Start with combination of speed and stamina, add the internal drive to never stop working with a never give up racing attitude and you have what it takes to be an outstanding distance runner. You have Bruno Mauer. For all three of his years at Wauwatosa High School Bruno was a star on the cross country team. It was easy to pick him out of the pack, he was usually leading, but as he ran over the hills and through the dales of southeastern Wisconsin’s cross country courses it was the unmistakable bob of his head as he galloped along that made him immediately recognizable. From the day he broke into his first warm up it was apparent to all he’d be the quiet leader. And what a leader he was as the Tosa harriers won Suburban Conference Championships in his sophomore and junior years when they were also the 1948 and 1949 State Runner-ups. In Mauer’s senior year, the talented runner won the individual Suburban Conference Championship and worked his way through the Regional races to compete at the state championships once again. In 1951 the senior won the individual State Cross Country Championship. On the track, Bruno was just as dynamic, leading the Tosa squad to a runner-up finish in the 1949 State Track and Field Championships. His last race for Wauwatosa High was his finest as he reached the pinnacle of success by being crowned the 1951 State Champion in the 880 yard run.
