UW Athletic Hall of Fame

Walter Mehl

  • Class
  • Induction
    1992
  • Sport(s)
    Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field
Walter Mehl
  • Wisconsin's first national cross country champion (1939), one year after finishing second at the NCAA Meet
  • Captained the 1939 team, which finished second at the NCAA Championship and won the Big Ten title
  • Big Ten cross country champion in 1939, and conference runner-up in 1938
  • NCAA two-mile champion in 1938 with a record time of 9:11.1
  • Won Big Ten indoor and outdoor two-mile titles as a junior and the conference indoor and outdoor mile events as a senior
  • National AAU outdoor 1,500-meter champion in 1940, setting an American record (3:47.9)
  • National AAU indoor mile champion in 1940
  • Inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame
  • Took first place in the prestigious indoor and outdoor Wanamaker Mile in 1941
  • Served as an assistant coach at the UW following graduation and eventually took on head coaching duties at the University of Tennessee (1946)
Walter Mehl
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