Chenango Forks Track and Field
Hall of Fame

Graduated:

School Record in 440 Yard Dash
School Record in 880 Yard Run
School Record in Mile Relay

SUS Champion: Mile Relay (1975)

At 5 feet 9 inches, weighing in at 130 pounds, Bill Bowie was one of the greatest swimmers in Chenango Forks history, setting the School Record in multiple events, the Broome County record in the 100 Butterfly, and leading the team to four straight Sectional Championships. To go along with his phenomenal swimming career, Bill Bowie is the greatest Middle Distance Runner in Forks history, simultaneously holding the School Records in the Open 440 and the Open 880, while being the fastest member of our Mile Relay Team.

While his 880 Yard record has since been broken, Bowie remains one of only three runners in our history to break two minutes in the event and still holds two school records over 40 years after he graduated.  Bill was the anchor leg of our All Conference and School Record Mile Relay Team from 1975, now run as the 1600 Meter Relay.  Despite Bowie’s Team running 9.43 extra meters than modern runners, they ran a time of 3:30 flat.  A large reason for the relay’s overall time was Bowie’s split of under 50 seconds! 

Bowie also still holds our Open 400/440 Record, being clocked at an amazing 50.9 seconds.  Unfortunately, Bill bettered that mark and qualified for the State Meet in 1976, but he was controversially disqualified for running out of his lane on what ended up being the last race of his Varsity career.  Bowie went on to competitively swim at Division One Central Michigan University.