Maurice Maloney, ‘48, competed in his first track competition in the spring of his sophomore year. He won his second race–the half-mile– helping him earn his first Bennett letter. As a junior, age 15, Maurice led Bennett to a Columbia Cup Championship in cross country. He finished second overall in the race–7 seconds faster than the previous course record. His senior year, Maurice ran the mile only once in competition–winning the race at 4:36 and breaking the Bennett record. At the Buffalo All High track meet, he was declared second in the half-mile in a dramatic and disputed finish.
While at Bennett, Maurice also raced with the Buffalo YMCA Track Club. The “Y” team–made up of high school kids–competed in the NAUU CC Championship in Detroit. Racing against 15 colleges, Maurice finished 7th overall, and helped lead the “Y” team to a second place finish behind Michigan State–besting 14 other colleges. He also became Canadian Junior Champion of the half-mile, winning the race 3 tenths of a second off the all-time Canadian record.
Maurice received a scholarship to Michigan State. At MSU, he was Captain and high point man of the Freshman Cross Country and Track Teams, and the only sophomore to make the Cross Country Varsity Team. Competing with 40 colleges at the IC4A CC Championships in New York City, he was the first sophomore to finish the race. His team won the 1949 NCAA Championship. In track, he was a member of MSU’s undefeated 4-mile relay team.
A serious knee injury at the end of his sophomore year ended his running career.