Pag-e 6
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, April 7, 1970
THE BATTALION
ies Scorch Memorial Stadium Tartan Track
v.
WINNER TO THE FRONT—Marvin’s brother Curtis
wasted no time in lengthening - A&M’s lead to 15 full yards
and a 3:08.4 clocking for a new A&M school record. Curtis
sped the final 440 yards in 45.7. (Photo by Mike Wright)
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By Mike Wright
Assistant Sports Editor
Coach Charlie Thomas and his track giants descended on
Austin and the Texas Relays the past weekend and set three
A&M school records, equalled a world record and lowered
two Texas Relay marks in winning everything but a dinner
date with Playboy’s Miss April, Barbara Hillary, a spectator at
the University of Texas at Austin Round-Up festivities.
In addition to the first places, the Aggies were voted the
outstanding Relays team by a vote of 21-1 by the news media
personnel. The stray vote went to the corral of distance
runners belonging to the University of Texas at El Paso. The
West Texas Sips upset a favored University of Minnesota
four-mile relay team with a clocking of 16:39.2.
Also brothers Marvin and Curtis Mills battled each other
for the individual outstanding Relays University performer.
Curtis edged his brother for a 12-10 edge in the voting to
take the honor.
The 880-yard relay unit of Donny Rogers, Rockie
Woods, and the Mills’ tied the world mark of 1:22.1 in the
Friday night finals. The time had been set by San Jose State
in 1967. The other two school records came in the 440-yard
hurdles where Don Keller raced to a 50.6 in placing second to
NCCA champion Ralph Mann of Brigham Young who clipped
the tape in 50-flat. Also, the Aggie mile relay team composed
of Keller, Harold McMahan, and the “Mills Guys” ran a
3:08.4.
The huge meet started Friday afternoon with the
qualifying of individual runners and relay teams. In wiping
out the existing Relays record in the 880-yard relay in
qualifying, the Ags brought the partisan Texas University
crowd to their feet with a 1:22.5. Later in the evening the
Ags burned up the new tartan track with their record-tying
runs. The qualifying time replaced a record set by Abilene
Christian College in 1:22.6 for about five hours.
According to Thomas, the try to set the world record in
the evening event was jinxed from the start. “We were
disappointed with the lane draw,” said Thomas. “We hoped
to get lane seven or eight. Running in lane two cost us
perhaps an eighth of a second or maybe a full second
difference.”
It’s simple for the Aggie foursome wanting the outside
lanes. With an outside lane there is only a few yards of carry
until they come off the turn and start down the straightway.
It is hard for a tall person to run a tight curve with Woods,
Rogers, Marvin standing 6-3 and Curtis at 6-4.
In qualifying for the 440-yard dash, the Aggies wiped
out the oldest division relays record in the books with a swift
40.1. Short Scotty Hendricks joined Woods and the Mills
Boys again to erase another ACC record of 40.2. Not to be
outdone by the 880-yard relay feat, the Aggie quartet broke
their own record with a swifter 39.7. Without a doubt the
880-yard quartet had record breaking on their mind;
however, “All we wanted to do was run under 40-flat in the
440,” said Mills (Curtis).
The Aggies came in second in time on the qualifying for
the mile relay with a 3:11.2 clocking. In the finals, Thomas
substituted Keller and McMahon with the Mills Boys to
streak to 3:08.4. They failed to break the Relays record of
3:07 flat set by Texas in 1967.
Keller and McMahon took over for David Morris and
Willie Blackmon who had run in the qualifying race.
Aggie high jumper Marvin Taylor finished sixth at 6-8 in
a star-studded field which was won by Brigham Young’s Ken
Lundmark at 7-1. Lundmark was awarded victory over
Kansas State’s Ray McGill on fewer misses.
The Aggies this week travel to Houston where they’ll
engage in a triangular meet with Rice and Texas Saturday at
Rice University’s track.
Next week the Aggies will be at home, hosting Rice,
Arkansas and TCU in a quadrangular meet at Kyle Field.
Then they travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays
on April 24-25.
The Southwest Conference meet is on tap Friday and
Saturday, May 1-2, at Rice University’s track.
The Aggies are hopeful that a number of injured
performers will be back in shape for the SWC meet. Willie
Blackmon is hampered by a hamstring muscle that kept him
off the mile relay team last week. He also runs the 880.
Hurdler Glen Blahuta, quartermiler David Dolton, quarter-
miler Tony Munson and quartermiler Skelly Strong are others
who have been hampered by injuries.
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FOR
BEST
RESULTS
TRY
BATTALION CLASSIFIED
POPULAR FELLA—Curtis Mills makes an Austin young
ster’s evening complete by autographing the youth’s pro
gram. The 880-yard relay team was swarmed by well-
wishers after their world record tying race. (Photo by
Mike Wright)
LITTLE DOES HE KNOW—Abilene Christian’s Mark Fry held a short lead over A&M’s
Marvin Mills on the third lap of the mile relay but when the 440-yard race-within-the-
race was over, Mills had given the Aggies a five-yard advantage over ACC. (Photo by
Mike Wright)
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TIME TO THINK—Marvin Mills and Rockie Woods take advantage of pre-race time to
prepare themselves mentally. Mill’s thought nearly backfired as a bad case of stomach
cramps nearly caused the wonder freshman to scratch the 880-yard relay. (Photos by
Mike Wright)
Heitmann Awarded $1000
For Postgraduate Work
Mike Heitmann, who closed out
his varsity basketball career as
the fifth-highest scorer in Texas
A&M history, has been awarded
a $1,000 scholarship for post
graduate study by the NCAA
Postgraduate Scholarship Com
mittee.
The Houston Sam Houston
product is one of five seniors in
the nation in the NCAA Univer
sity Division honored for accom
plishment on the playing court
and in the classroom. Heitmann
has maintained a 3.57 grade point
ratio (out of a possible 4.0) in
very demanding veterinary medi
cine.
Heitmann was captain of the
1969-70 Aggie cage team which
finished second in the Southwest
Conference. He was the team’s
leading scorer with a 19.8 average
and was a unanimous choice for
All-SWC honors.
In his varsity career, Heitmann
scored 1,089 points, only the sixth
A&M player ever to surpass the
1,000 point mark. Another high
light of his cage career was an
undefeated record against the
University of Texas. A&M won
six straight from the Longhorns
during Heitmann’s three seasons.
Heitmann is the third A&M
athlete to be awarded the NCAA
grant in the last four years.
Randy Matson, who still holds the
world record in the shot put, won
a similar grant in 1967, and Edd
Hargett, who broke many South
west Conference passing records,
won it in 1968. Hargett is now
playing for the New
Saints while Matson is
broker in Houston.
Orleans
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Heitmann is the son of Mr. and
Mrs. George A. Heitmann, 1141)
Glasner, Houston.
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SCHOLARSHIP WINNER—Mike Heitmann, the 1969-70
Texas A&.M basketball captain, is shown with Aggie coach
Shelby Metcalf and a $1000 scholarship he received for
postgraduate study from the NCAA Postgraduate Scholar
ship Committee. (Photo by Mike Wright)