Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

Page 247 text:

Rienzo bre-iks ihe bowing 25-30. In this meet Jack Moran and Nate Rienzo finished in a dead heat for first, their time being a fast 25:47 for the A.6 mile course. A few days hiter on Election Day Van Cortlandt Park was the scene of an upset sec- ond only to the later and greater I C 4-A surprise upheaval. For it was here that the underdog Jaspers surprised everyone but themselves. In ending NYU ' s seven-year reign as Metropolitan Intercollegiate cross- country champ, the Eastmen recaptured a crown which had been held for eight years from 1931 to 1939 by Pete Waters ' teams. Beginning with 1940 the von Elling forces held the championship fast, allowing no one to wrest the title from their grasp. But 1947 was another year and the Jaspers were not to be denied this time. lJt e—l-C-4-A ' s Although Armand Osterberg of the Vio- lets withheld some honors from the Green and White crew by finishing first, Nate Ri- enzo, Phil O ' Connell and Jack Moran all finished among the first fi e by taking second, third and fifth places respectively. The point- score was: Manhattan, 28; NYU, 47; Ford- ham, 83; Columbia, 90; St. John ' s, 137; and St. Francis, l48. In addition to varsity hon- ors, the freshman squad also came through, winning by a slim 38-39 score over the St. Francis ' yearlings. Penn State br ought its two long-distance aces, Gerry Karver and Horace Ashenfelter to oppose the ht)me forces at Van Cortlandt in the final dual meet of the season. In a driv- ing rain which transformed the Park into a virtual quagmire, the Jaspers came up against their most rugged foe of the campaign, just 243

Page 246 text:

see a campaign in w hicli the IC4-A and Met- ropolitan Intercollegiate titles would be an- nexed and Dartmouth, Army, Seton Hall, and Penn State would bow in dual meets. Traveling upstate to Syracuse for the sea- son-opener, the Jaspers were upset 22-33 by a surprisingly strong Orange squad. The de- feat, the only one of the season, was largely due to the Jaspers ' lack of condition and the ill luck that forced Jack Moran to drop out of the run because of a sudden stitch in his side. Since Moran was in the lead at the three and one-half mile mark when he re- tired, it IS not too much to presume that he would have continued on to hmsh first. If he had, the dual meet ' ictory would ha ' e been ours and the only blemish on an other- wise spotless record would not have oc- curred. The following week had Dartmouth fur- nishing the opposition on their home grounds Nal R euzo at HanoN ' er, New Hampshire. It was there that the Manhattan squad began to reach top form as eight out of the hrst ten men to cross the finish line were Jaspers. Jack Moran, free from his annoying stitch, led the entire field, The 19-36 score was an indication of the ease with which the Indians were scalped. The hills and dales of Van Cortlandt Park were occupied the folkwing week as Seton Hall opposed the Rnerdalers in the third dual meet of the young season. Easily notch- ing their second victory by virtue of a 15-40 final tabulation, the Jaspers placed fifteen men among the first twenty to finish. Paul Tiernan led the entire field in the meet. Four days later the cross-country squad again strayed from its home grounds, this time traveling to West Point where they came up against a tougher-than-expected Army squad. Nevertheless the Pointers be- came the third Jasper victim of the season, Jjck Moran 242

Page 248 text:

Boh AicGee managing to win, 27-28. X ' hile Ashenfelter and Kar er ran side by side o er tiie entire course and finished in a dead heat for first, the well-balanced Manhattanites placed in se en of the next eight spots. Running third, fourth, and hfth were Jack Moran, Phil O ' Connell, and Tom Comerford. This stir- ring victory did much to reassure the squad that they ranked with the best in the nation, and at the same time prepared the way for the most superlative feat of all: ' ictory in both the arsity and freshman IC4-A cham- pionships. Monday, November the seventeenth saw cross-country teams from all sections of the nation fathered together for the world series of collegiate cross-country, the 39th annual hitercoUegiate Association of Ama- teur Athletes of America. Thirty-six colleges sent the best of their hill and dalers to Van Cortlandt that day with teams traveling from Tom Comerford North Carolina U., Yale, Michigan State, Syracuse, and many other distant points. However, it was ironic that the Jasper forces, walking but two blocks, came ol? with the bunting in both divisions, a feat, which had not been performed since 1932 when another Manhattan team turned the trick. Pete Waters was coach of that other creat Green and VC ' hite group. This year saw 182 entries in the varsitv field and 1 20 in the freshman race. The day was cold, the runners even colder as they began their grueling grind across five miles of Van Cortlandt ' s vast expanses. More than one thousand persons watched as Bob Black, the expected winner, did not disappoint, win- ning in 25:37.1. The Rhode Island Stater led the field throughout the greater part of the fi e miles, and finished in front by sixty yards. Behind Black came Horace Ashen- felter of Penn State, Jack Milne of North 244