The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-27

u:143-5
The freshmen eight-oared race be-
tween Pennsylvania, Columbia and Cor
nell, over the two-mile course, was
won by Cornell. Time-9:55. Columbia
was second, one and one-quarter boat
lengths behind Cornell. Time-1O:00.
Pennsylvania third, three-quarter boat
lengths behind Columbia. Time-10:10.
If the day had been made for the &C.
casion it could not have been more
favorable for the races. Clear skies,
still water ana Just the suspicion of
q breeze to temper the brightly shin
ing sun greeted the college men when
they arrived his morning, and there
was every Indication that it would last.
The trains arriving during the fore
noon brought a good many people, and
especially college men, but the indica-
tionS are that the attendance today
Will not be large, the greatest crowd
being expected for the university race
tomorrow, in which Wisconsin will
make a fourth contestant.
Cornell's Usual Luck.
The interest of the morning centered
in the drawing for positions. The Cor
nell varsity crew got first choice, and
was given the outside course, nearest
the channel of the river, course which
Ward of Pennsylvania says has dis
Wisconsin got the inside course, which
has usually been so disastrous to Penn
SylVania, and which is so near the
bank that there is sometimes a back
swell. Pennsylvania got the course
next to Wisconsin and Columbia next
to Cornell.
The races were witnessed by a larger
crowd of spectators than had been eX-
pected. The observation train of forty
cars was thinly peopled, although eight
or ten cars were packed tight with col
lege partisans. who had secured cars
for themselves.
The foar-oared race over the two
mile course with Pennsylvania and
Cornell as the contestants was the
first race of the day. The two crews
took the water at the crack of the
pistol almost together, but the Penn
sylvanians started with a stroke of
thirty-six. while Cornell was rowing
but thirty-four.
Pennsy Takes the Lead.
The Pennsylvania stroke, while not
as prettily rowed as Cornell's, had much
more go in it and before the boats had
gone ten lengths the Quakers had
showed their boats nose ahead of the
1thacans. Cornell had dropped down
TO the Courtney stroke of thirty-three
to the minute, and although inch by
inch the Quakers' boat showed to the
front, they never increased during the
mile. The enthusiastic rooters on the
train kept predicting the Comedians
would let out the stroke as they neared
the finish and simply eat the QuakerS
UP. but from a mere gain of inches in
the first half mile the gain of the
Pennsylvania boat became one of feet
as they neared the mile mark. Twice
the Comedians tried TO reduce the lead.
but each time the Quakers responded
and maintained the lead of one length,
which they had when they struck the
bridge. 1t was here that Il collision
seemed almost imminent. Both crews
had steered rather badly at the start.
angling in toward the shore. but they
had Strengthened out at the first quar-
ter and gave promise of running a very
straight course.
Almost a Collision.
Just as they got under the shadow of
the great bridge and when Peunsyl-
Vania had succeeded in obtaining n
lead of almost a shell length, the ferry
boat crossed the river and threw a
heavy swell. 1t was either because the
Pennsylvania oar Who did the steering
felt the effect of the swell and turned
toward il, or else lost his bearings that
the shell turned almost directly toward
Cornell, and to avoid a seemingly
probable collision the Cornell boat was
turned away also. Quick as a fash
Pennsylvania Strengthened out again
and when they cleared the great
abutments il was seen that Pennsyl-
vania had a lead over Cornell of fully
a length and a quarter, there being
clear water between the boats. From
this point of the battle to the finish
there was little material change. I'M
less il may have been at the mile and
three-quarters mark where Cornell hit
the stroke up 10 thirty-four and start
ed to close the gap. But the Quakers,
who had been rowing from one and
half to two strokes per minute faster
than the Ithacans all through the race
seeing that Cornell was squirting
whipped their stroke to thirty-siN and
crossed the line a winner by one length
and half in II minutes. SO seconds.
according To the watches of several
experts upon the press car. Mr.. Fort
meyer, the official time-keeper. on the
referees boat made il II minutes, 9
seconds, but the official time as given
out by the college timers Will II min
utes. u seconds. Cornell finished. ac-
cording to these same figures in II
minutes, II 3-5 seconds.
Freshman Race Exciting.
The freshmen race, which vas started
very promptly after the fOur-oared
finish, was one of the closest and most
eXcTIing races seen on the river II
years, the Columbia crew giving the
Cornell crew a sharp and pretty fight
fer first place and making phenomenal
time. considering the slowness of their \
stroke At the sound of the pistol the
crews got away in a bunch, but al the
settling down OF the stroke 10 the crews
usual style il was seen that Cornell
had poked the pointed nose of her shell
a few feet ahead of the line. For the
first half mile the struggle was so eX-
citing that the spectators arose on the
press car and in the observation train
and cheered for each crew. Cornell
was rowing a long, sweeping stroke of
thirty-four, while Pennsylvania was
rowing at the rate of thirty-five. |
Columbia was rowing a phenomenally |
long stroke, thirty-two, the wonder of
all of the experts on the train, for the |
boat went along almost as fast as the |
Cornell boat.
Close together the three boats hung. |
but there was something about the |
way the Cornell boat seemed to glide |
over the water that made Columbia |
and Pennsylvania hearts go down. AS |
the crews reached the mile mark with |
the Cornell boat about a half length |
out from the bunch, Columbia seemed |
to gain and there were SHOUTS of ap-
prevail as the nose of the boat |
crept up.
Cornell's Great Form.
But the old Cornell form was there.