1972 track & field team returns to Missoula to celebrate golden anniversary

It's hard, really, for Alan Joscelyn to believe that it's been 50 years. But as each year passes, he becomes more reflective, realizing the history he was part of.

After coming oh-so-close several times in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Montana finally broke through and won a Big Sky Conference championship in men's track & field in 1972, when Joscelyn was a senior co-captain.

"We had no idea, at the time, what it meant," Joscelyn reflected this week from his home in Helena. "We were just excited to win. As the years have passed, it's become clearer just how special that team was."

More than 20 members of the 1972 championship team will reconvene this weekend in Missoula to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of their special accomplishment and to support the current crop of Griz student-athletes, as Montana hosts the Tom Gage Classic at Dornblaser Field.

For too long, time got away from the 1972 team. Graduations occurred. Moves happened. Families grew. Careers blossomed. But in 1997, for the silver anniversary of their championship, Joscelyn and teammate Bill Zins – who remained close friends over the years – decided it was time for a reunion.

"When it had been 25 years and still no other Griz (men's track & field) team had won the Big Sky, we figured it was a good excuse to get together," Joselyn said.

To do so, though, they had to track each other down.

"We didn't have a database," Joscelyn said. "It was before cell phones, even email. We went to the alumni association and athletics department and got what we could, and then just asked those we had gotten ahold of to keep spreading it to who they knew, word-of-mouth style.

"It wasn't easy, but we cobbled together a pretty good database."

The group reconnected in 1997 and again a handful of times thereafter, including in 2013, when the team was inducted into the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame. This weekend, they are expecting another large gathering for a handful of meals and a track meet, which they will be recognized at on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

Montana had come close to winning a championship prior to 1972. In fact, in 1965, the second year of the Big Sky Conference's existence, the Grizzlies finished runner-up. For the next seven years, Montana would place second or third each year, but could never get over the hump.

Until 1972.

"Historically, the University of Montana track teams had been comprised of really good individuals, who as a group was always competitive for a conference championship, but they never competed together as a team and came up short of a title," Harley Lewis, who served as Montana's head track and cross country coach from 1966-78 and later as athletics director, said back in 2013.

"The 1972 team was different. Some members of that team came so close to winning in 1969 and 1970, but in 1972 they were determined and not to be denied. They all rallied around one another, they all peaked physically and emotionally at the right time, and as a result they made history at the university."

At the 2013 hall-of-fame induction, Lewis singled out senior captains Joscelyn and Zins for their leadership. But when asked about it, the seniors pointed back to their coaches.

"Harley had a real good eye for knowing what people could do and put them in the right spots to succeed, even if the athlete didn't even see it in themselves or want it for themselves," said Joscelyn, a Missoula native and Hellgate High grad. "In the end, it comes down to coaching. You either have it or you don't, and we had it in Harley and his assistants."

The defining moment came midway through the 1972 season. Zins – who still holds a school record from the 1969 4x100-meter relay team that won a conference championship and qualified for nationals – had been part of three top-three finishes in his first three collegiate seasons.

"My freshman year we got second. My sophomore year we got second. My junior year, we finished third," Zins said. "We had the talent, but we weren't competing as a team."

So a players-only team meeting was called about two-thirds through the season.

"We basically laid it out that we have a team that can do something, but we're not acting as a team," Zins recalled. "We needed to be a team, which meant supporting each other. If you're done with the pole vault, get the hell down and cheer on the long jumpers or the sprinters or whoever. If you're not competing that day, be the best supporter you can be.

"The point was, if we want to be a team, we have to be a team, and this is how you become one."

Joscelyn noticed a shift right away.

"There was a lot of determination and from that point forward, we had an informal commitment that we were going to support each other however we could," he said.

Spearheading that charge was Rick Kendall, a hurdler from Blaine, Washington, who traveled to the 1972 Big Sky Championships in Boise, Idaho, but wasn't competing that year. Despite scoring zero points, he was the one his teammates point back to as the one who headed the camaraderie.

"He was all over the place keeping people up to speed on where we were (in the standings) and what we needed to do," Joscelyn said. "He got us all excited and motivated."

On paper, 1972 maybe shouldn't have been the year that Montana won a title. There were just two seniors on the team, Joscelyn and Zins, the co-captains, who totaled just one of Montana's 147 points in the meet (Joscelyn placed six in the intermediate hurdles while Zins was unable to compete after suffering a leg injury the week prior).

