Bill Saimond and Doug Stotz. Seems like they were always
together on the WPI campus, usually on the cinder track. That was
more than 40 years ago.
Not much has changed. They're together again, in this room
tonight, and both are about to be inducted into the WPI Athletic
Hall of Fame.
Merl Norcross, head coach of WPI track and field back then, and
track coach emeritus today, noted how this dou "represented the
best I had. If one wasn't winning an event, surely the other one
was."
A four-year letter-winner in track and field, you captained the
team in your senior year of 1959. Just as important, you led your
team in scoring that season with 59 points. As a junior, you were
second on the team in scoring, behind a fellow named Stotz.
You ran the high hurdles, the 440, the low hurdles, and competed
on the relay teams. In fact, it was in the 220 low hurdles that you
set a record of 24.8 seconds versus Norwich.
As a senior, you concluded your career by finishing fourth in
the Easterns in the 440. You would later anchor a mile relay team
that won a Knights of Columbus race in the fabled old Boston
Garden, setting a school record in the process along with Dave
Bragg, Joe Carpentieri and Dave Prosser.
Consistency and positive attitude were traits you constantly
exhibited. Producing victory-except, perhaps, when a teammate named
Stotz came along-was your benchmark.
On campus, you were listed in "Who's Who Among Students in
American Universities and Colleges," and you were art editor of
Peddler in 1959. Today you are a retired logistics manager,
residing in Canton, Conn.
Bill Saimond, for your prowess and positive attitude, it is a
privilege to induct you into the WPI Athletic Hall of Fame.
