The legend of Eric Hulst grows and grows... The Laguna Beach junior continues to add more records to his resume.

Physically, Hulst has changed since sophomore year. He is 5'10" & 150 pounds. Facially, he has grown a beard to match his red hair and his condition is much better than last year. He used to do two sets of regular push-ups daily but now does 420 fingertip push-ups and 350 tuck-and-extends on all weekdays unless there was a meet the next day, in which case he'd do only six of the three-part sets (180 push-ups and 150 tuck-and-extends total). Eric runs anywhere from 10 to 15 miles each morning, usually along the Pacific Coast Highway. Normally, he carries 2½ pound weights in each hand to build up arm strength.

Hulst filled the pipe with molten lead. (Eric collected hubcap bolts to melt down for his stained-glass window projects and used some of the lead to fill the weights).

September 28, Morningside Invitational @ Centinela Park

Eric Hulst (Laguna Beach) was an easy winner in the small school varsity race with a 10:33.

Don Moses (Crescenta Valley) won the large school varsity race in 10:13.

Oct. 5, 1974 - Saturday

Laguna Beach Junior Eric Hulst wins the Varsity race, by 24 seconds, (Small School) @ Kenny Staub, with the days fastest time: 10:03.9 (Two-miles). Eric was named the meet's outstanding runner for a second straight year.

@ 1000m - Serna reaches the path first.

(R) Unlike last year when Steve Scott (Upland, HS) squeezed through first.

The rematch between Serna & Hulst was impressive. Serna won again... by two strides in a stunning 9:10, Hulst at 9:11.

Hulst changed strategy, he wanted to force Serna to run from behind so he ran hard in the early stages of the race to build a lead. Hulst (above) led by 2 yards as he took Serna & Corona del Mar's Brian Hunsaker past the mile point in 4:37. Soon thereafter it quickly became a two-man race. When they came on to the track for the final 300 yards of the race, Hulst still held a step lead. Serna went around him as they came down the long straight and finished two strides ahead of him. Hunsaker finished in 9:36, the third fastest time on the course. The times by Serna & Hulst are even more impressive since the course was 50 yards over the two-miles this year due to some last minute changes to avoid soccer and football games being played on the UCI fields.

The time obliterates the course record by 16 seconds! Serna set the old record (9:26) last year against Hulst. Before Hulst & Serna stepped on the course, the record stood at 9:41.

October 26, 1974 - Walnut, Mt. Sac Invite. - 2-miles, 100-yard course (2.06 miles).

Special Individual Race

1) Eric Hulst (Laguna)........................9:52.7-places him #2 on the all-time list behind Terry Williams' (below) 9:48.
2) Jay Woods (Vista, SD)................10:15
3) Scott Blackburn (Royal)...............10:15
4) Ajim Baksh (Hollywood)..............10:17
5) Richard Aguirre (Santa Barbara)..10:19
6) Thom Hunt (Patrick Henry, SD)...10:21

November 12, Duel meet, Hulst erases Terry Huddleston's San Clemente cross country course record in 9:28.7. Huddleston (above) also a junior, shadows Hulst , before finally losing in the last half-mile. Huddleston's time was a fine 9:39.

**After the meet, Eric ran home in 1:40, running very fast.

November 23, 1974 -CIF Prelims @ Mt Sac (above)

Hulst wins easily clocking a 10:09 but Laguna as a team doesn't advance.

Laguna HS as a team did not qualify for CIF XC Finals, so...

Eric ran in the Nat'l Sr AAU XC Championships "74" @ Crystal Springs. The HS Junior places 40^th!!

Hulst (38) is getting ready to pass newly crowned king of collegiate cross country Nick Rose (Western Kentucky, 353, Link to video).

5 days earlier, Rose, a native of Bristol, England, won the NCAA cross country championship race.

Bobby Thomas (SFVTC)

The soon to be World Junior Cross Country Champion takes 25^th place in 31:22.5.

John Ngeno (WSU) wins in 29:58.8.

(Ngeno was 2^nd to Nick Rose 5 days earlier at NCAA's (Link to video).

1974 Mens National A.A.U. Cross Country Championships
Saturday, November 30th, Belmont, CA. 10,000m (old course).


40 Eric Hulst ................31:41.0.

A Few Other Participants
66   Roy Kissin ..............32:25.6.
68   Nick Rose ...............32:28.9.
75   Terry Williams...........32:39.3.
89   Thom Hunt................32:55.2.
117  Mitch Kingery............33:29.9.
166  Jim Schankel.............34:33.8.

January 24, Southern California Indoor Games

After a rare defeat last week, Loara's Ralph Serna bounced back with an impressive effort to highlight the opening day of the meet.
Running before a sparse crowd at the Anaheim Convention Center, Serna sped a solo 9:05.3 to win the seeded prep 2-Mile.

Serna, an international class athlete, was upset last week in the Sunkist mile by Royal's Scott Blackburn who sped past him in the final 300 yards. The Loara senior made sure that Blackburn did not get a chance to do it again. The two were close as they went through the mile in 4:28, but Serna made his move soon afterwards and opened a fifty-yard lead in the next halfmile. Blackburn finished 2^nd in the race at 9:21.6.

February 7, Times Indoor Games Loara's Ralph Serna will be seeking his 10th win in 14 meetings (5-0 edge in XC) with Eric Hulst.