But there was a talented group of freshmen who stepped up. Guys like Ric Brown and Doug Darko and Craig Stiles.

Brown won the 440 yards with a Big Sky-record time of 47.3 and placed second in the 220 yards. Darko was third in both the 3-mile and steeplechase. Stiles won the javelin with a throw of 242-9 that still is a school record to this day.

"I came from a small school where track was pretty individualized," said Darko, a native of Great Falls and one of the key freshmen on the 1972 team. "It was pretty cool to come to Montana and be on a team. I remember the bond and unity that we developed. It was just a lot of fun."

Montana won four individual titles that weekend, with Glenn Chaffey (triple jump) and George Cook (steeplechase) joining Brown and Stiles atop the podium. Just as impressive, the Grizzlies scored points in 15 of 16 events.

In the end, Montana's 147 points were more than enough to beat second-place Idaho State (124).

Montana was atop the Big Sky Conference for the first time in track & field.

"That team had great leadership with its team captains Bill Zins and Al Joscelyn, and every single team member knew what they had to do to win and each of them played a role," Lewis, the head coach, said. "There were individual conference champions, but it was the togetherness and the support for one another that won the day. Every single person had a goal, and it was one of those rare times in sports that most all of those goals were met."

When asked about the celebration, many remember the bottle of champagne that someone got his hands on, which was sprayed in the locker room in celebration. There was also the butcher paper that the team wrote 'Big Sky Champs!' onto.

"We put it on the front of the bus. I think it lasted until we got through Boise before it got lost in the breeze," Joscelyn said.

The following year, with nearly every point-scorer back, Montana was poised to repeat as champions. The 133 points scored at the Big Sky Championships, most years, would have been enough. But Idaho State scored 138 points, five more than the Grizzlies. In 1975, Montana came up 2.5 points short of Northern Arizona.

"There hasn't been a champion in 50 years," Zins said. "I don't say that to fault any other team but to show how much goes into winning a championship. In '73, they had a couple injuries, and an event or two that didn't go their way. In order to win a championship, everything has to go in your favor, and for us, after all of those years coming just short, we finally did it.

"That's what makes that team so special to me… Winning meant we could celebrate our championship and do it for us, but also for those who went before us and just didn't have things break for them."

The stories this weekend, as the group reflects around tables at local Missoula establishments, will be endless. They will celebrate being together once again, and mourn those who couldn't make the trip. Several had hopes of traveling to Missoula but couldn't because of Parkinson's or MS or other curveballs thrown at them. A few have passed on, like Keith Kerbel, who the 1972 team named a memorial scholarship after a few years back.

"As we all get older – we're all basically in our 70s at this point – your perspective changes a little bit," Joscelyn said. "You age. You aren't the same people as you once were. You've been through life's triumphs and trials."

For Darko, who eight years ago was air-lifted to Seattle because of a brain hemorrhage, he knows how special it is to get the chance to reconnect again.

"Eight years ago I was told I wasn't coming home," Darko said. "Honestly, I'm just thankful that I can make it and be with everyone this weekend.

"I think, like we did in '72, we'll find a bottle of champagne and raise a toast, because that will bring back a lot of memories."

The stories and memories will be overflowing as the group reflects on what they accomplished 50 years ago and all that has happened since.

"We get to do it together, as a family, as trite as that sounds," Joscelyn said. "I'm pleased that we had a reason to celebrate 50 years ago and that, because of it, it has brought us back together and enables us to keep coming back together."

This weekend will be the 50-year anniversary of Montana's 1972 Big Sky Conference championship in men's track & field. The group will partake in several activities throughout the weekend, including Montana's Tom Gage Classic track & field meet. The team will be recognized during the meet at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Among those from the 1972 team who have RSVP'd for the weekend are: Ric Brown, Jim Casey (assistant coach), Bill Codd, Boyd Collins, George Cook, Doug Darko, Tom Feeley, Howie Johnson, Alan Joscelyn, Rick Kendall, Harley Lewis (head coach), Dick Miller, Bob Morigeau, Tim O'Hare, Wes Priestly, Tom Roberts, Allen Stockdale, Lee Urbaniak, Jim Vanmansart and Bill Zins.

The weekend is open to all track & field alumni – not only members of the 1972 team. If you are a former Griz track & field and would like to participate in the weekend, please email Alan Joscelyn.

