FIRST CROSS-COUNTRY RACE OF THE SEASON

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 145, 21 June 1941, Page 4 (Supplement)

FIRST CROSS-COUNTRY RACE OF THE SEASON

I BROWNE'S WIN DECISIVE 5 Impressive Form By Several t Juniors • (By MELANION) ANSELL BKUVVNE (Lynndale) scored a uecisive ana ciear-cuL J victoiy in uie uitat roau race to amy conuoned Dy uie iiiiieiaue Ainieuc Ciuu iaoi baturuay. s jDiowne was in ieuie, anu oiioweu tnat lie nas lost none oi iu.3 ■ auniiy oi last season. His ume , iar liom uemg reany guod, out n<_- • won easuy, anu weather conuiuons,! . la Diueriy com cxo&s wmu eucciuu j everyone* were a uerinne deter rem . 10 a good time. Despite tne fact that so many harriers are away on military ser- | vice, the entry ior the race was | good, and apart from tsrowne o . ciear-cut win, t>ome interesting rac- ; mg was witnessed and some mter- ' esung comparisons on previous ' seasons' iorm could be urawn. The i i_ynnaale ciuo once again maintaineu its long sequence oi wins in team 1 races, out had a close snave from a . highly promising quartet from the . university cluo. Lynndale were certainly without the services of it ex. (Jrompion, wnile A. Hamlin had not fully recovered from tne eliects of a recent accident. Nevertheless, the University men held their placings well and teamed in good style, A. Kofoed, F. Orange, Q. Thompson anu M. McKenzie mushing fifth, ninth, 10th and 12th respectively. One of the most pleasing features of the race was the victory of the Baptist club in the junior team race, iiaptist have always supported open races, but this was their first success in a team event, and their win was most popular. Much of the credit is due to J. Nacey, who, though only a junior himself, has used the experience he has gained to develop a highly promising team. J. Christie, of the club, was the first junior to finish, and here is a boy of undoubted I promise. Only slight, he shows great reserves of stamina and excellent judgment in his running. Trailed Winner All Way C. Appleton ran well into second place, and his performance suggests that he will be a contender for championship honours, lie trailed Browne practically throughout the race. With a mile covered, Browne was endeavouring to drop the field, and at Panmure Bridge was about 2o yards in front of Appleton, who was hanging on determinedly, with Harris and Neil 10 yards further back. Brown went on increasing his lead, and Appleton had outdistanced his nearest rivals by 60 yards with a gap of 50 yards to Kofoed and Long, 100 yards to Burt and Young together, and a similar gap to Christie, Thornton, Nacey and Orange. Past the Ellerslie Domain Browne had the win assured, and though Neil finished in determined manner, Appleton kept him off by over 50 yards. Appleton appeared very fit on Saturday, but has developed what appears a rather too vigorous arm action for a long distance runner. He should study tJie easy motion of Browne, Neil, Long and others, where effort is reduced to a minimum. Though generally termed a "veteran," J. Neil (Presbyterian) is indeed younger than many other competitors in the race. He ran his usual consistent race, but he did not appear quite on top form and was not so outstanding on the uphill work as usual. Neil will do better later in the season. , Long's Effortless Style A runner who showed distinct advance on his good form of last harrier season was W. G. Long, the Technical Old Boys' captain. His fourth placing was really good, especially as he appeared to have much in reserve. His effortless style is worth watching as a means jf conserving energy. 'Varsity's star. A. G. Kofoed, considering his recent bouts of illness, did well. It is to be hoped that this fine runner can regain his true form; he is quite one of our best harriers. O. Young (Lynndale) and H. Burt (Technical) both ran well, though both obviously were in need of a race to smarten themselves up. Of the lesser known harriers, a surprise run was that of L. Moselin, the well-known Technical Club halfmiler, who was in 13th place, in his I first race over a longer distance than 1 a mile. R. L. Sharrock (Lynndale), a tall, ■ well-built runner, showed up better than heretofore and, on his easy running, should do well this winter. Eleventh place is a good perform- i ance. Others to catch the eye were ! R. J. Long, a junior from Technical 1 and a brother of "W. G."; Q. Thompson (University), R. McGeehan - (Lynndale) and F. N. Orange (Uni- i versity). A disappointment to local club followers was the poor form of t D. Harris (Ellerslie). The crack halfmiler found the pace too hot, and 1 half way through the race he cracked up with cramp and was compelled to 1 retire. < Next Saturday the 11th Onehunga to Auckland contest, the principal i road race of the year, will be held. On form the winner would appear i to be A. B. Browne once again, but j the intervening fortnight should see an improvement in the form of J. I. B. Neil, while L. B. Clark (Auckland), if he enters, must enter into 1 final considerations. A. G. Kofoed has never performed well in this t event. C. Appleton is capable of t surprise, but Browne's experience ( should be too much for him. 1