Richard Zeleny was truly one of the most renowned athletes in
WPI's history. His accomplishments as a runner will never be
equaled.
The records he set in cross country and on the track were
phenomenal. Most astonishing is his record for endurance. The New
Jersey State high school champion, he came to WPI in 1948 and
proceeded to lower the school cross country record each of his four
years.
When he graduated in 1953, he also owned the best times at
Amherst College, the University of Massachusetts and the Coast
Guard Academy. In a four-year span, he won 14 of 20 races and
racked up four second place and two thirds place finishes as
well.
Drive and determination also propelled him to succeed on the
indoor track in winter and the outdoor track in the spring. Always
the fastest on the relay team, he had the sole distinction of
participating in every relay race during his four years.
A team man, he may have been most proud when, in 1952, with just
11 men, Tech ventured to Lewiston and upset Bates 52-47. One of his
most sparkling moments came in his senior year during a meet at
Amherst College. In the span of less than an hour, he accomplished
the near impossible task of winning the half-mile, mile and
two-mile events.
His versatility should also be noted. During the winter of his
senior year, for example, he won six different running events - the
440-, 600-, 880- and 1,000-yard, and mile and two-mile runs.
He was a leader on the track and off. A member of Tau Beta Pi,
which recognized him for his scholarship, he was also an active
member of the Varsity Club, in which he served as secretary, and
the student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers, in which he served as both secretary and treasurer.
Tonight we proudly honor Dick Zeleny for his outstanding
athletic achievement by inducting him, posthumously, into the WPI
Athletic Hall of Fame.