Eric, who missed the Sunkist meet 2 weeks ago because of the Flu, has strained cartilage in his right knee. The injury apparently occurred when the Artist junior tried to resume training too soon after illness. Indoor season is out.

Two-Mile:
The potent two-mile field collapsed when Hulst scratched. Serna waited until the final 440 yards to make his move.

1) Serna ...................9:10.2
2) Richard Aguirre ....9:12.4
3) Ajim Baksh ..........9:20.4

Outdoor Schedule.

Duel -Redlands -Eric did not run in Laguna's season opener.

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Duel - Crespi / Eric doubled -9:27.1 & 4:33.2.

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Duel - El Dorado / Eric doubled -4:34.7 & 9:52.3.

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Duel - Mission Viejo / Eric doubled -9:13.7 & 4:25.6.

March 22, Balboa Relays -Junior, Thom Hunt wins the Invitational mile.

1) Thom Hunt (Patrick Henry)..4:07.9
2) Jay Woods (Vista) ..............4:13.3
3) Earle (Granite Hills)..............4:14.2
4) Johnson (Skyline, Oakland)..4:15.1
5)Arriola (Gahr)...................... 4:18.6

March 25, Glendale Relays - Ralph Serna & Eric Hulst to go head-to-head in perhaps three events...

Loara's Ralph Serna (above) highlighted the meet, who anchored Saxon relay quartets to three wins in as many tries, producing one meet record and a pair of sub 4:24 mile clockings. Serna got Loara off to an 18:10.0 first place finish in the opening four-mile relay, anchoring with a 4:18.4 to hold off Crescenta Valley. The Loara distance ace then reeled off a 1:58.9 half-mile anchor to give the Saxons an 8:05.6 meet record in the two-mile relay, and closed the evening with a 4:23.5 anchor mile in the distance medley relay, making up almost 80 yards to catch the leader going into the final turn, as Loara won in 10:40.7. Eric Hulst closed with a 4:21.7 final mile, making up almost 200 yards to give Laguna Beach fourth place.

Eric anchored against Serna in all three of those relays but was far out of contention by the time he got the baton. The red-headed eleventh grader clocked 4:20 in the four-mile relay to give LB a fourth, then went 1:59.8 in the two-mile relay as Laguna finished second.

Hulst travelled north to San Jose CC.

March 29, 1975 - San Jose Relays

Eric Hulst ran a mile in 4:15.2 on a relay leg & 4 hours later became the first high school runner to dip under the nine-minute mark in the two-mile this season.

2-Mile (Windy conditions):
1) Eric Hulst 8:58.6.
2) Roy Kissin (San Ramon) 9:14.6.
3) Ron Fritzke (Leigh) 9:15.8.

March 31

Eric has been troubled by nagging injuries this season. The latest, he bruises his right knee which occurs when he falls during a training run.
**After the school workout, Eric is forced to stop running although he runs a duel meet, The Trophy meet and Arcadia Invite. His only treatment is applying heat to his knee.

Duel - Dana Hills -Eric triples: 10:07.0, 2:02.2 & 4:35.

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April 11-12, - Laguna Beach Trophy Meet - Laguna's sensational junior, Hulst is favored to win the mile, but his competition is stiff. Vista High's Jay Woods who ran 4:09.7 mile three weeks ago at the Balboa Relays. Both Hulst and Woods were in last year's state meet. Hulst ran a sizzling 8:50.5 to finish second in the two-mile. Woods wasn't quite as fortunate, running a 4:11.0 as he finished second-to-last in the mile (8th). Woods has run a 9:19 two-mile this year.

Saturday, Woods ran a speedy 4:14.5 only to lose to Hulst with a 4:11.8. The red headed junior broke on top from the inside and was never more than a yard ahead of Woods for three quarters. But Woods, running on the outside couldn't match Hulst's final lap of 62 seconds. In all, Hulst ran splits: 61.6, 63.9, 64.3 & 62.0. It was Hulst's second best mile time ever, his top mark being the 4:09.1, he ran last year at Arcadia.

Eric was named athlete of the meet. He also won the two-mile in a good 9:10.9 & was third in the 880 with a 1:59.8. Eric finished his afternoon with a 2:12.8 relay leg.

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April 16 -*Eric visits the doctor and is is cleared to run Arcadia.

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April 19,Arcadia - The boys are back, the elite of Southern California show up.

Ralph Serna racing a 59.8 final 440 to win the mile at 4:07.0 over juniors Thom Hunt (Patrick Henry, San Diego) 4:08.1, Jim Arriolla (Gahr, Cerritos) 4:09.1, and Eric Hulst (Laguna Beach) 4:11.3. 7^th-Johnson (Skyline, Oakland) 4:15.0, 8^th-Don Moses (Crescenta Valley) 4:15.0, 9^th-Robert Angel (Huntington Beach) 4:17.8. -Eric's splits: splits: 58, 2:02, 3:07, 4:11.3.

**Due to lack of conditioning Eric is unable to come back to run the two-mile.

In Eric's absence, Brian Hunsaker (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach) came on board for the two mile, blazing a 4:24 first mile on the way to an 8:58.2 win over Hunt (9:02.6), Serna (9:02.8), Mark Spilsbury (Foothill, Santa Ana) 9:04.6, & Ajim Baksh (Hollywood) 9:07.3.

