mature runners.
In high school Mills captured the state Class A mile championship his junior and senior years. His winning time in his senior year was 4:22.
Mills says his most humorous experience in track occurred while in high school. "It happened at the start of track season my senior year," Mills related. "I had won the state title the year before and I was a senior who felt like a big man.
"WE WERE RUNNING 100 yard dashes. I was dressed up in brand new warm-ups and new spikes and feeling pretty big. I noticed a sophomore standing by the track in old tennis shoes that looked several sizes too big, an old sweat shirt, and old army shorts.
"I walked up to the kid, who was even knock-kneed, and asked him if he would like to run me. The kid agreed. I got some starting blocks and set them on the track and adjusted them to fit me. The kid just dug two holes in the track.
"As the race started the kid's shorts started to slip down. I started off ahead but the kid passed me about half way holding his shorts up with one hand and beat me by five or six yards. As it turned out the kid wasn't even fast enough to do any good that year. It was funny, but I never felt so small."
UPON GRADUATION from high school Mills chose KU because "I wanted to major in physical education and KU had a good program. The Jayhawks were the Big Eight track champions and I hoped some day to be able to run on a championship team."
To run two miles would be far enough for most people, but not for Mills. He would like to try a longer distance, the 10,000 meter which is equivalent to $6\frac{1}{4}$ miles. In the Olympic trials he placed fifth in the 10,000. There are few opportunities except in Europe to run this longer distance.
"MY GREATEST TRACK thrill was placing in the NCAA meet last year. We beat Southern California by 12 points so my two points weren't really needed to win, but I felt good to know that I scored on a team that won the NCAA.
"In my sophomore year we won the NCAA crown but I didn't score in the meet and didn't feel like I
had contributed anything and wasn't a part of the team. Last year, I felt I was a part of the team."
What is the secret of Mills' success on the cinders? He answered in one word, "Work."
"GOOD GRIEF! THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE."
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