Track Stars Shine As Nation’s Best
Three members of SIU’s track team have been selected among the top five running stars in the United States and world as a result of their efforts last season.
Track and Field Magazine, the authority in the world of track, ranked Jim Dupree, NCAA 880-yard champion, as the world’s third best halfmiler while Bill Cornell and Brian Turner were both placed fifth among the top mile and three mile competitors in the U.S.
Dupree was placed behind New Zealand’s Peter Snell and Jerry Siebert of the Santa Clara Youth Village. Cornell trailed Jim Beatty, Dyrol Burleson, Jim Grelle and Terry Weisinger and Turner followed Max Truex, Pat Clohessy, Charles Clark and Dale Storey.
The trio established new SIU records last June when they all had the best performances of their careers in the NCAA championships meet at Eugene, Ore. Dupree was timed in 1:48.2 in the half- mile, Cornell in 4:00.5 for the mile and Turnerinl3:59.9 in the three-mile. They compiled 26 points which was good enough for a fourth-place finish behind Oregon, Villanova and Southern California.