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April 20, Eric resumes training...

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Double duel -University & El Toro - Eric runs a 9:48.2.

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April 25, Fri -Mt. Sac Relays

Distance Medley Relay- Ralph Serna gets the baton with a five-yard lead over Thom Hunt. Hunt raced past Serna for the win.
1) Patrick Henry 10:19.6, 2) Loara 10:20.8.
**Hunt also won the two-mile with a 9:06.2 over Richard Aguirre (Santa Barbara) next at 9:10.0.

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San Clemente -Eric doubles: 9:39.7 & 4:28.9.

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Orange League Prelims -Eric runs: 2:03.1 & 4:38.3.

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May 1, Triangular Meet, Carey Pinkowski (Hammond, IN) runs an 8:56.2 - the second-fastest 2-mile in the nation.

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May 3rd, Thornton, IL., Thornton Invite., Rudy Chapa races an 8:52.5 (Chapa ripped through the mile at 4:19.3!), with teammate Tim Keough at his heels in 8:52.8!! Hammond High School has 3 runners under nine-minutes in the same season.

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May 9, Orange League Finals.

Hulst is a double winner. Winning the mile in 4:23.6 & two-mile in 9:12.4. Mission Viejo sophomore Mike Walterhouse pushed Hulst in both events, running second in 4:26.0 and 9:14.0. Hulst ran the 880 only 20 minutes after winning the two-mile and finished a badly-beaten fourth, running 2:01.2. His teammate, Phil Trimble, was second in a quick 1:57.1.

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May 15, (Thursday night), Gary, Ind., Rudy Chapa lowers his two-mile to 8:51.0 at the Hammond Sectional Track Meet.

May 17, CIF Prelims - Citrus College

Eric qualifies with a 4:28.6 & 9:25.0 distance double.

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May 23, CIF 2A Finals - Eric has never lost a race in 2A competition, but the Artist red head could have that streak snapped. He doesn't appear to be in danger in the two-mile, but the mile race is another matter. Waiting for Hulst in the mile will be Jim Arriola, a junior at Gahr High in Cerritos. As a sophomore Arriola clocked a 4:08.8 and so far this year has a 4:09.1.

Hulst was in good form in the mile, a race in which he won with surprising ease, with a 4:13.9, over favored Jim Arriola who was second in 4:18.4. The two runners were separated by only one-tenth of a second as they came past the 880 in 2:07.3, Hulst uncorked a powerful burst of speed on the third lap (62.7) to pass Arriola (66.6) and take a long lead. Hulst came back to capture the two-mile in a dazzling 8:57.0. Hulst, owning a long lead, ran a 60.1 last lap indicating he is ready for next week. Before the meet began, Hulst indicated that he would drop the mile and concentrate on the two-mile for next weeks Masters Meet. But after this double Eric changed his mind and is looking forward to a rematch with Loara's Ralph Serna.

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May 30, Masters Meet - The night belonged to distance rivals Serna & Hulst.

Norwalk, On a night when the crowd of 7,567 paid their respects to Steve Prefontaine, who died in a car crash early that morning, it was appropriate that distance stars Ralph Serna & Eric Hulst turned in top marks at the Southern Section Masters meet.

In the mile, Aviation's Eric Rogers led the field through the first lap in 61.0, but Hulst tried to sprint away in the second lap. Gahr's Jim Arriola moved right with him, but Serna was boxed in and could not free himself until the 880. Hulst and Arriola went by the 880 in 2:05.3 with Serna one-tenth back. With a 660 left Hulst tried to make another move to separate himself from Arriola & Serna. Serna went with him, but Arriola could not keep up the pace and fell back. Serna sprinted away from Hulst with 330 yards left and coasted in with a 4:08.3 clocking, shaving one-tenth off Terry William's old CIF record. Robert Angel (Huntington Beach) displayed a super kick, coming from 7th on the backstretch to nail second in 4:09.7 (a PB by 4 seconds!) Hulst comes in at 4:10.2 with Arriola next at 4:11.0.

Hulst bounced back impressively in the two-mile with a sizzling 8:51.8 as Serna took 2^nd in 8:55.0. Eric took the lead on the second lap with Serna & Brian Hunsaker of Corona del Mar close behind, passing the first mile at 4:25.8. It stayed that way until about 660 to go when Hulst moved powerfully and took a 10-yard lead on Serna with Hunsaker 20-yards behind. Eric went by the 7^th lap at 7:48.3, running the last 440 in 63.5 maintained his edge the rest of the way. Hulst's time is the second fastest in the nation behind Chapa's 8:51.0.

The distance events, which have become the most popular races the last few years. Here's how they shape up for the CA State Meet.

Eric Hulst withdraws from the mile to focus on the two-mile. He becomes the heavy favorite for the two-mile. The Laguna Beach runner was second in the state meet last year at 8:50.5 and has already run an 8:51.8. Ralph Serna, the national leader in the mile, is pondering dropping out of the two-mile because at the Masters Meet Hulst beat him by almost four seconds. The Loara High senior will have to run the two-mile before the mile, taking away from his finishing kick. Thom Hunt (Patrick Henry), who is second in the nation in the mile behind Serna, doesn't reveal if he'll double or concentrate on either the mile or the two-mile. The Patrick Henry junior is anxious to run a fast two-mile yet is Serna's biggest threat if Hunt decided to limit himself to the mile.

