West Coast Championships

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 40, 17 February 1939, Page 5

West Coast Championships

PROSPECTS OF MANAWATU ATHLETES Amateur Athletics have reached a standard in Manawatu this season not previously attained. Several performances in tho sub-centre championships on Wednesday evening stamped a number of competitors well up to provincial standards, and a fully representative team from Manawatu should meet with considerable success at the West Coast (North Island) championships at Wanganui on February 25. It is a long time since Manawatu could field a team able to hold its own against Wanganui and Taranaki. Although tho general standard was high in the field events, several of the competitors failed to reach their best performances. Both J. Ryan and K. Galloway have cleared sft. Sin. this season in the high jump, yet Ryan found sft. 7in. his limit and Galloway could do not better than sft. Cin. on Wednesday. The performance of V. G. Nix in clearing sft. Gin., with very little previous competition, was a very fine effort. His previous best jump was only sft. 2in.

Under tho conditions, the ground being greasy after rain, tho broad jumping of R. Gillespie and J. Ryan was very satisfactory, and either is a possible West Coast Champion. Both should be capable of getting near the 21ft. mark. H. Lang beat R. Kay by half an inch for third place. Not one of the competitors in the hop, step and jump reached his best leap. Ivay has several times bettered his 41ft. sin., one jump last week measuring 42ft. 3iin., while Ryan’s 41ft. lin. was five inches short of his best this season. Galloway and Lang both failed to reach 40 feet, although both have, previously exceeded it. i S. Nolan, of Wanganui, usually reaches about 38 feet with the shot putt and is the logical winner for tho West Coast championships, but it is likely that A. Weston and C. Barraud will be well clear of the rest of the field with the exception of Nolan. Manawatu is strong in half-milers, with little to choose between C. MeVicar, L. S. Black and E. Haydon, who finished within a few feet of one another in the Manawatu half-mile. The IS-year-old A. Cozens was not very far behind in finishing fourth. McVicar is a deceptive runner who covers the ground faster than his stylo would indicate. Ho will meet an exceptionally good middle-distance runner in the West Coast championship in P. Wallace, of Wanganui, who may be a serious contender at the National championships. Ho showed excellent form at Wanganui on Saturday in the 440 yards and 880 yards.

C. E. Barraud, who turned ID years of age this week, is the most improved athlete in the district. His capabilities over 100 yards and 220 yards have become more promising with every run, and it was not surprising when he registered 10 5-10 sec. in the 100 on Wednesday night. C. Titt went very well in both sprint events, and there seemed less between him and Barraud in the 220 yards than in the 100 yards.

W. H. Sloan is a sprinter well above the junior standard. He is almost assured of the West Coast junior sprint titles. His 100 yards in 10 2-5 sec. was a particularly fino run and stamps him among the best junior sprinters in New Zealand. There w r ere two stop-watches on the race and they both recorded 10.4 seconds. Sloan was not extended in tho 220 yards and won with the greatest of case. Against stronger opposition he would run a considerably faster race. Mrs V. Rollerson’s times in the 100 yards and 75 yards were not as fast as those she registered at Levin last year, but her 11 4-5 sec. for the 100 yards is sufficient to break the West Coast record of 12 sec.

L. Hawthorne deserves the credit of running one of the best races of the evening in winning the Manawatu mile championship. R. Lamberton ran into the lead with half the journey covered but Hawthorne, whose stocky build, short striding and determination liken him to W. A. C. Bullar, tucked in behind Lamberton. With 300 yards to go Hawthorne made his challenge and Lamberton soon dropped behind. Having already gained a substantial lead, Hawthorne made a terrific sprint over the final 100 yards. Black and Haydon fought hard for third place, but Black forged a yard or two ahead over the final 20 yards of the race.