In an earlier column when I wrote about the score change which gave Carmel the Hamilton County track meet championship over Noblesville, I also touched on a meet held years ago when another score correction also changed the outcome.

Since I wrote that column, Dale Snelling has produced THE facts on what happened on April Fool’s Day, 1966. Snelling was the coach of the Millers.
Let me set the stage.

The meet was held at old Memorial Field, where North Elementary now stands. Noblesville had won 36 consecutive (regular season) meets. Carmel came calling with a new power team under first-year head coach Eric Clark.

The scoring problem came after the fifth running event when rain and sleet fell for a second time during the afternoon. Lapel, the third team in the meet, decided to pack its bags and go home.

At the time Lapel departed, Carmel had 25 points, Noblesville 21 and Lapel nine. Later, it was discovered Lapel had scored an additional point in the pole vault.

It was decided that since Lapel had participated in just five events, the Bulldogs’ points and ribbons would be taken away and the meet would be scored as a dual contest. Triangular meets, in those days, were scored 5-3-2-1, while dual meets were scored on three places, 5-3-1.

Carmel left Memorial Field that day with a 60-57 victory over Noblesville. The Millers’ string had been snapped.

But, Snelling asked for and got a ruling from the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Should the meet be scored as a triangular meet or a dual meet?

The problem was, you see, had the meet been scored as a triangular meet, Noblesville would have won with 77 points, Carmel second with 73 and Lapel third with 10 points.

A month later, the IHSAA gave its decision. The meet should have been scored as a triangular contest, but (this is a big but) a point given to Noblesville’s Jim Butler for finishing third in the pole vault was taken away and the meet ended in a 67-67 tie. Butler had not cleared opening height.

In a letter to principals Maynard Wolf of Noblesville and Dale Graham of Carmel, then-IHSAA commissioner Phil Eskew wrote:

“Since all three schools participated in this meet, the Board of Control (of the IHSAA) has ruled that it should be considered a triangular meet.

“The Noblesville boy (Butler) who failed to clear the opening height in the pole vault should not be awarded any place or points.

“If there are any further questions, please let me know.”

Before the IHSAA issued its decision, Noblesville had lost at the Marion Relays, thus ending the Millers’ unbeaten string at 40.

Noblesville’s last loss had been to Kokomo in 1961.

The loss to Kokomo and the tie with Carmel had a couple of things in common for the Millers.

Against Kokomo in that 1961 meet, Noblesville dash ace Steve Mullin was injured and couldn’t participate. Kokomo swept 17 of the 18 points in the dashes to pull out a slim meet victory. Against Carmel in the 1966 tie, Noblesville dash ace Steve Pryor pulled up lame after finishing second in the 100 and he could not compete in any more events.

I’m sure you remember Billy Shepherd, the Mr. Basketball from Carmel. Billy, along with Bob McLean, were the stars for Carmel in that tie with the Millers. McLean won two dash events and Shepherd was first in the half-mile and pulled an upset by placing second in the broad (yes, broad) jump.
Now, you have the Real Story.