VOL. XV, NO. 9

"Maine West, collectively, has four of the best hurdlers in the state." Those are the words of head track Coach Ron Brown, and they are said not without facts to back them up. Take senior Bill Klippert, for instance. He is the leader of the hurdling corps and last year placed seventh in downstate competition. Bill had won five consecutive championships before he suffered a hairline fracture. He is, however, now readying himself for the outdoor track season.

The hurdlers, through, have proven themselves capable of handling the problems caused by Bill's absence. Mark Siska '74, after a scant two weeks of training, placed second in the division in low hurdles and fourth in high, in addition to being a long jumper. Dave Braun, a senior, captured the division in both the high hurdles and the long jump. Dave, Mr. Brown said, has shown steady improvement since his sophomore year. Rounding out the varsity team is junior John Whipple, a low hurdles man. John is a divisional winner in this competition and has placed fourth in the conference in the lows.

The high jumpers should not go without recognition either. Mike Klebe is so good at high jumping that he competes on the varsity even though he is a sophomore. Mike has jumped over six feet on several occasions this year, and at present he is only 11/4 inches away from shattering the all time Maine West record for high jumping, a mark of 6' 1 1/4" which has been untouched since 1964, a decade ago. Coach Brown said that he hopes that this talented sophomore will be the answer to the Warrior's high jumping woes and be able to jump consistently over six feet.

This year's hurdlers have placed in every meet they've attended and have been a most fundamental cog in the cinderman machine, fighting their way through another season in the Central Suburban League.