Stetson Arnold is a 1974 graduate of Southwick High School way out there in the other half of Massachusetts. Before we begin Stetson’s accolades I have to mention two events in his high school career that we as athletes and more specifically as runners could only dream of. The first is one that all athletes would wish would happened to them in their young athletic career: in the December 1973 issue of Sports Illustrated, if you have that issue at home, you can see Stetson in the “Faces in the Crowd” the write up said: “Stetson Arnold, a senior at Southwick High School, capped a cross-country season in which he was unbeaten by winning the state championship for the second time; Arnold set a new record over the 2.85-mile course, finishing with a time of 14:31. The second event is one that many high school distance runners could only dream of. Can you imagine being a high school athlete being recruited by the University of Oregon in the early 1970’s. They fly you in and bring you to see their track. On the track is this runner from Coos Bay Oregon, yes non other than Steve Prefontaine. Stetson and Steve start talking, go for a six-mile run, Pre gives Arnold a ride in his MG, they go to a store where Stetson buys a peer of Nike’s just like the kind Pre wears. If you get a chance you will have to ask Stetson about that one. According to Dick Atkinson, his high school coach, Stetson is the best runner to come out of western Massachusetts ever. He became the first runner from the region to capture back-to-back Western Massachusetts and All State Cross Country Championships doing so in 1972 and 1973. This was done when there was only one division at the All State Meet. While running Cross Country at Southwick Stetson ran a total of 37 races and won 33 of them. In the process he set 24 course records. At the New England Cross country meet his junior year he finished 3rd, however he did so after he fell down and rolled off the tee on the golf course in Maine. Stetson was undefeated during his senior year. When the Cross Country Season was over, Stetson continued to train throughout the winter months in preperation for the Spring Season. While on the track, Stetson ran 29 races. He won all but 3 of them. His numbers might seem to be a little low here, but that was because he broke his leg in his sophomore year and severely sprained an ankle as a senior losing about 5 weeks of training. He won the Western Mass 2-mile as a junior with at time of 9:09.8 and went on to win the New England’s with a time of 9:17.4. He repeated as the Mass champ with a time of 9:20. Stetson still holds the Western Mass Track and Field Championship Meet record in the 2 mile with a time of 9:09.8. As a result of Stetson’s stellar high school career, he earned a scholarship to Providence College. There, his talents would continue to grow. His outstanding rookie season would include a 4th place finish at the New England Championship, one in which he helped his teammates win the team title. His 4th place finishing time of 23:46 was the 6th fastest time ever on the Franklin Park Course. On the track that same rookie year Stetson ran an incredible mile on the Bowdoin College track with a time of 4:07.6. He also ran the New England College 3-mile race at Umass, finishing 2nd in 13:46. As a sophomore Stetson earned his first NCAA All American Award. On November 24, 1975 on a difficult Penn State course he finished the 6-mile race with a time of 29:28 finishing as the 17 American and helping his P.C. Friars to a 3rd place finish. Stetson transferred to Umass for his Junior and Senior years. In 1977, he led the University of Massachusetts to the IC4A Cross Country Championship at the famed Van Cortland Park in New York with a 5th place time of 24:23 on the 5-mile course. Stetson would go on to earn his second All-American award at the NCAA finals.
Class: 1974 Inducted: 2007