Postal History: Founded in 1956 by cross country coach Forrest Jamieson the "Postal" idea was presented to Track&FieldNews. Bert & Cordner Nelson seeing the potential of such an event quickly jumped behind the high school coaches idea. The event culminated with a National Championship awarded based upon five man relay teams and published in the Prep Panorama section of Track & Field News. Before the internet era the Bible of Our Sport supported the idea of annual fall national postal competitions. The high school competition featured a five-man two-mile & three-mile total team time run on the track. Each season's top team receiving a special championship award from Track & Field News.

1958 Postal Nationals

(2-MILES) TEAMS

(record: 1957, Morningside, CA, 50:25.5)

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1   Palo Alto       Palo Alto, CA      50:17.7
2   Culver City     Culver City, CA    51:00.8
3   Mira Costa      Mira Costa, CA     51:32.8 
4   Carlmont        Belmont, CA        51:42.3 
5   Fresno          Fresno, CA         51:46.7 
6   Aviation        Redondo Beach, CA  51:58.0 
7   Wichita         Wichita, KS        52:05.5 
8   Mt Lebanon      Pittsburg, PA      52:05.8 
9   Los Altos       Los Altos, CA      52:19.9
10  Beaumont        St Louis, MO       53:02.1