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Running Shots |  |
National Junior Cross Country Championships @ Alameda, CA - Dec. 21, 1974 The course is out-and-back, 8000-meter (4.8 mile) at San Francisco bay. Four steeplechase barriers constituted the only "Hills" on the course. 45° temperatures and a chiily wind, with thick fog. Top 4 finishers go to Rabat, Morocco. Much thanks to Ken Ernst for the shots. |
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Marty Ludwikowski (Cherry Hill, West, HS, NJ), 9:04.4 indoors & 29:03/6 mile, leads the 124 starters along the 6 ft. wide path. The leaders stayed together up to 4 miles, when Bobby Thomas (#663) and Ralph Serna took off. The last barrier is 220 yards from the finish. |
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Thomas drops Serna. |
A totally spent Serna crawls over. |
John Roscoe puts on a tremendous sprint, narrowly missing Thomas by .6! |
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Eric Hulst is next. |
Dan Fulton hits the soft roadbed as Roy Kissin ascents over. |
Don Clary pushes over. |
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Steve Lacy takes 13th. |
Vicken Simonian (LACC, 14th) leads Mitch Kingery. |
Don Moses is 37th. He'll return next year and make the team. |
Little-known outside Southern California, Bobby Thomas a Glendale CC freshman (9:06.4 2M-couldn't qualify for the state HS meet & 31:59.4/10k as a prep), focused on cross country to fabulous resulst!! Just prior: Thomas was an impressive winner in the CA JC cross country meet. Then was 25th in the AAU Nat'l Cross Country meet! Results: 1. Bobby Thomas (Glendale CC) 24:25.4 2. John Roscoe (SWn Mich) 24:26 3. Roy Kissin (San Ramon HS) 24:29 4. Ralph Serna (Loara HS) 24:29 5. Eric Hulst (Laguna Beach HS) 24:30 6. James Buell (KY) 24:31 7.Cliff Morden (SF Valley TC) 24:36 8. Guy Arbogast (Wash St.) 24:38 9. Dan Fulton (Ore State) 24:43 10. Rick Whitaker (Spokane CC) 24:59 11. Don Clary (Anchorage Alaska) 25:10 ... 13. Steve Lacy (Wisc) 25:14 15. Mitch Kingery (San Carlos, CA) 25:24 37. Don Moses (Crescenta Valley) 25:30 |
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Rich Kimball wins world Jr XC! The U.S. Jr. Team wins as well. |
Thomas would succeed Kimball as World Junior Harrier Champion. The U.S. Jr. Team wins again! |
| Mt. SAC Cross Country Course, Walnut, CA (Junior College) - Men's 4-Mile Record (old course, Retired, changed in 2000). |
| October 24, 1974, Bobby Thomas (Glendale) gave notice, at the Mt. Sac Invite, when he ran 19:33.0 breaking Terry Cotton's (Grossmont) four-mile course record 19:44.9 ('72). | November 16, 1974 - Southern California Jr. College Championships Bobby lowers his own course record to 19:26.0 set earlier.... |
Then...
November 23, - State Meet - Jr. College. (R) By the first mile, Bobby Thomas is racing the clock! |
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Thomas races past two-miles at 9:10! |
Bobby races into history!!! |
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The finish... |
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Bobby shatters his own course record with a scintillating 19:19.8 over the hilly four-mile Mt. SAC course. |
November 11, 1989, - Cross Country - Southern California Junior College championships. Morceli would set a Jr. college record in the 5,000 meters (13:25.20). He went on to become a six-time state champion—twice in cross-country and four times in track and field—while never losing a race. He set world records in the indoor and outdoor 1,500 meters before winning gold at the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games in 1996. 3 times World Champion at the 1,500m. He also held world records in the 1,000 meters, mile, and the 3,000 meters! |
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Bobby's course record was never broken... |