Mile: Serna finished fourth last year with a strong kick and led the nation for most of the season. However, should Hunt pass up the two-mile, the Henry junior, with a 1:55.1 in the 880, will be a major threat. At the Mt Sac relays, Hunt spotted Serna a five-yard lead on a relay leg and raced past him for the win.

2-Mile: Eric Hulst, who ran behind Rich Kimball's state meet record of 8:46.5 last year, ran his 8:51.8 last week after clocking a 4:10 mile earlier in the evening. A fresh Hulst could be dynamite. However, Hunt is no slowpoke and has no competition to speak of all season and would like to run a fast time. The San Diego county record of 8:53.8 set by Dale Fleet in the state meet in 1971 could be in trouble.

A "Super" CA state-meet 2 mile "75."

Eric Hulst (Laguna, Jr) runs the fourth-fastest clocking ever(8:44.9, in 75) but he had to run that fast to outkick Ralph Serna (Loara, Sr. -8:45.9)

Above: Hulst is in the lead by the first lap (65.3).

Hulst , unconcerned by the sweltering temperatures on the Balboa Stadium track, cruised past the mile in 4:20.8 with Serna and Mitch Kingery (San Carlos, Sr.) staying right behind.

Kingery hung on until 660 to go before fading to 4^th (8:57.3). Hulst led a 66.1 for the seventh circuit.

The red-haired Artists junior sped to the lead after 220 yards, 1st lap 65.3, and was in first the rest of the way.

Eric                         Ralph
65.3       440           65.5
63.9       880           63.9
65.4      1320         65.4
66.2       Mile          66.2
4:20.8                    4:21.0

67.8      1 1/4         67.8
68.0      1 1/2         68.0
66.1      1 3/4         66.1
62.2      2 mile       63.0
4:24.1                    4:24.9 8:44.9                    8:45.9

Finish

27 runners crowd the start of the two-mile run. (Arrows) Hunt, Hulst and Serna. (R) Just 8:44.9 later, Eric Hulst breaks the tape.

Hulst runs the fourth-fastest (Then) two-mile in prep history.

At the time, Craig Virgin with the NR, 8:40.9, Prefontaines 8:41.5 from 1969 are faster. Nevertheless, only Virgin (also 8:42.6) and Pre have gone faster as preps. Ralph Serna moves to the No. 5 all-time -in the fastest race ever run in California. 10^th place was 9:13.2!!

Hulst's time also sets a national record for a junior, eclipsing the record of 8:48.8 set by Santa Monica's Curtis Beck in 1972.

The Mile:

Serna pushed Hulst to a new meet record as he ran 8:45.9 for second place. Serna's time (Then) is the fifth fastest in history and the fourth-best individual performance. The price was costly, so devastating was the two-mile pace and the heat drained Serna's energy. Less than 90 minutes later, Ralph was unable to come back in the mile where he was never a factor clocked a 4:22.6 in 9^th place. Thom Hunt eased through the last three laps of the two-mile, to save energy for the mile, finished far back in 19th at 9:30.2. Hunt couldn't keep up on the third lap in the mile finishing 5^th at 4:11.2.

Surprise winner, John Johnson (Skyline, second from the left) stayed off the pace in the mile for most of the race. Johnson's 59 second last lap overhauled pace setter Jim Arriola of Gahr in the final 150 yards. Johnson won in a personal best of 4:09.5.

June 13-14, Knoxville, Tenn.

The AAU Junior Championships, where Eric doubled, running the 10,000m and the Steeplechase.

June 16, Sports Illustrated

Profiles Hammond High School - "Three into two miles who go, go, go." (Link to SI Vault).

July 4-5, Knoxville, TN, US vs USSR Juniors - 95° it was 124° on the tartan track.

Eric Hulst & Rudy Chapa take on the Soviet Union Juniors.

In almost a repeat of the National AAU junior meet trials in Knoxville, Hulst was second to Chapa of Indiana, although the margin was greater this time. Hulst surged to the front with 660 yards to go and Chapa pulled away with 330 yards to go. Chapa won in 31:06.0, while Hulst ran 31:09.7. Constantin LeBedev of the Soviet Union was third in 31:15.4.

Chapa and Hulst ran almost two minutes faster in Knoxville but the weather conditions were horrendous. The temperature was 95° in the stands and 124° on the tartan track. The runners in the 10,000 meter race were sprayed with hoses to cool them off.

October 18, Duel Mission Viejo
1) Hulst 10:01.

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Duel vs San Clemente @ Laguna
1) Hulst 11:22.

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October 11, Villa Park Classic
1) Hulst 9:54.

How good is Don Moses?

A good runner last year, with junior season bests of 1:57.8, 4:15 & 9:32.8, Don Moses (Crescenta Valley) was rapidly improving. Undefeated in eight outings, Moses has broken course records in his last four races, and "broken" is an understatement. The Crescenta Valley senior has smashed the Burbank and Burroughs course records, both by more than 9 seconds, on the fast and relatively flat Griffith Park course in recent weeks. October 18, in Santa Maria, Moses broke his own Hancock Invitational record by 30 seconds in which he convincingly defeated Santa Barbara's George Aguirre. Foothill's Mark Spilsbury was an earlier victim of Moses, when the Crescenta star stormed to the large school division title of the Kenny Staub Invitational in an amazing 9:52.5 clocking. That performance was remarkable in that Moses finished less than a second behind the course record established by Eric Hulst of Laguna - and Moses did that in 97° heat while with virtually no competition, as Spilsbury finished far behind.

