Anyone know whatever happened to that guy? Ryan seemed to come out of nowhere to beat Gerry Lindgren in the 1968 NCAA's, but then he left the running scene altogether.
Too bad, as he was obviously a major talent. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he ran for the Air Force Academy. Assuming Ryan graduated in 1969, could he have been sent to Viet Nam? Or were graduates of the academy exempt from that kind of service?
I thought Lindgren redshirted in 68 and came back to beat Mike and Pre the following year.
Ryan was 3rd in '67, 1st in '68, and sandwiched between Lindgren and Pre in '69.
I think he got out of the AF in '75, and is a lawyer in Bakersfield now (source USAFA register of grads)
I don't know if he competed after graduation.
I had always thought that he was the Mike Ryan, Air Force Chief of Staff. It appears CSAF graduated in '65 though.
never heard of him, but thanks for bringing him so that the young guys (like me) can learn about the history of NCAA XC.
You're right about Lindgren. Lindgren redshirted the 1968 cross country season in anticipation of running in the 1968 Olympics. (However, he didn't make the 1968 team, finishing 5th in the 10,000 and 4th in the 5000 at the Olympic Trials at Echo Summit.)
In his last collegiate race, the 1969 cross country race at Van Cortlandt Park, Lindgren beat Mike Ryan of Air Force (the defending champ who had won in Lindgren's absence), who finished second, and freshman Steve Prefontaine, who finished third with his only NCAA loss.
I saw that bio of the Mike Ryan who was the head of the Air Force and who retired in 2001. But as you point out, that Mike Ryan graduated in 1965, which is about when the other Mike Ryan would have graduated from high school.
I heard Mike Ryan was a bit of a difficult training partner and I believe he had some issues with the Air Force regarding Law School. In any event, he was a great runner, including an 8:50+ 2-mile in high school. True, the 1969 NCAA cross-country race was Pre's only championship loss in track or X-country. Do you know who handed Lindgren his only NCAA championships loss?
Greg wrote:
Do you know who handed Lindgren his only NCAA championships loss?
Jim Ryun. Indoor 2-mile.
Mike Ryan won the NCAA XC in 1968 because Lindgren red-shirted, or Lindgren would have had 12 NCAA titles on his hand, instead of 11!
Mike Ryan wasn't a nobody though. He actually was the one who held the US High School 2-mile record before Gerry came along and smashed it down 3 times from Dec. 1963 to Feb. 1964. Ryan went to Santa Clara High school near San Jose. His Junior year after the XC season ended, he ran a 9:09.8 2-mile at a postal meet in Woodside, CA. About 3 weeks later, Lindgren ran 9:00.0, then 8:46.0 a few weeks after that, then 8:40.0 a few weeks after that!
Imagine breaking the HS Record for 2 miles, then in a matter of weeks, someone else comes along and lowers it by 30 seconds!!
Mike Ryan might well have been a young talent to the degree of Pre and Lindgren while in HS, but he did not train as advanced as those two. In fact, at Mike Ryan's high school, the had a closed campus. The were not allowed to run off campus! They actually had to do all of their training on the school grounds.
Thanks for the interesting info. Mike Ryan sounds like an interesting character. I saw a photo of him winning the NCAA cross country championship in 1968, and I recall that he wore glasses. Plastic frames were about all they had in those days, which must have been difficult to run in. I would imagine that the glasses would constantly slip down his nose.
If Ryan had to train only on his campus in high school, he must have been doing a lot of track work. Maybe he would have broken nine minutes for the two mile in high school had he been able to do more mileage.
At the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Ryan would have had ample opportunity to train outside. But I wonder if he had decent coaching there, since the academy was not known as a distance-running powerhouse.
Was this the championship held in Laramie? If so, Mike had an unfair advantage over a majority of the field regarding the altitude since the academy is situated at a comparable elevation. I'm not saying he wouldn't have won, but if this was the one in Laramie, then it sure made it easier for him to win.
No, that was in 1967. Lindgren won that race and Ryan finished third. So the altitude didn\'t seem to favor Ryan all that much.
