Stony Brook is on the verge of reclaiming its position as a power in schoolboy cross country running. When it happens, those in the know will remember the 1971 season as the turning point.

~ The Stony Brook Bulletin, Dec. 1971

On this day 45 years ago, the boys’ cross country team secured their 21st and final Ivy League Championship.

These above words from the December 1971 Stony Brook Bulletin proved to be prophetic as the 1972 season unfolded. The boys finished 8-0 against the likes of Poly Prep and Choate, where George Worthington ran the eighth-fastest time ever on the Academy’s course.

In the Ivy League Championship, the boys secured the 17th title in the previous 18 years as Worthington took 1st (13:34) and Don Lockerbie 2nd (13:49) while freshmen Mark Soderstrom and Sean Meagher turned in impressive showings, keeping the Blue and White’s future bright. The win signaled the end of an era as the Blue and White would leave the Ivy League in the summer of ’73 to compete in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The ’72 Ivy League Championship was the 21st for the Brook in 24 years of dominance.

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