Oregon daily emerald., June 21, 1973, Page 14, Image 14

Super mile, world high hurdle record
serve final rites for packed stands
Photo by Nick Lacy
Dave Wottle
By PA LX BIKER
Of the Emerald
Oregon’s Scott Daggatt might have gone under
four minutes for the first time in his life Wednesday
night, but they didn’t have a clock on him.
It was that kind of a mile as Dave Wottle met
Steve Prefontaine for the first time in the Hayward
Field Restoration Meet. Six runners went under
3:59 in an epic struggle and Wottle became history’s
third fastest miler after streaking to a world-best
3:53.3—the fourth fastest ever run on American soil.
Prefontaine. struggling at the finish, ran 3:54.6,
second-best in the world this year.
“Pre said to me right after the race that the
next time he'd go out faster.” said Wottle. “I think
he can If he steps it up too much. I don’t know if I
can keep up.”
They packed Hayward Field’s tottering West
grandstand on a muggy June evening to see Pre and
Wottle go for the world mile record, but the
estimated 12.000 fans got another one. "niat came
when Rod Milbura clicked off a sizzling 13.0 in the
high hurdles to equal his two-year-old mark
The no-shows in this meet included America’s
best triple jumper, John Craft, and the world’s
hottest quartermiler. Arizona’s Maurice Peoples.
So after Milbum’s record—and the news that Mac
Wilkins had injured himself in practice Tuesday
and wouldn’t compete—everyone's mouth watered
for the mile.
“When I went out on the track, and all those
people began screaming, my body began to tingle”
said Wottle.
Ray Atchison of Club Northwest was the willing
rabbit and carried the field through a 58-second first
lap Atchison pulled out before the end of the second
lap and Wottle plunked himself right on Pre’s
shoulder.
“I was just waiting till I felt the time was
right,” said Wottle later. “I kinda felt I had him
going into the last lap. I was feeling really good.”
It was 1:57.5 through the half and 2:56.7 through
three quarters, with Wottle staying witnin a few
steps of the Oregon runner.
“I wanted to explode but I didn’t,” said
Prefontaine. “I wanted to get 10 or 15 yards on him
but just didn’t have it. I don’t think running those
three miles (four under 13:20 in 2 weeks) helped
me."
Pre started a sprint with 600 yards to go but
Wottle stayed close until a sudden, decisive burst
with about 200 yards to go. He opened up five to
seven yards on Pre and Kept it to the tape.
“I don’t think my final 220 was that good,” he
shrugged. “I think I could have gone faster, fwish I
would have gone all out in the last 220 and seen what
I could do.”
One of those looking on was Bill Bowerman. He
liked what he saw.
‘‘Both runners did a good job,” said the
longtime Oregon coach. “Anybody knows that
W’ottle can kick if he’s there. And he was there. The
thing 1 like about Pre is, he could have gotten third
really easily if he wasn’t so tough.”
Right on Pre’s tail was Villanova’s John Hart
nett. who ran 3:54.7, or about four seconds faster
than his lifetime best. Oregon’s Paul Geis was
fourth in 3:58.0 and Canada’s Ken Elmer ran 3:58.5.
“I don’t think this is my best,” Prefontaine
reflected about 20 minutes after the race. “I was
satisfied, though, because to beat me, Wottle had to
run four seconds faster than he’d ever run before.”
Pre left for Finland and a 3000-meter race on
Friday a few hours after the meet. Wottle leaves
this week and left the door open for Round Two.
“Sure, we’ll probably run some more races.
Tonight he had to shake me by three quarters but I
felt really good after three quarters. I didn’t start
breathing hard until about 660 left. I could sense he
wouldn’t have a real good kick.”
“Look.” said Pre, “I’m not making excuses, but
the mile is not my race. I don’t train for it, but I can
race with anyone. With a little speed work, I can do
much better.”
Europe, brace yourself.
Geis improving, but ineligible for cross country
By ART BUSHNELL
Of the Emerald
Paul Geis was looking forward
to running for Oregon after he
broke the four-minute mile
barrier Wednesday night.
“I’m going to have to do better
during track season next year.
I'm going to have to go against
John Hartnett (of Villanova who
took third in the mile in 3:54.7,
just ahead of Geis 3:58.0). Hell
be a senior next year and running
against me in the tnree-mile.’’
Geis has to look all the way to
next spring when he dreams
about competition, though. He's
found out he won’t be eligible for
cross country this fall.
After sitting out a year as a
transfer student, the Oregon
sophomore has been told there
was a misunderstanding about
when he would become eligible.
“WTien I came here, coach Bill
Delinger said there were two
ways I could become eligible. I
could either go to Lane Com
munity College for a year and
then be eligible for cross country
at Oregon or I could go to night
school for one term and then go to
the University for three terms
and still be eligible in the fall.
“I did the latter But now we’ve
found there was a misun
derstanding between the coach
and the University’s NCAA
representative. I’d have to go to
school for a calendar year—not
an academic year like we
thought—to be eligible.”
For Geis that means there’s no
way he can become eligible for
cross country by going to sum
mer school this term. So he’s
going to take a term off from
school and concentrate on run
ning with the U.S. AAU team in
Europe.
He says he’ll do what Steve
Prefontaine is doing as a senior
come back to compete in cross
country after the fourth year.
Geis said his 3:58 mile puts him
“much ahead of where I thought I
could ever be in one year at
Oregon The program here is just
fantastic.”
The time gives him excellent
marks in the mile, two mile
<8:24.8> and three mile (13:09.2)
during his ineligible spring.
At the same time in his
collegiate career, Steve
Prefontaine had lifetime bests of
3:57.4 in the mile, 8:31.6 in the
two mile and 13:01.6 in the three
mile
That means Geis is only half a
second off Pre s mile time, seven
seconds ahead of his two mile
clocking and eight seconds
behind the three mile time.
Paul was a little disappointed
with his official time in the mile.
Several people had told him he
ran a 3:57.6. while he was clocked
in 3:58.
“It was upsetting to find out I
ran 4 seconds slower than I first
thought. But I’m sure I’ll get used
to the idea in a couple of
minutes.”
Geis was in fast company for
his first sub-four minute mile.
Wottle’s 3:53.3 makes him
America’s second fastest miler
and the third fastest in the world
Pre became the fourth fastest
American miler and ninth fastest
in the world and Hartnett is now
the fifth fastest L'.S. miler and
tenth fastest in the world
Wottle’s mile victory wasn’t
the only race he won Wednesday
night.
He had to catch an exuberant
fan who stole his famous white
golf cap after the race. He
sprinted across a field and then
tripped over the thief, falling and
skinning both knees.
“That’s the first time
anybody’s ever taken my cap,”
said Wottle. “I had to get it back.
It’s the only one I had with me.”
Wottle said the Stevenson track
was partly responsible for the
fast time—“it’s such a hard
surface it makes a normal 58
second lap a 57.”
Equally pleased was hurdler
Rod Milbum, who tied the world
record of 13.0 for the 120 high
hurdles he set on the same track
at the 1972 Olympic trials.
He said he didn’t have an ex
cuse for his fifth place finish in
last week’s AAU championships.
“I just lost. Now 1 hope I’ve got it
back again.
Photo by James Link
Rod Milburn