Montana's 1972 Big Sky Conference Championship point-scorers

100 Yards: 5^th, Keith Kerbel, 9.9
220 Yards: 2^nd, Ric Brown, 21.5; 5^th, Keith Kerbel, 21.9
440 Yards: 1^st, Ric Brown, 47.3*
880 Yards: 3^rd, Dick Miller, 1:52.8
Mile: 2^nd, Hans Templeton, 4:21.5
Three Mile: 3^rd, Doug Darko, 13:54.3; 5^th, Wes Priestly, 14:27.7
3000-Meter Steeplechase: 1^st, George Cook, 8;58.9*; 3^rd, Doug Darko, 9:07.3
120-Yard High Hurdles: 2^nd, Casey Walker, 14.7; 3^rd, Joe Epler, 14.7
440-yard Hurdles: 6^th, Alan Joscelyn, 56.2
High Jump: 2^nd, Mike Hale, 6-7; 5^th, Tom Roberts, 6-2
Triple Jump: 1^st, Glenn Chaffey, 47-10.25; 3^rd, Manny Kigame, 46-7
Pole Vault: 4^th, Lee Urbaniak, 14-3
Shot Put: 2^nd, Jim Vanmansart, 51-11; 6^th, Bob Morigeau, 47-9.25
Discus: 2^nd, Steve Ralston, 157-2
Javelin: 1^st, Craig Stiles, 242-9; 6^th, Jeff Madsen, 207-0
440-yard Relay: 3^rd, Montana, 42.8 (Bill Codd, Keith Kerbel, Ric Brown, and Joe Epler)
Mile Relay: 2^nd, Montana, 3:18.9
* indicates Big Sky Conference record

1972 Big Sky Conference team scores
1. Montana, 147
2. Idaho State, 124
3. Northern Arizona, 86
4. Idaho, 70
5. Weber State, 69
6. Boise State, 33
7. Montana State, 23

School records set in 1972
Ric Brown, 440 Yards (47.3)
George Cook, Steeplechase (8:47.0)
Michael Hale, High Jump (6-9)
Craig Stiles, Javelin (255-10)

1972 Montana track & field lettermen
Ric Brown – 440, 220, 440/Mile Relays (Darby)
Glenn Chaffey – Triple Jump, Long Jump (Missoula)
Bill Codd – 440, 440 & /440/Mile Relays (Spokane, Washington)
Boyd Collins – Steeplechase (Billings)
George Cook – Steeplechase (Highland Falls, New York)
Lance Cyr – Pole Vault (Trotwood, Ohio)
Doug Darko – Steeplechase, 3-mile (Great Falls)
Joe Epler – High Hurdles, 440 Relay (Helena)
Tom Feeley – 880, Mile (Billings)
Mike Hale – High Jump (Missoula)
Mike Hotzel – Distances, Steeplechase (Butte)
Alan Joscelyn – 440 Hurdles (Missoula)
Keith Kerbel – 100, 220, 440 Relay (Billings)
Steve Hopkins – 440 (Edina, Minnesota)
Rick Kendall – Hurdles (Blaine, Washington)
Keith Kerbel – 100, 200, Relays (Billings)
Manny Kigame – Triple Jump (Kenya, Africa)
Jeff Madsen – Javelin (Billings)
Dick Miller – 880, Mile Relay (Helena)
Bob Morigeau – Shot Put, Discus (Polson)
Gary Normand – Long Jump (Missoula)
Dave Pelletier – Mile (Helena)
Terry Pitts – Mile, 880 (Dixon)
Wes Priestly – 3-Mile (Spokane, Washington)
Steve Ralston – Discus (San Mateo, California)
Tom Roberts – High Jump (Butte)
Craig Stiles – Javelin (Malta)
Hans Templeton – Mile (San Carlos, California)
Chris Thiem – 880 (Mankato, Minnesota)
Lee Urbaniak – Pole Vault (Spokane, Washington)
Jim Vanmansart – Shot Put (Saddle River, New Jersey)
Mike Wade – High Jump (Missoula)
Casey Walker – 120 High Hurdles (Calipatria, California)
Bill Zins – 220, 440 (Great Falls)
Head Coach: Harley Lewis
Assistant Coach: Jerry Downey
Team Doctor: Dr. Robert Curry
Athletic Trainer: Naseby Rhinehart
Student Athletic Trainers: John Evers, Steve Hackney, Wiley Kendle, Walt Serba, Dennis Murphy

University of Montana Athletics

1972 track & field team returns to Missoula to celebrate golden anniversary

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