CROSS-COUNTRY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 204, 29 August 1936, Page 4

CROSS-COUNTRY

DOMINION TITLE AT STAKE ' I RACE TO BE RUN AT AUCKLAND KEEN COMPETITION LIKELY New Zealand’s big harrier * event of the season, the crosscountry championship, will be run at Auckland on Saturday, | August 29. Competition will be | keen, in an effort to lift the title | from Auckland. Picked men from ] Otago, Canterbury, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, Wanganui, ami Taranaki will be in action. It is predicted that it will be tin; greatest cross-country event ever staged in the Dominion. Auckland won the title last year at Wellington, Savidan and Cooper, the two last men of the north, gaining first and second places, respectively. They were followed home by Mac- i Kenzie, Littler, Birtwistle, Briggs, and | Harding and a strong Otago combina- i tion lost the day. This year’s race has been so plan- • that the Ellerslie racecourse stands! will afford excellent vantage points from which to view it. The runners will take the straight four times in the complete journey. There is a fairly confident, feeling in Auckland that the title will not change hands this year, despite the fact that that fine runner, Cooper, has retired from the sport. Savidan will be in the picture again, and to | some purpose, too. He has had a sea- | son’s spell from track work, and, ac- . j cording to Auckland critics, is well up 1 to form. Auckland will be looking to , him to again head the field home, and ( l>e well supported by three promising ! , I performers, Nicl, Crompton, and | ( I Birtwist le. ( In some quarters it. was predicted ; that J. Riddington, the young Wei- ( lington runner would bo “in the hunt” < for the national title, but his defeat , in the Wellington Provincial Cham- , pionships at Masterton seems to cloud ( his chances. A.R. Geddes, of Otago, has been running rather well and it is thought that he will be runner-up to Savidan. J. G. < Barnes, also of Otago, is an old run- : Iner, but. his limes do not compare 1 favourably with those of Geddes’. i B. H. Birtwhistle has been consistently running second to Savidan at

Auckland, but finishing so far behind the champion as to make it practically certain that a number of runners from other centres will displace him. A. Lord, of Napier, is again representing Hawke's Bay—Poverty Bay. This runner is of the determined type and should do reasonably well. C. Talbot, of Masterton, is competing in the Wellington team and the flat nature of the course should be to his liking. Three members of the Wellington team—J. Riddington, G. Prosser and Stevens will form a wedge which may force its way into the first ten runners to finish. Prosser has defeated Riddington recently but, on the day, the latter man will probably be first home of the two. A. L. Stevens is an old head who can always be depended upon to run well in a big event, but he lacks the pace which is needed to put him in the front rankers. R. F. Rogers, of Christcnurch, may finish in the first six, as he is a much improved runner on that of previous years. Of the West Coast runners it is generally expected that C. Weller will be the first man home. Weller's best performance was when he ran second to J. W. Savidan over the Bramwell Course, Wanganui, in 1933. Although it is not generally known, Weller has been unfortunate in running comparatively poor races in championships since. On one occasion he ran with a scalded foot, last year he was in bed with influenza four days before the race. This year he was successful in defending his West Coast title at New Plymouth with comparative ease and his times are as good as ever. It is predicted that he will be either first or second man to finish behind Savidan. F. Hill, of Marton, probably will be next West Coast man to finish, followed by K. Johnston, D. Smith and A. Bourgeois. G. Bromley, of Marton, although an inexperienced runner, should do fairly well. R. B. Walsham (New Plymouth) and W. Edge (Marton) are individual runners. It is perhaps the most experienced team that has yet represented the West Coast (N. 1. Centre at a national meeting and stands a good chance of annexing the shield. The following are predicted to be the first twelve men to finish:— J. W. Savidan, (Auckland). A. R. Geddes, (Otago). C. D. Weller, (West Coast, N. 1.). J. Riddington, (Wellington). G. Prosser, (Wellington). F. Hill, (West Coast. N. 1.). B. H. Birtwhistle, (Auckland). C. Littler, (Auckland). D. Smith. (West Coast, N. 1.). K. Johnston, (West Coast, N. 1.). R. F. Rodgers, (Canterbury). R. Crompton, (Auckland).