After point recount, trackmen beat Connecticut, Princeton

It came down to the wire, but after a recount of the points, it was determined the Penn State men's indoor track team edged out Connecticut and Princeton this weekend in Princeton, N.J.

Going into the last two relays the meet's official scorer had Penn State trailing Connecticut, with the Lions needing to finish second in either the 4x400 or the 4x800 to leap over the Huskies and claim first place in the meet.

The Lions finished third in both races and some of the members of the team headed toward the locker room, but the official scorer re-tallied the scoring in the meet, and it turned out Connecticut received 10 points that actually belonged to Penn State, so the third-place finishes were good enough to win the meet.

Connecticut coach Greg Roy said he brought it to the attention of the official scorer that the Lions had more points at the end of the meet.

Going into the meet, Princeton was No. 8, the Lions were ninth and the Huskies 14th in the dual-meet rankings. The rankings are compiled by how the teams did in events during dual meets, not by votes.

The Lions finished the meet with 61 1/3 points, one point ahead of Connecticut, which finished with 60 1/3, and two points ahead of host Princeton which finished with 59 1/3 points.

"The meet was touch and go all the way through," Lion coach Harry Groves said. "It kept going back and forth."

The Lion jumpers continued their strong season showing by sweeping both the long and triple-jump events. John Gorham finished first in the long-jump with a mark of 24-1 ¼. George Audu and Duane Reeves finished second and third behind Gorham in the long-jump.

"We took advantage of the competition," Gorham said. "We scored as many points as we could."

Gorham and Audu switched places in the triple jump. Audu won with a jump of 47-7, Gorham leaped 46-11 and Leon Woolford finished third with a mark of 45-9 ¼.

Along with winning the long jump and placing second in the triple jump, Gorham won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.57 seconds. He also finished fourth in the 200-meter with a time of 22.26 seconds.

"Gorham is very talented," Roy said. "He was the difference and the go-to man for the meet."

Another go-to man for the Lions this season has been Neal McNutt in the 35-pound weight throw. McNutt came up against tough competition in Huskie Steve Santoli. Santoli defeated McNutt with a toss of 66-8 ¾. McNutt finished second with a throw of 65-9 ½.

It wasn't a total loss for McNutt. His mark was good enough to qualify him for nationals and it broke the 21-year-old school record, formerly held by Alvin Jackson's mark of 65-0.

The Lions are going to take their 11-0 dual meet record to Blacksburg, Va., next weekend for the Virginia Tech Invitational. Groves said it should be a great meet because of the Hokies' facility.

Right now, the Lions can enjoy being considered the best in the East.