The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-08
DOING HARD WORK
Athletes at the University Practic-
ing Outdoors.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FIELD
Better Facilities Promise to Produce
Better Team-The Spring
Events.

OUTDOOR athletic work has begun in full
force at the university. The track has
Deen gotten into much better condition
IMAM ever before and by another month
II may very likely be possible to hold the
wisconsin meet on the university
grounds instead of at the fair grounds as
was originally intended. new board
projecting three inches above the level of
the track has been placed around the cir
cular path the entire distance. The
straight-away, which is 12O yards in
length, has been widehed so that six men
can run abreast. each man being allowed
yard OF space in which to run, and the
| track around the rest of the circle has
been made fifteen feet wide. The as
ISOLATION has also had an iron water
pipe placed along the surface of the
ground passing around the whole length,
with numerous taps for hose connection,
so that all parts of the track can be wet
down and rolled daily. A man has been
engaged who has already been at work
| for two weeks and who will devote his
entire time until June 1 to getting the
| track into shape and keeping it in con-
dition.
| In past years the university has been
greatly handicapped by the poor facilities
| for general athletic work, but now with
! improved track accommodations and a
| the team, 1T is expected that a strong de-
| partment Of general athletics will be de-
veloped and that Minnesota will be we'll
represented both in the dual meets with
| Iowa and Wisconsin. and also at the in
tercollegiate meet in Chicago.
It was found that it was impossible to
1 get full Quarter-mile track in
side the fence Of the old grounds, so a
fifth of a mile track was laid out, with
l a r6 Of jobt re
and hurdles, in front of the grand stand.
This size track will make a very satisfac-
| tory and serViceable one FOR training pur-
poses, although, of course, it is not to be
compared with the one which 1t Is pro-
posed to have when the new athletic field
is laid out.
| Freshman-SophmOre Games. =,
Realizing the Importance of developing
the management has decided to hold a
| special set of games on separate day
from the regular university spring sports
! which will be open only to freshmen and
| scphomcres. Points in this contest will
| be counted as in dual meet, and a
| handsome silk banner will be given the
winner. At these games also a number
of relay races, which have always proved
| interesting and beneficial, will be held for
the fraternity and department teams and
also for the high schools of the twin
cities.
| The university spring meet will be held
! in the afternoon May 3. The freshman
| sophomore contest will probably be held
| the week before.
| Last year, for the first time, a relay
race between teams of four men, each
man running quarter of mile, was
placed on the program of the western in
ter collegiate meet in Chicago. It is
| quite probable that this event will be
| continued as the race last June which
came as the final event of the meet, was
close and exciting. In this case Mime
sofa, which has a promising bunch OF
middle distance candidates, will be rep
! resented - ~ - ~
| Wisconsin, Very Strong. T.
! !. At the present writing the track team
! at wisconsin appears to be the strongest
| team IN the west. The showing made by
! the wisconsin men which are to be sent
| to the great Intercollegiate relay meet,
/ held in, philadelphia April 26, under the
! auspices Of the University of Pennsylva-
| MIA Willabe watched with keen interest.
! wisconsin has entered her four fastest
| mile men for the four-n mile relay, and al
though they willsbe ptteed against Har
ward, Yale, Pennsylvania, and the pick OF
the eastern colleges, the Wisconsin team
is regarded by many as the probable win
! ners.
The cancellation Of arrangements for
the dual meet between Wisconsin and
Chicago will throw special interest On
the contest which is to take place be-
tween Wisconsin and Minnesota on May
80 -Aof iylnn Two r n