CROSS-COUNTRY

C. D. WELLER CHAMPION

OTAGO THE LEADING TEAM

(By Telegraph—Press Association.) NEW PLYMOUTH, Sept. 10. For the third time in succession the Palmerston North runner C. D. Weller, representing the West Coast (North Island) Amateur Athletic Centre, won the New Zealand cross-country championship, which was decided over a 6£-mile course at New Plymouth today. Otago retained the teams' championship won at Timai-u last year. Weller led much of the way and finished strongly to beat his team mate. H. J. Brown (New Plymouth), by 75 yards. Brown, who was second in the championship in 1930 and has three times held the West Coast title, was 200 yards ahead of the New Zealand Empire Games representative, A. R. Geddes, captain of the Otago team, who, though he has never won the national title, has beerf in second place four times previously. The weather was perfect and the course in excellent condition. The race began and ended at the racecourse, and competitors had to run twice over the New Plymouth harrier club's championship course, stated by visiting athletes to be well up to New Zealand championship standard. Members of the Wellington team immediately assumed the lead, but did not maintain it long, and when the field entered the racecourse the first time Weller was 100 yards ahead of Brown, with a similar distance to Geddes, L. V. Dickson (Otago) following in fourth position. The three leaders maintained the same order throughout the second lap, and though Brown made an attempt to reach Weller he could reduce the margin but little. Five teams of six, representing Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago, and West Coast (North Island), conlested the teams' championship, the i first four men home to count. Otago, j vith third, fourth, sixth, and thirteenth olaces, won narrowly from West Coast. The team points were:—Otago, 26; West Coast, 30; Wellington, 47; Aucklund; 54; Canterbury, 63. The order of the leading • competi,'ors to finish, with the times of the inst three men, were:— C D. Weller (West Coast), 35m 54s 1 H J. Brown (West Coast), 36m 33s 2 \ R. Geddes (Otago), 36m 41s .... 3 ILJ L.Curtis (Otago), 4; T. Bartlett i (Wellington), 5; G. R. Colson (Otago), 6; A. G. Harding (Auckland), 7; A. Bourgeois (Wellington), 8; D. H. Pannell (Canterbury), 9; R.. E. Taylor (Canterbury), 10; F. Hill (West Coast), 11; J, I. B. Neil (Auckland), 12; L. V. iDickson (Otago), 13; C. Bruce (Wellington), 14; C. L. Moore (Otago), 15; P. Smith (West Coast), 16; D. Porter (Auckland), 17; W. Mackinnon (Otago), 13; E. Richardson (Wellington), 19; A. H. Wayman (Canterbury), 20; W. Owens (Wellington), ,21; M. Hunt 'West Coast), 22;- F. Mair (Canterbury), 23; K. Trow (Auckland), 24; H. Hopper (West Coast), 25; F. B. Silver (Wellington), 26; C. Littler (Wellington), 27; L. E. Fox (Canterbury), 28; A. Darroch (Canterbury), 29.