CCS 3200 Meet Record


It was 52 years ago when Gordon MacMitchell (Gunn ’73) set the CCS Meet Record in the 2 mile (3200) with 
a 9:01.6 (8:58.2c) clocking.  The 3rd oldest track Meet Record at CCS, behind Rick Brown’s (Los Altos ’70) 
880 & Mile Relay records, that was ran at San Jose CC.  I was there that night, not as a competitor but 
as a fan and teammate of Gordy.  My recollection of how the race went is still as clear as the day it was 
run.  Back then the 2-mile was the 5th to last event on the schedule.  Gordon had qualified in the Mile as 
well but dropped that event to focus only on the deuce.  When the gun went off, we all started our stop 
watches to see what kind of splits the field would run, it was a Sunday jog – it was going to be that 
kind of race.  Sitting in the pack, Gordon let Kingery, McCandless, Geiken and Kennedy to the heavy lifting 
while biding his time.  Rich McCandless (Westmont) was the favorite with his 9:11.2 mark from the Region 
meet the week before even though Gordon had a 9:10.6 time from League Finals.  The plan from Coach Forrest 
Jamieson (yes, Jamo was the Paly coach at the time yet the two had a relationship that went back to 8th 
grade when Jamieson then coached at Terman, the feeder school to Gunn) was to start his kick with 660 to go.  
Given the slow pace and the crowd in the front group, Gordon didn’t want to chance it so he took off with 
an 880 to go at an insane pace.  7th lap was a 60, could he hang on?  8th lap was a 57 for a 1:57 last half 
mile – unbelievable.  It was a smart move for back in 3rd place was Geiken making a move on 2nd place 
Kingery – contact was made and Geiken went down, he was able to recover and still garner that 3rd place 
finish and a trip to States.  Gordon’s teammate, Steve Crowley, ran an hour later and won the Mile in 4:12.6 
capping an incredible night of track racing.  As the years passed, I’d email Gordon each year to let him 
know his meet record had survived yet again even though his overall place in the CCS All-Time Top 100 kept 
dropping (as of 2024, he was ranked 16th).  He’d always say how he fondly remembered those times of 
running and gave credit to runners and teammates Crowley, Nelson, Emory, Geiken and myself.  He stated, 
“We all worked out together and this record has always been a testament of our commitment and dedication 
to each other and running.”


Arne Nelson, Steve Crowley, Gordon MacMitchell in the Mile at the '73 Region 2 meet.



Yosef Berhan (Piedmont Hills), Fitzpatrick (Nueva), Landon Pretre (Menlo), Eli Fitchen-Young (Santa Cruz) at '25 CCS meet.
First 3 placers all broke the CCS Meet Record.