Hulst now a senior and perhaps the best distance prospect developed in years in Southern California, will face Moses at the Mt Sac Invitational. Also coming up for the challenge is San Diego's premier distance runner, Thom Hunt.

Only two runners (Terry Williams of Lompoc and Hulst) have ever bettered 10 minutes on the hilly Mt. Sac course. Hulst won in 9:52 last year, while Williams holds the course record of 9:48. If the race goes as expected, the top entries could finish under 10 minutes this year.

November 26, San Diego Cross Country Championships.

1) Thom Hunt ...9:41.5, completes an undefeated cross country campaign.

South Coast League Finals @ Mission Viejo

1) Hulst 11:03 CR

November 22, CIF Cross Country Prelims @ Mt Sac.

1) Eric Hulst (Laguna) ...10:06.2.

November 29, CIF Cross Country Championships @ Mt Sac.

2-A Division
1) Eric Hulst (Laguna) ...9:57. It was the second CIF championship for Hulst who won the 2-A title as a sophomore but bypassed last years meet in order to compete in the National AAU meet. He returned as a senior, rated a heavy favorite all the way.

4-A Division
1) Don Moses (Crescenta Valley) ....10:03.2.

Dec 7, 1975, Culver City Marathon.

Overall place
1) Gary Tuttle - 2:17:26
......
11) Hunt - 2:24:04.
24) Hulst - 2:30:56.

Eric placed 13^th, 2:27:25 - less than 4 minutes would separate him from running in the Olympic Trials (Sub 2:23) for the marathon that summer...

But he can still possibly qualify for the Olympic Trials @ 10,000 meters.

January 16, Friday night -Sunkist Indoor Invite - In the first big indoor meet of the Olympic year, the high school hopefuls stole the show!
Led by Florida's 18-year-old super star, Houston McTear of Baker High, who won over an international field in a pair of sprints (50y & 60y) and Crescenta Valley's Don Moses.

(L) Houston McTear, 18-year-old high school senior, beats Olympic sprint champion Valeriy Borzov (R) of the USSR in the 50-yard dash. McTear clocked 5.1, one-tenth of a second behind world record.

8:37 pm-Mile (Seeded): In a big upset, Don Moses moved to the prep elite with a rare victory over Hulst. Moses defeated Laguna Beach's Eric Hulst in a 4:11.5 (PB) as he stormed to the front with half a lap to go in a stirring finish that had the crowd of 13,655 standing and roaring. Hulst's time was 4:12.9 and third-place Dave Daniels was clocked in 4:17.2. Moses splits were 64.0, 2:08.0, 3:12.0 and a 59.5 final 440! His previous best was 4:15 in the Arcadia Invitational last year. Moses and Hulst came back later to face a fresh Thom Hunt...

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9:41 pm -Two-Mile (22 laps): Thom Hunt sprinted away in the last lap to win in 8:56.4 (the No. 6 time ever) with Hulst second in 8:59.2. Don Moses ran another personal best 9:13.6 taking 5th in the strong field.

Hunt led the first mile. Hulst took the lead after 1½ miles, surrendered it briefly to Spilsbury, and assumed command again before Hunt rallied the last lap. Hunt's time is his first-ever sub-9 minute clocking!!
1) Hunt ....8:56.4 (meet record, old mark, 9:02.8 by Terry Williams (Lompoc) 1973).
2) Hulst ....8:59.2
3) Mark Spilsbury (Foothill) ....9:00.0
4) George Aguirre (Santa Barbara) ....9:07.6
5) Don Moses ....9:13.6

National Junior Cross Country Championships Jan 24, 1976 brought together many of the top distance runners to compete @ Irvine.

Serna (UCI frosh) and Roy Kissin (Stanford frosh) made the team last year. Hulst and Alberto Salazar both made the U. S. junior track team which competed against Russia last summer. Serna the NCAA Div. II champ last fall, HS bests: 4:07.0, 8:45.9, 14:16.2 (Mile/2M/5k).

Salazar is favored to win the race. The Wayland, MA HS senior was undefeated in cross country last fall, beat the Russians at 5k last summer with bests of 13:45.6, 14:14.6 (3M/5k). He finished 24^th (29:39) in the AAU National Cross Country Championships last November.

Hunt, the senior from Patrick Henry was also undefeated last fall, setting a course record each time out. Hunt has beaten Hulst 3 times during the current school year: Mt. Sac, a Marathon (Dec) & an Indoor 2Mile only 8 days ago (Hulst was upset by Don Moses in the mile the same evening! Hunt, the most versatile, 4:07.9, 8:56.4, 14.19.0, 29:46.0, 2:24:04 (Mile/2M/5k/10k/Marathon).

Ron Craker (York, IL), a senior, clocked 8:51.8, 13:53.0, 2M/3M in postal competition last fall.

Hulst the California State 2Mile champ at 8:44.9, has other bests of: 4:09.0, 14:32.8, 29:11.2, 2:30:56 (Mile/5k/10k/Marathon).

Hulst blitzes right from the start.

Photos: Ted Brazil

9 (Nine) seconds later...

