ATHLETIC EVENTS

Taranaki Daily News, 22 February 1935, Page 13

ATHLETIC EVENTS

CENTRE CHAMPIONSHIPS NEW PLYMOUTH CLUB MEETING. STRATFORD CLUB PERFORMANCES. (By "Also Started.”) Taranaki athletes and cyclists have been busy during the last fortnight preparing for the West Coast championships at Eltham on Saturday. On the form displayed there the team for the New Zealand championships at Wanganui on March 8 and 9 will be selected. New Plymouth Meeting. The weekly club night on Tuesday gave New Plymouth club members their final trials. In view of his good showing at Hawera against the Englishmen, considerable interest centred round Black's appearance in the 300 yards. Though he duly won from scratch in the good time of 325., his performance was not quite as impressive as his admirers might have wished. He did not display a great deal of dash at the finish. However, it must be said that he was not quite at his best, the oppressive heat during the preceding few days having had a detrimental effect on him. He should win the 220 yards on Saturday but Evans should. fully test him in the quarter. Promising Young Hurdler. Coombes ran two good races and though not quite up to championship class will not be disgraced. Alex Innes was placed in both the 100 and the 440 yards, running with plenty of dash. This youth is the most promising hurdler that New Plymouth has produced for some time and his efforts in the 220 and 440 yards hurdles will be watched with interest. Miles Ekdahl will tackle the 120 yards event and may also act as a capable second string to Innes in the 220 yards. A Splendid Race. The short limit mile produced one of the finest races seen on the Sportsground for some considerable time. There were fully half a dozen runners with winning chances a furlong from home. When Boyle hit the front just before the straight was reached, 'his victory looked likely. However, Johnston challenged and had just got the upper hand when Ulenberg flashed up on the outside. In a great finish Johnston lasted long enough to win by inches from Ulenberg with Boyle only a foot away and several others close up. Ulenberg’s effort was particularly pleas- , ing. This boy has improved a lot lately and it will come as no surprise to the , writer to see him go very close to ' registering 15m. for the three miles ! before the season closes. He is going . to keep the opposition very busy at , Eltham on Saturday. ] Miss Clark, running in sand shoes, was at a big disadvanage in both women’s events, never threatening danger. She j will do a lot better on Saturday. Miss • J. Moffett again performed splendidly, continuing her recent improvement. She 5 might easily effect a surprise on Satur- J day. Miss D. Hodgson is also back to form and ran with plenty of dash. 1

The Cyclists. C. Hawkins and Mana were again in great form. Hawkins won both races narrowly, mainly through being better placed than his rival commencing the final lap, thus saving valuable ground at the home turn. Ivan Peters rode a great race in the B grade two miles. His task of catching the leaders appeared hopeless with a mile covered but he stuck to his task in the gamest possible manner to win eventually easily in fast time. He will be among the A grade riders next season.

Young Runners Promising. A feature of the Stratford programme on Tuesday that has been developing steadily for some time was the boys’ half mile run. There was a very large entry, presenting an unenviable job for the handicapper, and the juniors soon showed that they were not all novices on the track. Judging of pace proves their chief difficulty, many setting off at a rate they cannot hope to maintain. The three placed runners on Tuesday, however, showed that they realised their capabilities and they judged the race well. The winner, J. Morgan, ran a game race, holding out well after establishing a big lead. Cuff started from well back and made up a lot of ground, but could not catch the leader, who had a good handicap, Boyce very nearly passed Morgan on the straight, having covered the last 200 yards in good style, but over the last 50 yards could do no more than hold his pace. The idea of encouraging the younger runners is a good one and the club should be commended for it. s

Surprise in Mile. R. Thompson, Pukengahu, sprang a surprise in the mile run. Having had no previous running performances or experience behind him, he was placed on the limit mark of 160 yards, but in the first lap he established a lead which he never looked like losing. He runs well and with an easy style and should go quite a long way with training and coaching. Carryer, his co-worker, who earlier in the season was running fairly consistently, found the going too hard and retired. Murphy runs heavily but covers the ground. He came second on Tuesday, but it was only effort. Kirkwood found himself conceding too much on the 80 yard mark, and, although he put in a fine fourth lap, he could not catch Murphy. Lay In Form.

S. Lay has beep practising assiduously lately for the centre championships at both javelin and discus throwing. His performance in the. discus event on Tuesday, when he put up a throw of 106 ft. lOins. shows an improvement of about a foot on his winning throw at the sub-centre championships at Hawera. It is still quite a lot below the Taranaki record, however, and still further behind the New Zealand standard. Lighting for Park. Good progress is now being made with the provision of a floodlight system at Victoria Park and the chief ambition of the Stratford Club for many years appears about to be realised. It is understood to be a matter of days only before the system is ready, and it is expected to make of the ground one of the best lighted in New Zealand.