Byron Area High School - By Hi Yearbook (Byron, IL)

Page 33 text:

First Row: Hosan. C. Dillow, Melino, Haselton. Second Row: Swanson, Hardine, Piper. R. Myers Cross Country Early last fall, as a part of the conditioning program for basketball, Coach Hasel- ton introduced a new sport at Byron High, Cross Country. Every evening approxi- mately twenty-five boys left the high school, jogged past Steven’s, over the Milwaukee tracks to Lovers’ Lane, and then came down Tower Hill—a jaunt of two and one-half miles. Records were kept and toward the end of October the seven fastest runners were chosen for a cross country team. Due to the limited number of schools in this area with a cross-country team, Byron was able to schedule only one dual meet. In this meet Stillman Valley was victorious. The first Byron runner to get across the finish line was Jerry Piper. Byron’s team entered the district meet at Sterling. The seven boys making the trip were Jerry Piper, Cecil Dillow, Bob Meline, Jerry Harding, Roger Myers, Dick Swanson, and Franny Hogan. Approximately fifty runners were entered in the meet. Piper, Byron’s top runner, became a medal winner when he finished in ninth position. The next Byron runner to finish was Bob Meline, running in sixteenth position. In this meet Byron triumphed over Stillman Valley, thereby avenging its earlier defeat. Erie High won the district and took its runners to the State meet where Paris again carried off top honors. Of the seven runners for Byron, Meline, Swanson, Dillow, and Harding are back next year, and it is felt that with the experience gained Byron may field a strong cross country team in another year. TWENTY-NINE

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First Row: D. Smith. Wiley, Forbes, Weaver, Himes, R. Myers. Second Row: Rowland, Meline, C. Dillow, Datcrs, Hogan, Swanson, Noyes, Helsdon. Third Row: Coach Haselton. Mgr. Showalter, Henson, Harding, Faulkner, Boyer, Piper, Hagan, Reber, J. Myers, I). Palmer Byron started the softball season hopefully and in the first game of the season de- feated Forreston with the winning score of 16 to 5. To the fans and team members this seemed a favorable indication that Byron might emerge victorious at the end of the season. As the season progressed, however, hopes were lowered. Byron lost to Winnebago, 7 to 0 and to Stillman Valley with a final score of 10 to 0. The 16 to 4 victory over Pecatonica presented a slight compensation but was fol- lowed by two defeats, one at the hands of Monroe Center 6 to 5, and the other to Leaf River 10 to 7. The season closed with two wins and fo ;r losses for Byron. The regular lineup for the season was as follows: Dick Swanson .. Bob Meline .... Fran Noyes .... Fran Hogan Cecil Dillow .. Vernie Daters Ronny Helsdon .. Ronnie Faulkner Kenny Boyer ... .... Pitcher Catcher First Base Second Base Third Base . Short Stop Left Field Center Field Right Field Jerry Piper, Elwood Himes, and Allan Forbes were the main reserves, all seeing action in many games of the season. The boys with the highest batting averages were Cecil Dillow .470, Dick Swanson .375, Vernie Daters .368, Bob Meline .350, and Fran Hogan .333. The rest of the boys had an average of .200 or more. TWENTY-EIGHT

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First Row: C. Dillow, Daters, Himes, Hogan, Noyes. Second Row: Mgr. Showalter, R. Myers, Piper, Forbes, Weaver, Meline, Swanson. Coach Haselton. Varsity Basketball The Varsity Basketball team, piling up a total of 1399 points to their opponents’ 862, ended the season with an enviable record of 23 wins against four looses. Coach Haselton, with only two regulars from last year, was faced with the task of finding a winning combination. At the beginning of the season Daters and Hogan, the two regulars from last year; Noyes, first substitute on last year’s team; and Himes and Dillow, members of the 1948 Jun- ior Varsity team, were given starting assignments. This line-up was the one most commonly used during the year; however, Swanson started quite a few games at either a guard or forward post. Me- line. another sophomore, and Weaver, a lanky junior, were other players to see a great deal of action. Byron’s first loss was in the fifth game of the year when Kirkland edged them 41-36. From then on until the holidays the Tigers built up a winning streak which was finally snapped by Amboy in the Mt. Carroll Holiday Tournament. The other two losses came at the hands of Ashton 47-46 and Polo 37-36. Both of these games were decided in the last few seconds by free throws awarded the opposing teams. The Tigers were Co-Champions of the Route 72 Conference and Champions of the Route 72 Tournament. Ashton and Byron both had 13-1 records in the conference and Byron edged Stillman Valley 44-34 for the tournament title. Six seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores made up this year’s winning combination. Noyes who was high scorer for the year, along with Daters and Hogan, veteran guards, will be lost from the first five by graduation. In addition, Myers, Piper, and Forbes are seniors. Polo’s 37-36 victory over Byron came in the regional and dropped the Tigers from further com- petition. Byron, a favorite in the tourney, forced to play without Himes, regular center who was in bed with pneumonia, bowed out only after a hard fought game. THIRTY