(L-R) Don Moses (Crescenta Valley) 8:52.6-2M, Marty Froelick (Scarborough, TX) 9:01.2-2M / Obscured: Tim Holmes (WVTC, Downey, CA) HS Jr. 9:02.4 & George Aguirre (Santa Barbara) 9:00.2-2M.

The course was 4.8 miles -177 yards short of 5 miles. Except for one medium upgrade, the course was a flat one, however footing was treacherous in spots because of unexpected watering by the golf course sprinklers.

RESULTS:
1-Hulst 22:48; 2-Hunt 23:08; 3-Salazar 23:09; 4-Serna 23:13; 5-Froelick 23:18; 6-Moses 23:19; 7-Kissin 23:21; 8-Brian Hunsaker (UCI frosh) 23:24 9-Holmes 23:44 10-George Aguirre (Santa Barbara) 23:54.

Others Included: 13-Alan Scharsu (Sophomore at Fitch high, OH) 24:05; 14-Spilsbury (Foothill) 24:05; 23-Frank Assumma (9^th-grader, Rialto Road Runners) 24:43; 27-Ron Craker (York, IL) 24:54; 29-Rod Berry (Sophomore at Redwood high) 24:55.

Jan 31, 1976 - Belmont, U.S. Trials for World Cross Country Championships Senior Mens brought together the top distance runners to compete @ Crystal Springs, including one schoolboy. 12 brutal kilometers.

On a brutal 12,000-meter (7,45M) course laced with short, steep hills and 4 barriers, Glen Herold of the Wisconsin TC took the lead and swept through the first mile in 4:43-slow by most standards, but on this testing course, fast enough to open 15 yards on a group of Don Kardong, Tony Sandoval, Steve Flanagan, Gary Tuttle, Dave Babiracki, and super-prep Eric Hulst, the junior winner.

US senior team to Chepstow - Top 8 Qualify; first 6 expenses paid!

1) Gary Tuttle (Beverly Hills) ....37:23.4
2) Dave Babiracki (SFTC) .......37:29.2
3) Don Kardong (Club NW) ....37:34.2
4) Glen Herold (Wis TC) ...........37:41
5) Anthony Sandoval (Stanford) ..37:46
6) Steve Flanagan (Colo TC) ......37:57
7) Eric Hulst (Lag Bch HS) ........38:15
...
11) Rich Kimball (un) .................38:51

Friday Night Feb. 6th, 1976 -The Forum - 17^th Annual - L.A. Times Indoor Games -Event 17 -High School Two Mile Run 9:30pm.

Meet Record: 8:55.0 Terry Williams (Lompoc) 1973.

Much Thanks to Ken Ernst for the shots

Hulst takes command, passing the half in 2:08.2 and leading at 1320 in 3:15.2.

Hunt takes over by the mile (4:24.0) and at six laps (6:42.8) using his superior speed rips a 59.4, hitting seven in 7:52.4, and continued with a last 440y in 60.0 (1:59.4 last 880)!!

** 11 laps per mile.

Hunt was a runaway winner with a then third fastest prep time in indoor history...

And was so full of energy after finishing that he took two victory laps at virtually the same pace.

(R) Don Moses (Crescenta Valley) charges past Hulst and nails 2nd!!

Results:

1) Thom Hunt 8:52.4 (3^rd Best Ever)

2) Don Moses 8:54.0 (4^th Best ever)

3) Eric Hulst 8:55.8

4) Mark Spilsbury (Foothill) 9:01.8

5) G. Aguirre (Santa Barbara) 9:16.6

Feb. 21, 1976 @ San Diego - Indoors.

The 11,000-plus fans yelled themselves hoarse when five milers dipped under four minutes, but it wasn't so much for Rod Dixon's upset of Filbert Bayi as for the familiar 5'8"/120lbs figure in the psychedelic orange & lavender uniform in 6 ^th place. That was Thom Hunt. Up against world class milers, he obliterated the then prep record of 4:06.6 set by Vince Cartier in '72 with a 4:02.7!

Splits: 62.4, 61.4, 60.0, 58.9!!!!

Serna is 19^th

-Moses is 8^th & Froelick is 11^th!!

The U. S. Jr team wins, scoring their lowest total of 16 points.

Distance: 8000m.

1) E. Hulst (USA) .............23:53.8 (4:48 mile pace!!)
2) T. Hunt (USA) ..............24:06.8 (4:51 mile pace!!)
3) N. Muir (Scot)...............24:17
4) T. Watrice (Fra).............24:23
5) A. Salazar (USA) ..........24:36
...
8) D. Moses (USA)...........24:43
11) M. Froelick (USA)......24:47
19) R. Serna (USA) ..........25:02 (5:02 mile pace!!)

81 finishers representing 14 Countries.

23 FEB 2019 - IAAF Org
SERIES: FAB FIVE: WORLD CROSS TEAMS: USA U20 men, 1976
IAAF looks back at five noteworthy team performances from the 46-year history of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

[Article LINK]

March 20, South Coast Relays

Eric races the mile for Laguna's 4 man 4-mile relay, Team total time 18:36.1.

Eugene, Ore., March 20, 1976 - 17 year old Bill McChesney stepped onto Oregon's track against Paul Gies and Terry Williams.

