EIGHT THE MICHIGAN DAILY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMIUM 17, 1952 EIGHT WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 19~! Illini-tis Plag ues 6 J / 9 1 ri restling, Track Squads . I Grapplers Finished Second In Big Ten Behind Illinois f % . - '^ a' r vn..r ' r . t t~ .. ,.. .," y C. c .r < r. " ; # ' x"03 ...:.- ' is " _ Si . : --' Y .: Thinclads Almost Captured Outdoor.Title By DAVE LIVINGSTON Wolverine wrestlers climaxed a fine 1952 season by staging a dra- matic comeback in the Big Ten Championships to capture second place, seven points behind title- winner Illinois. / In season's competition veteran coach Cliff Keen brought his charges along after dropping their first two meets to sweep their next five straight. Then, after a 13- 13 toss-up with Michigan State, the Michigan grapplers trounced Ohio State 16-10 to conclude their successful dual meet campaign. *; * * THE INITIAL defeats were dealt the Wolverines by Pittsburgh, in a close one, 15-14, and Indiana, 17-11. But from then on the Maize and Blue matmen started rolling and continued right through the Western Conference meet. Victims of their five-meet win streak included Toledo, 22-8; Purdue, ;1-3; Illinois, 15-9; Northwestern, 21-3; and Iowa, 18-6. In the Conference meet the Wol- verines faltered badly in the early competition. Entering the final round Michigan had placed only two men, a pair of sophomores, while the Illini, with five men qualified and 26 points piled up already, were conceded the vic- tory. * * * COACH KEEN'S men had to win all their remaining matches even to come close, and that's exactly what they did. Snippy Nalan copped the Wol- verines first championship in the 130-pound class when he decisioned Michigan State's Dick Gunner, who had previously beaten. him in a dual meet. Dick O'Shaughnessy grabbed the other individual conference title for Michigan in the 180- pound division. But the real point- makers were the Wolverines who had been eliminated the day be- fore. S* * * OF THESE SIX, five were de- clared eligible to seek points as third and fourth place finishers. Four of them, Jack Gallon, 137-pounder, Dave Space, 147- pounder, Miles Lee, 157-pounder and Captain Bud Holcombe, who at 167 pounds was closing out a successful collegiate career,. wrestled to third place finishes, giving Michigan a big boost to- ward its runner-up spot. The injury of the brilliant 123- pounder, Larry Nelson, dealt a ter- rific blow to the Wolverines cham- pionship aspirations. Nelson, a senior who was plag- ued by a series of injuries all sea- son, hurt his back before the Ohio State meet, thus making him a doubtful starter in the Champion- ships. * * * BUT THE GAME grappler, who only lost one match in four years of dual competition; entered the conference meet even though he hadn't seen a wrestling mat for two years. In his first fatch he met the highly touted sophomore, Dickj Gunner. Nelson had stood his opponent on his head when they clashed in a dual meet earlier in the season. This time, however, Gunner let Nelson wear himself down and took a decision by the barest of margins, 3-2. The high conference finish add- ed to the amazing record compiled at Michigan by Coach-Keen. In 27 years of coaching Keen's teams have finished third or better 23 times. Four of his squads won the Big Ten Championship and nine of them have garnered the runner- up position. By ED SMITH An unusually strong team in an unusually strong conference that's how the 1952 edition of the Michigan track team was rated. This year's thinclad squad was perhaps the strongest in Michi- gan history; yet it was unable to take the Western Conference crown, something that twenty pre- vious Wolverine contingents had done. * * * IN BOTH the Conference indoor and outdoor championships the fighting Illini from Champaign edged Coach Don Canham's co- horts, 59 3/5-52, and 67 3/5- 65 1/10, respectively. The Wolverines opened the in- door season with a trip to East Lansing for the Michigan State Relays. There the Michigan quartet of Jack Carroll, Don McEwen, George Jacobi, and John Ross set a new American indoor distance medley record of 10:04.5. Another Maize and Blue relay squad won the two mile relay, while Fritz Nilsson started his long string of shot- put victories. The schedule continued as the Wolverines turned in a pair of dual meet victories, over Michigan State, 741/3-392/3, and over Ohio State, 75-34. Michigan's captain, McEwen, produced the outstand- ing performance against OSU, romping to an easy victory in the two mile in the fine time of 9:04.6, tieing his own previous best in- door clocking. * * * THEN THE Wolverines jour- ,neyed to Champaign for the Big Ten indoor championships. The Wolverines, finishing second, close behind Illinois, had five individ- ual Conference champions. Nilsson, Sweden's contribution to the Wolverine squad, took the shot put with ease; Carroll edged Iowa's Gary Scott in the 440; Ross set a new Big Ten indoor mile record of 4:09.4; McEwen easily captured the two mile; and junior Horace Cole- man leaped the furthest in the broad jump. After two weeks rest the Wol- verines took to the ,outdoor oval for competition in the relay car- nivals. FIRST