Was "The Sandwich Year" Coach Groves' Best?

I am pretty sure that Coach Groves considered the 1979 team his best of all time.  And it was sandwiched by teams that finished 3rd and 4th in the NCAA. I will be corrected if I am wrong about that.  A 3rd place at the NCAA Meet with all regional Americans was certainly a minor miracle considering the influx of foreigners in those days.

While I didn't break back into the first team that year, I did finish a meet without the top-7 in first place, making me kinda sorta the 8th man that day.  It wasn't easy on a team with many good runners making up 2nd, 3rd and even 4th teams that could compete quite favorably anywhere.  I did go on to achieve performances in the track season that year that eclipsed my high school performances as measured by the IAAF standards.  So Coach Groves did make me a better runner, as well as a better person.