Running unattached, Mchesney broke the U.S. high school records for six-miles/10,000-meters at the Oregon Invitational relays. McChesney's 3rd-place time in the 6M/10,000 meter race was 28:09.4/29:06.8. Gies won in 29:00.4. Williams second at 29:05.8. Bill led through 4 miles before the Veterans (Gies & Williams ) took off and leaving Bill to fight it out alone.

Gainesville, Fla, March 26 - The Florida Relays -Rudy Chapa sets two PR's but....

The Hammond Indiana senior wanted a fast 10k to run under the Olympic qualifying time (28:40.0).

The race was fast, Mike Keogh won in 28:29.8, but after gamely going through the 2M in 9:10.0, the Junior 10k champion couldn't hold the pace. Once it was obvious that the qualifying mark was out of reach, the disappionted Chapa slowed over the last mile.

Chapa placed 4^th clocking 28:11.0/29:09.4 for the 6M/10,000m.

Irvine, CA., March 28, 1976 - UCI Meet of Champions -10:30am - 10,000m -Hulst shoots for the Olympic Qualifying time.

The vet, Gary Tuttle (28yrs) shadows the prodigy, Hulst (18yrs) @ 10,000m. Tuttle never ran faster than a 9:36 2 mile in HS while Eric was breaking records as a 14year old.

On a breezy day, two days after doubling 9:22 & 4:32 in a duel meet, Hulst put it on the line with Gary Tuttle of the Beverly Hills Striders providing the competition. Hulst ground out the pace for 4 miles before Tuttle pulled away and Eric couldn't hang on. Hulst finished with a gutty 4:45.0 to finish 27:58.0/28:54.8 6M/10,000 meters taking massive chunks out of McChesney's week-old records.

The following race, San Diego prep standout Thom Hunt stepped up to the 5,000m taking 5^th in 14:34.

UC Irvine frosh Ralph Serna was 3^rd with a 14:04.8.

Des Moines, Iowa, April 24 - Denied at Florida relays, Rudy Chapa came back with a vengeance at the Drake Relays.

In ideal distance weather, Chapa tucked in with the leaders and passed two-miles at 9:07 but unlike Florida the Indiana prep did not falter and stayed right with the lead group. Although, Chapa ended up "only" 5^th, but he got a pair of prep records and more importantly to Chapa the Olympic Qualifying standard for his trouble. Chapa cruised to a 27:36.4/28:32.64 6M/10,000m and thus becomes the first high-schooler to qualify for the Olympic Trials at any distance longer than 400 meters in '76.

Eric Hulst ran the second fastest mile during his brilliant high school career, but it wasn't nearly fast enough to offset the powerful burst of speed that Thom Hunt displayed Friday afternoon.

A fast mile was set up by soph Sal Peralta's (Santa Fe) 59.5, 2:02.6 pace making. Hunt then used a 61.7 to take the lead, with an eased up 60.3 final go-round easily topping Don Moses (4:08.5) and Hulst (4:09.5).

1) Hunt 4:06.6
2) Moses 4:08.5
3) Hulst 4:09.5
4) Spilsbury (Foothill) 4:11.2
5) Peralta (Santa Fe) 4:13.0

On Saturday, the three doubled back (above) for the deuce. Hunt running an even pace cruised past the mile in 4:24 and entered the gun lap with a 7:48.4 split, about one second behind Hulst. However, Hunt accelerated on the backstretch using his superior speed passed Hulst on the final turn, giving him the win over Hulst by three seconds (up to this point, Eric has not done any speedwork while concentrating on the 10,000m).

1) Thom Hunt ...8:49.6
2) Eric Hulst .....8:52.6
3) Don Moses ..8:57.4

*Eric came back two hours later to anchor a Laguna distance medley relay team to 2^nd place (10:48.5), running a 4:22.6 mile.

April 17 - Arcadia Invitational - A capacity crowd of 6,000 fans - 2-Mile

Thom Hunt keeps on rolling. For the second straight week he showed his heels to the best of Southern California's distance runners.
But this time it took a much faster race to do it. In fact, the No. 5 prep performance ever, 8:45.2 leaving him just 4.3 seconds off the high school record of 8:40.9 set by Lebanon's Craig Virgin of Illinois.

Hunt led Hulst and Moses through the first mile in 4:24.3 about the same pace the previous week. Hulst in 3^rd place .1 behind surged into the lead on the 6^th lap and gains a momentary edge over Hunt. But Hunt regained the lead on the 7^th lap. Hulst, who is still lacking speed work, couldn't handle Hunt's closing 61.2 and had to be content with 8:47.4, just 2 seconds off his best, and the No. 9 performance ever. Moses moved to 12^th all-time with his fine 8:52.6, almost 5 seconds under his previous best of 8:57.4 set last week, while surprising Sal Godinez improved his PB by more than 25 seconds in taking fifth in 8:54.4. Edison's Colin McConnell cut nearly 10 seconds off his PB but finished 7^th in 9:01.2, while Foothill's Mark Spilsbury finally broke the nine-minute barrier with a 8:53.6 to become the 4^th fastest prep two-miler in Orange County history.

1) Thom Hunt - 8:45.2
2) Eric Hulst - 8:47.4
3) Don Moses - 8:52.6
4) Spilsbury - 8:53.6
5) Godinez (Salesian) - 8:54.4

+ + + +

Don Moses came back to anchor Crescenta Valley, with a 4:13.6 mile, to win the distance medley relay in 10:13.6.