ON THE schedule were the Southern Relays at Birming- ham, 4labama. An eight-man Michigan delegation dominated the meet, easily capturing the un- official team title with five firsts and a second. Milt Mead beat NCAA champ Poppa Hall in the high Jump ith a leap of 6 feet 61/ inches. Nilsson took first in the shot and second in the discus be- hind Auburn's Jim Dillon, Van Bruner won the 120 yard high hurdle crown, while Wolverine relay outfits took the mile and . distance medley events. The hfghlight of the Arkansas relays the following weak was Nil- sson's double triumph in the shot and discuss. * 4; 4; ON APRIL 20 Canham's co- horts journeyed to Columbus for the Ohio Relays. The feature per- formance of the meet was the dis- tance medley in which the Wolver- ine quartet of Carroll, Aaron Gor- don, Ross and McEwen romped to victory in the world record time of 9:56.3. Carroll's quarter was a swift 46.1. Amid rain, mud, and confusion the wearers of the Maize and Blue ran off with three titles at the Penn Relays. Nilsson took the discuss, the distance med- ley crew breezed home first, and due to an official error in track measurement the four mile re- lay team triumphed in a race thattraveled only 3% miles. On May 2 in a specially arrang- ed race the four mile relay squad took another shot at the record and smashed it. The quartet of John Moule, Bill Hickman, Ross, and McEwen set a new American record of 17:08.6. IN TUNEUPS for the Big Ten, meet the Wolverines split the next two meets. They were edged, 741/2 57, by Illinois in a dual affair and they slaughtered Notre Dame, 92/-391/x. Against Notre Dame lMcEwen ran a magnificent two miles, setting a new Ferry Field, Mich- igan Varsity, British Empire, and meet record of 9:01.8. In the final preparation for the Western Conference extravaganza the Wolverines subdued Iowa and Northwestern in a triangular tus- sle at Evanston. * * * AS PREDICTED the Big Ten meet boiled down to a two-team affair between Michigan afid Illi- nois. In one of the closest finishes in conference history the fighting Illini came from behind to roll up enough points in the final event, the pole vault, to edge Michigan for the crown. Though the Wolverines did not win as many individual championships as they did in- doors, they showed all-around strength by scoring in every event but the low hurdles and the pole vault. Ross again took the mile, Nil- sson repeated in the shot, while Mead tied for first with Illini Ron Mitchell in the high jump. In the mile relay the Wolverine quartet of Dan Hickman, Bill Barton, Bill Konrad, and Carroll led the pack. S*; * NILSSON WAS the meet's.high individual scorer with a first and a second. McEwen scored well with two seconds. The 1953 edition of the Wol- verine squad should be well stocked with capable perform- ers as graduation will deprive the team of only three of its top men, sprinter Konrad, hurd- ler Atchison, and distance man McEwen. Though no team could lose such a key performer as McEwen with- out suffering, some of the slack Will be taken up by George Lynch. Lynch, a transfer student who will become eligible in the fall, is a fine cross country runner and distance man. * *; * THE ONLY apparent weakness on next year's outfit is the pole vault. Lynch leads the two milers, with Ross the top man at the mile and half mile. Another Canadian, Carroll, is the class of the quarter milers. Sprint honors will be contest- ed by Ross Coates, 'Kerry Nulf, and John Vallortigara. Van Bruner returns to head the tim- ber toppers in both the highs and lows. All the outstanding field event men except shot putted Tom John- son are back. Nilsson leads the weight, Mead the high jumpers, and Coleman the broad jumpers. Canham will try to find the solu- tion to his pole vault problems from among Brennen Gillespie, Roger Maugh, and Pat Monta- gano. -Daly-Jack Bergstrom BY AN EYELASH-Is how close Don McEwen (right) came to winning the Mile Run at the Big Ten track championships on Ferry Field last spring. It's also how close Michigan came to winning the outdoor track A. le. McEwen, Michigan's captain and a senior last year, lost out in this tight finish to teammate John Ross, a freshman, just as their Wolverine team lost the meet by 22 points to Illinois. The two Canadians had planned to hold hands fo ra dead heat clocking, but Ohio State's Len Truex (far left), who took third, upset their plans with a strong finishing kick. Illinois also won the indoor track championship, outscoring Michigan, 59-52, at Champaign. Try FOLLETT'S First USED BOOKS at BARGAIN PRICES I l %ftm \ f Lilz I ' -k /, iI JU S U ./ AUTUMN jai -". Sprti Cquinneht r; BASKETBALL FOOTBALL For those Fall touch-football games with the gang--Use Reach & Ditson Ifootballs. i t .. l t r' Everything for the gym -- Reach & Ditson Basketballs. Ball Band Shoes '; r The Also Hyde shoes to improve your game. Athletic Shorts Sox A ICHIG U 10 ®A- Well j Club(Wichia The Michigan Union offers all forms of recreation. GOLF Tee off with Wright & Ditson clubs, Woods and Irons, Bags, Carts, an& Balls; also Practise Balls. Smash hit - Ace 'em all with a Wright & Ditson racq Presses and Balls, Tennis luet, s Shoes. 4; TENNIS I - A0%atOl