Look on page seven of this old NCAA publication. The issue was 1968, but it was describing the November 1967 championship race. It was 25 degrees that day but clear.
http://web1.ncaa.org/web_video/NCAANewsArchive/1967/196712.pdf
I own a copy of The Runner's World, Jan '70 (first issue titled that way as it was known as Distance Running News previously) w/GLindgren shaking hands w/Mike Ryan after the '69 NCAA cross race at Vanny on the cover. GL-28:59, MR-29:01, SPre-29:12, John Bednarski-29:17, Art Dulong-29:27.
Inside: top 5 runners from '69
1. Derek Clayton
2. Ron Hill
3. Jerome Drayton
4. Ron Clarke
5. George Young
Top US Runner-Young
Top US junior-Pre
Pics: KMoore finishing Fukuoka in American record 2:13, Cemetery Hill at Vanny during NCAA cross meet, Ron Stonitsch/NCAA college division cross champ of CW Post
Interview: Ted Corbitt
Marathon Thoughts by Ron Daws (2 pages)
Tulloh's Long Run by Bruce Tulloh/about his run across the US
Pics: Jack Bachelor taking the USTFF cross title, Lindgren leading Pre, Bednarski & Donal Walsh at NCAA meet, in background, Mike Hazilla of WMU who is mounting a bit of a comeback at 60+ with plans to run a fast marathon soon (Mike ran 2:16 back in the day), pics from National AAU in Bloomfield Hills, MI in the snow w/JBachelor winning (he's from the area)
National AAU Marathon report, champ Tom Heinonen
Article title What sports for Girls by Hal & Rose Higdon (4 pages)
Unsung heroes of AAU T & F by Walt Stack
Back page: ad for Tiger shoes, nylon Marathon/$9.95, leather Road Runner/$10.95 (version of Marathon) and Olympiad spikes/$16.95
Wow, what a lot of wonderful photos. (How much do you want for the issue? lol) I started subscribing to Runner's World in 1971, when the photos were still in black and white. I think my first issue had an interview with Jerome Drayton, who was considered one of the three great marathon runners of that era (along with Ron Hill and Derek Clayton).
In 1974 or 1975, Runner's World briefly offered lifetime subscriptions. I took them up on it, so I've actually been a continuous subscriber to Runner's World since 1971. But it was a far more serious magazine in the early days, before it began to market itself to the everyday reader.
Ryan graduated high school in 1965 and ran his freshman year at Stanford. He transfered to AFA and ran as a freshman again. When the Air Force opened the new indoor facility in 67 or 68, Mike ran a 4:09 mile on the 6 lap track.I think that he played soccer during the outdoor season.
yesstiles wrote:
Ryan went to Santa Clara High school near San Jose.
Actually, Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, where he still has the school records in the mile and 2 mile. Also, he ran 14:38.8 in the 5K in 1965.
Mike Ryan had a high school two-mile PR of 8:57.8. His time puts him number 133 on the all-time high school list. (He did go to Wilcox.)
Jim Ryun's best was 9:04, putting him at number 270.
yesstiles wrote:
Mike Ryan won the NCAA XC in 1968 because Lindgren red-shirted, or Lindgren would have had 12 NCAA titles on his hand, instead of 11!
That doesn't make sense does it ?? If Lindgren had not redshirted in '68, he would not have been eligible in '69 (when he won). You only get 4 shots at each season (XC, Indoor, Outdoor).
I read that he was given time for making the 64 Olympic team. The rules were a bit different in those days.
Living in the past wrote:
If Ryan had to train only on his campus in high school, he must have been doing a lot of track work. Maybe he would have broken nine minutes for the two mile in high school had he been able to do more mileage.
At the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Ryan would have had ample opportunity to train outside. But I wonder if he had decent coaching there, since the academy was not known as a distance-running powerhouse.
1. Ryan ran 8:57.8 & 4:09.5 in HS (at Wilcox)
2. The Air Force did place 2nd to Villanova in '67. Not sure about 66.
http://www.cs.uml.edu/~phoffman/nats/gods.htmhttp://www.cs.uml.edu/~phoffman/nats/milers1.htm