Wheeler’s record removes doubt
By PAUL McGRATH
Battalion Sports Editor
Those clouds of doubt are no
longer hovering over the head of
Tony Wheeler. In only the second
week after recovering from a
strained achilles tendon, the 23-
year-old freshman from South Africa
set a school record in the 880-yard
run.
ference meet. The moustachioed
Wheeler defeated four of the con
ference’s top five half-milers in set
ting the new mark.
The gains he has made in the past
few weeks has been a boost to his
morale, Wheeler said. “We (speak
ing of himself) started off with no
confidence. I was beginning to get a
little worried I couldn’t make it here.
Until recently, there was some
doubt as to whether Wheeler would
run at all, much less have a shot at
any records. He got a cramp in his
right leg during cross country sea
son, something which seemed only a
temporary ailment at the time.
However, the pain continued and
soon developed into a strain, the first
injury Wheeler had ever suffered
while running track.
“But the change has come so
quickly that I must be careful of
overconfidence,’’ Wheeler added.
as a high school freshman, Wheeler
ran a 1:49.9 his senior year. He
started work with a South African
business firm after a year’s stint in
the air force. Officials at the firm de
cided Wheeler ought to return to
school in order to advance himself in
the company later on. That’s when
he received a phone call from Nel
son. Wheeler accepted a scholarship
at A&M after turning down previous
offers from Oregon, Michigan and
Oklahoma.
The Texas A&M freshman has best
times of 1:48.4 in the 880 and 1:47.4
in 800-meters. Wheeler has run
against some of Europe’s and Africa’s
top half-milers, including world re
cord holder Marcello Fiasconaro.
Much of his competition abroad ran
in the 1:44 and 1:45 range.
WhEeler tries to capture the lead
early in a race so “that they (the com
petition) have to worry about me all
of the time. That way I don’t have to
worry about getting boxed in. I try to
dictate the race until I get chal
lenged.”
Wheeler missed part of the indoor
season while slowly rounding back
into form. He became competitive
for the first time in the rain and cold
of Laredo’s Border Olympics, plac
ing second with a 1:54.4.
He proved himself not only a
competitor but also a winner with his
record-breaking 1:48.7 half-mile in
the finals of the College Station Re
lays. His time eclipsed the previous
meet record and the A&M record by
Willie Blackmon of 1:49.0 in 1971.
Wheeler’s clocking was also .1 of a
second under the winning time in
the 880 at last year’s Southwest Con-
He says the competition is “good”
in the States. “The biggest difference
from South Africa is that over there
we have only a few guys at the top,
the ones that run the l:44’s and
l:45’s. Over here, there are a lot of
people who run under 1:50. There’s
no reason why anyone shouldn’t im
prove over here,’ he said.
That is the method he used in his
record-setting race at the Relays.
Wheeler led the entire race while
holding off Baylor’s Phil McClen
don, beating him by nearly 10 yards.
“I had made up my mind to do
well, but I was still surprised that I
did it,” he said. “I wovdd have been
happy with a 1:49.”
Wheeler was recruited by A&M
assistant track coach Ted Nelson fol
lowing information received from
two other South African runners at
A&M, Manfred Kohrs and Bruce
Smith.
Although unable to get under 2:30
★★★
Coach Charles Thomas will send a
token team to Beaumont today to
compete with Lamar and Houston
Baptist. Saturday the Aggies will
compete in the Dallas Invitational.
Tony Wheeler
A&M record holder in 880-yard run.
■ nc i’mcv*
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