The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-23

track meet at Cambridge Princeton gained
another-and in some respects a greater
victory, a victory over the circumstances
whatever they were, which have relegated
the university track team to a position I'M
worthy OF a Princeton team, For years
Princeton men nave striven to break the
bonds which have prevented the university
from making the strides in track that IL
has in football, in baseball and in the other
fields Of intercollegiate competition, For
wears il has been the ambition OF Prince
tonians, especially OF those Intimately aSso-
ciated with the track interests Of the uni
yersity, to place Princeton on the same
footing in that branch Of sport which she
enjoys in the field of basebal and football.
Her failure to occupy a corresponding
position in track has been attributed to
various causes, the one most frequently
resorted to was the idea that it was i'm
possible for a university OF only a thousand
eligible men to support three first class
major teams. At best, however, this attl-
tude was only a cloak to hide the real faults
of the track system and it was realized
that the solution was TO be found elsewhere.
Successive arrangements endeaVored to hnd
that solution, but to the present manage
ment must be given the credit for having
accomplished what mas been attempted for
years.
Realizing that in the past the coaching
system has been defective the manage
ment secured a special track coach TO devote
all his time and efforts to developing a
fully rounded team, a team composed
not alone of men of marked ability but
Of these men plus a Gordon OF men OF less
ability to supplement the others in securing
the minor places. This essential char
acteristic Of q successful team has been
d~isregarded in the past; to-day, however;
we realize it's absolute importance, and
the judgment displayed by the present
management in following up this policy
was proved by the showing OF the team on
Saturday.
AT first sight, perhaps, we seem to
the bright side OF the picture.
II is true that certain men did not do as
we'll as expected. but let us look further.
Lest year the track team occupied eighth
place in the intercole gates, and the meet
last year was characterized by compare
lively mediocre results; not only did the
team lose to the great universities but
ranked below the teams OF several OF the
minor colleges as well. Fol a representative
team Of a university such as Princeton
the showing was poor.
Compare that with the meet on Satur-
day. The meet at Cambridge may well
be called phenomenal, for never before
has such a successful one been held; six
records were broken and in the other events
the lists show wonderful performances.
Yet in spite Of these considerations the
defeated an institution whose track teams
have long been her pride; the showing Of
the men was vastly creditable to themselves
and 10 Princeton, and il is universally
felt hat great strides have been made
during the last year.
And II in one year under the new system
Of coaching such great improvement can
be demonstrated, what will not the future
hold for Princeton, with that same system
in practice year after year? We do not think
our optimism is i'll founded. II will take
years for Princeton 20 put out teams similar
to the teams which Represented Pennsyl-
vania and Michigan on Saturday. but we
believe that the track management has
found the right road, which, followed year
after year, should lead TO the prominence
in track which is typical Of Princeton in
other lines OF competitive activity. We
congratulate the member OF the team
their showing al Cambridge. but far
more upon having broken the bonds which
in the past have bound Princeton 10 a po-
sition o. inferiority.'
The institution whose track teams have
long been her pride il il inferred is Har-
ward, whiCl did not take in good part defeat
at the hands Of Yale after having beaten
the Ellis in a dual meet. Princeton, al
beaten only four points by Yale in
the Yale-Princeton meet, accepts the situa-
ton with cheerfulness and a spirit hat will
make all the other colleges wish that the
portrayed by the Princeton writer
may be limned In actually in the future. |