COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Wally Wellenstein's track and field career at Saint John's didn't exactly progress in a linear fashion.
 
The Albany High School graduate was a standout sprinter for the Johnnies as a freshman in 1941, winning an MIAC title in the 100-yard dash in a time of 10.4 seconds at the conference meet held in St Paul. 
 
He added second-place finishes in both the 100 and 220 as a sophomore the following spring. 
 
But then World War II intervened.
 
Wellenstein enlisted in the U.S Army and was stationed in a transportation office in Juneau, Alaska, the next three years – rising to the rank of sergeant before his honorable discharge. The Johnnies, meanwhile, did not field a track and field team from 1943-45 because there weren't enough athletes with so many away from campus serving their country.
 
But head coach George Durenberger – who also served as SJU's athletic director from 1931-72 – reestablished the program in the spring of 1946 and Wellenstein – who had returned to his studies at SJU – played a big role in making that happen.
 
"Leading the Johnny thinclads will be Captain Wally Wellenstein of Albany, a returning letterman from the 1941 aggregation," reported The Record in its March 28, 1946, edition. "The speedy dashman copped first place in the 100-yard event in the 1941 state conference meet, and recent practices have convinced many that a four-year stretch in the Army hasn't slowed him down."
 
That observation proved accurate as Wellenstein once again starred at that season's conference meet, winning the 100 in a time of 10.3 and placing second in the 220.
 
The speedy sprinter went on to earn his bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Minnesota in 1948 before returning to Alaska for good the following year. 
 
"He served in the military in Juneau and he really liked the area," said his nephew Glen Fuglestad, one of six children of Wellenstein's sister Joan, who followed him to Alaska, met her husband and raised a family.
 
"Alaska as a whole really appealed to him. His father was a banker, and he swore he'd never get into banking himself. So he settled as far away from all that as he could to carve his own path."
 
That path included a long career as one of Alaska's leading architects, designing numerous buildings across the state – including for the University of Alaska system and a number of school districts – while also becoming a huge part of the local community.
 
"Alaska opened up many opportunities and new adventures for Wally, one of which included downhill skiing," read the obituary in the Anchorage Daily News following his death at age 90 on May 10, 2012. "His dedication to public service led him to join the National Ski Patrol, culminating in a national appointment in 1953.
 
"Wally was involved in the creation of the Denali Ski Patrol; the first volunteer ski patrol in the Anchorage area. He also formed the McKinley Ski School as a free service to the community under the sponsorship of the Mt. McKinley Lions Club in the early '50s. As the Anchorage Ski Club grew in membership, Wally's involvement with the club led him to design the first Arctic Valley Ski Lodge."
 
His obituary also stated he was appointed to the Alaska Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors from 1975-83 and served as president of the Alaska Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Greater Anchorage Inc., the Mt. McKinley Lions Club and the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous.
 
He retired from architecture in 1983, but went on to open the Northern Flight Gallery, displaying works of art depicting ducks and geese soaring through the Alaskan air. 
 
A passionate fisherman and hunter, he also owned a cabin on the Kenai River. A salmon hole near there was named "Wally's Hole" in his honor.
 
"He loved to fish and hunt," Fugelstad said of his uncle, who never married or had kids of his own. "He got two lots on the Kenai River through a military land giveaway and he'd go down there every weekend. As kids, he'd take us in his Jaguar. He always had a Jag and he always brought his dog along. 
 
"Being outdoors was a really big thing for him."
 
Fugelstad said his uncle didn't often speak of his time at SJU, or of his track and field exploits. But he did reconnect with his track roots at least once in his later years.
 
"As he got older, he started to take cruises," Fugelstad said. "On one of them, he went to Greece and ran the 100 on the field where the first Olympics were held. He was really proud of the fact that he actually got to run there."

10 years ago (2016)
The SJU baseball team sent 18 batters to the plate and scored nine runs in the first inning en route to cruising past Minnesota-Morris 21-1 in non-conference action in Collegeville on March 29.
 
In all, the Johnnies recorded a school-record 25 hits. Senior Pat Strey was 4-for-6 with two doubles and six RBI to lead the way.

30 years ago (1996)
Jeb Myers and Jon Koch finished first and second respectively in the steeplechase as the Johnnie track and field team began the outdoor schedule with a second-place finish at the Simpson Invitational in Indianola, Iowa, on March 30. 

40 years ago (1986)
Seven SJU swimmers qualified for the NCAA Division III national meet March 20-22 in Canton, Ohio, and all seven earned All-American status in either a relay or individual event.
 
Leading the way for the Johnnies individually were Chris Barta, who finished fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, and Tom Kubinski, who placed eighth in the 50 freestyle.