AMATEUR ATHLETICS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21807, 23 May 1934, Page 18

AMATEUR ATHLETICS

HARRIER CLUB EVENTS EYRE TROPHY CONTEST HILL WINS STEEPLECHASE Ideal weather prevailed last Saturday for harrier work, and all clubs had a full muster of members. The Presbyterian, Calliope and Auckland Clubs conducted races, but the other clubs confined their activities to harrier runs, with a short race in.

The Calliope Club decided its annual contest for the Eyre trophy, a road-race of three and three-quarter miles that is run around Lako Pupuke. Saturday's event resulted in a splendid contest for the individual placings, while the teams' placings were also very close. 0. Gatman was first to finish after putting up a sterliug performance for a runner in his first year at the sport. For second place there was a great race, with another novice in L. Geo just getting ahead of Clayton, Davis, Chappell, Copeland and Roberts, who all finished in a bunch. A. Clayton, 40 seconds, ran well to record fastest time and defeat A. Clow, the scratch man, by 44 seconds. The time was 15 seconds slower, however, than the record made by Clow last year. The Presbyterian Club members raced at Heme Bay with a record attendance of 38 runners, twenty of whom contested the novice race of about three miles. This was another good race, with W. Ross, off the 30 seconds mark, winning nicely and also recording fastest time. I. Hansen and W. Buchanan were the .next to finish after running good races, while A. Crawford, the scratch man, was next. The remaining members ran in two packs over the same course and then had a run-in over about 400 yards. In these events R. Linfoot and A. J. Wilderspin were first of the fast pack, while Holden and Young headed in the other runners. Next Saturday the Presbyterian harriers will journey to Birkenhead, where they will have a six miles run with the Oalliope Club. Former English Runner Technical had a good muster on Saturday, thirty-eight runners being ; divided into two packs for a run of ! a little over six miles. The fast pack I of nine runners went a little further ! than the others and they made a par- | ticularly hard pace for an ordinary harrier run. L. Barker, M. Atton and J. Nicholson made the pace over the outward journey, while on the home run N. F. Cooper and A. Harding carried on. Right up all the time, and revelling in the hill work, was B. Parsons, another English runner, who arrived hero only last week. He was a member of the champion Portsmouth cross-country team and the Navy international team. In the other pack the most prominent were Dawson, Brown and Gates. The last-named is running well this season and shows every indication of being the junior champion of the club. Wesley has been increasing its membership each week and on Saturday had its best run to date over the Ellers-lie-Lake St. John course, which provides every nature of obstacle for crosscountry work. Good form was shown generally on the run, and the club appears to be much stronger than in the past. The run-in was over a course of 300 yards and resulted in S. Young and R, Stephen being first of the slow and medium packs, while M. Hewitson led in the fast men. Difficult Course University harriers ran at Mount Roskill and followed a long trail over the difficult Three Kings-Mount Ros-kill-Waikowhai course. Outstanding in the fast pack was A. D. Thompson, who handled the hard going well, while two others who showed up were Goodwin and Collins. The handicap run-in saw J. Holmes win from McCallum and Tweedie. At the Domain, G. Hill gave "another good display to win the 3000 yards steeplechase easily from a fiqld of 18 runners. J. W. Savidan ran second in this event, 24 seconds after Hill, to whom he had conceded only 22 seconds. The 75 yards sprint again required three heats and a final, and was a well-contested event. The placed men were only inches apart in each of the heats, "but in the final I. MThompson won by a clear yard from R. Pow and .1. Prendergnst. The club has discovered a new discus thrower in A. E. Sutton, who is improving with each throw. His effort of 98ft. 2in. on Saturday places him in provincial championship class.