The same race, Eric Hulst anchored Laguna Beach to 3^rd in 10:16.0 with a 4:13.7 mile (going out too fast with a 58, 2:03 half).

* * * * * * * * Hulst loses "Battle," but "War" not over. * * * * * * * *

Although, it is the 5^th time this year he has lost to Hunt - twice outdoors & three times indoors - Hulst is not discouraged.

Hulst is training towards his goal of meeting the Olympic qualifying time (28:40.0) in the 10,000 meters race. As a result he has done very little speed work, a fact that was very evident at Arcadia when Hunt was able to spring away from him with ease on the last lap.

But...
Hulst lost several times to county rival Ralph Serna, a runner with better leg speed, during the season.
But in the state meet it was Hulst who won in a record time 8:44.9.

This years State meet promises to be another sizzler. Both Hunt and Hulst indicated that they intend to ignore the mile and concentrate on the two-mile at Berkeley this June.

May 15, CIF Prelims @ Placentia's Valencia High School

Hulst had little difficulty in his mile or two-mile heats he won the mile in 4:23.5 & took the two-mile in a pedestrian 9:30.4.

May 22, CIF Southern Section Finals - Saturday @ Placentia's Valencia High School

The familiar red head from Laguna Beach won his 4^th two-mile crown at the 2A finals in front of 3,000 fans. Hulst had little competition, yet still managed to break his own meet record with an 8:53.0 in the two-mile. Thus Hulst goes down in the record books as the two-mile champion in varsity competition as a freshman (9:15.1), sophomore (9:08.6), junior (8:57.0), and senior (8:53.0).

Hulst was a double winner 8:53.0/4:11.3.

While Hulst was completing his four-year dominanation of the two-mile, he also added a trio of mile victories.

May 29, Norwalk, Eric Hulst, Laguna Beach high's mile and two-mile phenom, makes his final Southland appearance as a high school runner in the Boys State Qualifying meet (formerly known as the Masters).

Eric Hulst running in splendid isolation all the way won the two-mile in 8:44.6 to highlight the CIF State Qualifying Meet.

A crowd of 8,000 at Cerritos College encouraged the Laguna Beach Star vocally for the eight laps in his bid for the CIF record and a possible national mark.

Hulst had announced before the meet that he was shooting for the National two-mile record. He had hoped to run the first mile in 4:18, but did 4:20.2 and that proved to be the difference. Hulst's time is the 4^th best in history for a prep, topped only by Craig Virgin (Lebanon), who ran 8:40.9 & 8:42.6 and Steve Prefontaine with a 8:41.6.
Eric qualifies for the State Track meet four straight years, the first time anyone's ever done that.

Hulst splits were 63.1, 66.0, 65.7, 65.4 (4:20.2), 67.1, 67.3, 66.8 and 63.2!!

Hulst, the defending state champion, did get the CIF mark, easily beating the record of 8:48.8 set by Santa Monica's Curtis Beck in 1972. But the national standard of 8:40.9 was out of reach despite an all-out sprint on the final lap.

That record is certainly attainable and could fall next week in the State meet in Berkeley when Hulst figures to go against Thom Hunt of San Diego's Patrick Henry High...

Meet record holder, Eric Hulst strides toward victory in a slow (for him) 8:57.3, in the sandy track, to become the third performer in the meet's history to win back-to-back 2M titles, joining Ralph Gamez (1965-66) & Ruben Chappins (1968-69). Second place went to Colin McConnell (R, Edison, Huntington Beach) in 9:00.5.

Eric's plan for the 2M record went out the window when rival Thom Hunt came down with a bacterial infection before the state track meet, Hunt wasn't able to test his sizzling foot speed against Hulst's stamina. Also there were high winds and then there was Berkeley's "slow" dirt track.

Mile:
Thom Hunt was 7^th
Hunt never recovered from the 8-day virus attack 2-weeks earlier.

Jim Arriola of Gahr edged Paul Neveu for the mile title -both timed in 4:14.6.
Don Moses  Crescenta Valley gets 3^rd in 4:17.5.

June 12, AAU Nationals @ UCLA - 10,000 meters

In the last race which was the last chance for many athletes to qualify for the Olympic trials, prep Eric hulst took the pack out in a brisk 4:31. With little pace-making help, the Laguna Beach standout pulled the pack through splits of 9:11 and 13:56. After that, he began to run 70-second quarters but needed to run 69's. At 4M, Eric fell back eventually finishing in 6^th in 29:30.6. Winner Ed Leddy (Knox TC) won the race in 28:46.0 was also off the 28:40.0 standard but Leddy being Irish was already on his Olympic team.

Rudy Chapa (Hammond) was not a factor in his heat of the 10,000, finishing a non-qualifying 6^th in 30:36.4, compared to his April prep record of 28:32.7.

10,000 meters - 2 Heats (3 qualify, plus 3 fastest and all under 28:45).
Heat II:
1) Bill Rodgers (GBTC) ........... 28:32.8
...
6) Rudy Chapa (Indiana HS) .... 30:36.4

Link: - Article, March 20, 2010 - Remembering a track legend.

-Laguna Beach High School honors Eric Hulst, at the 2010 Trophy Invitational @ Laguna Beach HS.

Hulst, Serna

& Tony Sandoval - TFN Cover.

76 NCAA XC - Hulst chases Rono, placing 34^th.

Hulst & Hunt