This is a close-up of what I posted in the last repy:
Mostyn Passes Up Olympic Chance to Join Brothers
ORADELL - The announcement by Jack Mostyn of Bergen Catholic that he would give up a possible Olympic track career to enter the Irish Christian Brothers' novitiate at West Park, N.Y., on July 1 confirmed a rumor that had been common in New Jersey Catholic Track Conference circles for several months. It was also known that, if Jack changed his mind and decided to go to college, his first choice would be Notre Dame. But the spotlight of publicity focused on the smiling youngster by his 9.3 clocking at the Englewood Memorial Meet on May 17 brought his decision into the open a little earlier than was expected.
The ins and outs of the validity of Jack's record clocking are discussed elsewhere on this page. Sufficient to say here that he soundly defeated two of the best sprinters in the East, Jasper Washington of Cardoro High of Washington, D.C., and Art Lilly of Andrew Jackson High, New York. MOSTYN'S AMAZING performance capped the finest weekend NJCTC athletes have yet enjoyed since the conference was founded two years ago. Other prime developments were a 4:27.9 mile and 1:56 6 880 run by Ed Wyrsch of Seton Hall; a 186-BVi javelin throw by
THE INCREDIBLE part about Mostyn's fast clocking is that it Is doubtful that Jack has as yet rounded into full shape, following the broken foot bone he suffered this winter. This is proven by his third-place finish in the 220 at Englewood and by the 10.0 100-yard victory at the Essex Catholic meet the next day when he complained of stiff leg muscles.
Jack will run his last schoolboy race at Randalls Island on June 13 In the Eastern Interscholastic championships and, before that, will have opportunity for fast clockings at the NJCTC meet at Englewood on May 30 and the NJSIAA meet at New Brunswick in June.
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Did He or Didn't He?
By Ed Grant
NEWARK -- Apropos of the controversy over the 9.3 100yard dash run by Jack Mostyn of Bergen Catholic at Englewood on May 1 it might be well to recall this anecdote about Jesse Owens, present holder of the national intersholastic record of 9.4.
Owens, who also ran that time In college, was once asked what was the difference between his high school 9.4 and his college 9.4 His answer was, “About five yards."
The chief reason why Owens’ high school mark was never submitted as a world's record —as was his college standard --was the same one that hangs like a shadow over Mostyn's rare feat, namely, the rest of the field was too close at the finish.
For while it’s quite possible that, every 25 years or so a high school sprinter will come along, like Owens or Mostyn, who can run on equal terms with the best collegiate and club athletes, it’s a little harder to believe that three other boys in that Englewood race suddenly became 9.5 and 9.6 sprinters, when their best previous times had ranged from 9.7 to 10.2. It should also be noted here that when Owens set the national record at 9.4 in 1933. he was 20 years old, rather superannuated as high school runners go. Dave Sime of Fair Lawn, who Is a co-holder of the present world’s record of 9.3 was not much older than that when he posted this mark as a junior at Duke University.
It is necessary to point out the Bergen Catholic star had nothing to do with the time attributed to him for the race. His part in the story began with the starter’s gun and ended when he broke the tape. If there Is any question about the time, it does not mar Jack's performance in the least. So far as the conditions of the race were concerned, they were just about perfect. There was no following wind the course was measured right after the race and found to be the correct distance, the watches used were first rate and in the hands of capable timers.
And Mostyn did not have the benefit of a rolling start. The closeness of the finish and the possibility that the gun smoke was not detected by the timers, definitely happened in later races that day.
But even if the timers missed the smoke and followed the sound of the gun, the margin of error at most would be a quarter of a second and Mostyn’s run would be 9.5 or 9.6. For a schoolboy -- particularly one who had his foot in a cast less than two months ago.
As Olympic champion Andy Stanfield always says., "It's not the times you run but the races you win and the men you beat." So many factors can alter times - wind, poor starters, poor timers. Still, 9.3 or a bit more, that clocking on May 17 was a tremendous performance by a truly great athlete’