Gehert Kleinspehn came to Lafayette with
just one year of track and field experience, but
when he left the campus in 1919, he had shattered
nearly all Leopard records from 880 yards through
the mile. The captain of the 1919 track team,
Kleinspehn established himself as one of the all-time
Lafayette greats and one of the finest middle distance
runners in the nation during a sparkling five-year
varsity career.
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He was the first Leopard athlete to
win a first place medal in the IC4A meet, and his
4:24 clocking in the 1918 IC4A competition not only
outclassed the field that day, it was the fastest time
recorded by a collegian in the mile that year. He also
captured the Middle Atlantic States Conference titles
in the half mile and the mile, setting a new meet
record with his 4:47.4 time. He was named to several
All-America teams in 1918. Kleinspehn set new
College standards in the half mile, the 1,000-yard run
and the mile. The Edward Hart Fellowship student in
Chemistry, Kleinspehn earned his degree at Lafayette
in 1918 before going on to the Harvard Graduate
School of Science as a university scholar.
