Omaha daily bee., 1909-04-11
GYMNASTIC MEET
AT UNIVERSITY
First Meeting of Kind in Missouri
Valley Held at Lincoln
This Week.
FIVE UNIVERSITIES TO COMPETE
Wisconsin Now Holds Individual and
Team Titles.
NEBRASKA HOPES TO WIN HoNoRs
Minnesota Conceded to Be in Excel
lent Form.
CINDER TRACK TRAINING BEGINS
Outdoor Practice at state University
VIII start Next Wednesday,
Athletic Board Takes
Training Tables.
We UNIVERSITIES TO COMPETE
Wisconsin Now Holds Individual and
Team Titles.
HOPES TO WIN HoNoRs
Minnesota Conceded to Be in Excel
lent Form.
CINDER TRACK TRAINING BEGINS

LINCOLN. April 1O.-(Special)-With the
Cornhusker base ball team away on its an
nual southern journey and with most Of
the track candidates spending the Easter
recess at their respective homes in the
state. there has been a cessation of activi-
ties in university athletic circles for the
last three days that will be continued until
next Friday. when the big western inter-
collegiate gymnsstic contest will be held in
the armory OF the local institution. Five of
tho leading schools of the middle west will
have teams entered in this annual meet
ing, these being Wisconsin, Chicago, Min
nesota, Washington and Nebraska universe
ties. This contest will decide the team
and individual championships of the west
ern gymnastic association for 1909.
Al the present time both the individual
and the team titles are reposed at Wiscon-
sin, where they were last spring captured
by the Badgers. F. S. Zeldlhsck winning
the honors for the best all-around gynlnast
for the second consecutive time. The
Badgers are strong again this year and are
held as favorites for winning the team
contest in Lincoln next week. In the in
dividual contest their best representative,
o. p. Osthoff, will have several worthy OPP
ponents and Is likely to fail to win the
all-round medal. This years Wisconsin
team is coached by Zeidlhack, the captain
and star of last seasons gymnssts. who is
optimistic about the prospects of his rep
resentatives and predicts another double
victory for the Madison school.
Nebraska Picked Third.
In chances for winning the team contest
Minnesota is conceded TO stand next to Wis
consin. with Nebraska third to the Badgers.
Chicago fourth and Washington university
fifth. The Gophers are believed TO be un-
usually strong this spring and reports COM
ing from Minneapolis add strength to this
opinion. DIR. Cooke is coaching the Mime
sofa team and declares he has a much
better point-winning bunch than he took to
Madison last spring. His talk about the
contest when he was in Lincoln with the
Gopher basket ball team in January was
sanguine in its tone and indicated Inc was
very well pleased with the chances he
thought his team would have against Wis
consin in the meeting.
Nebraska has a weaker team than the
one that represented the Cornhuskers last
year and does not expect to get better than
third place. II has no cinch on taking that
place. either. and may be pushed closely
by Chicago in winning II. Little is known
of the Maroons this season except that II
has been rumored they are stronger than
last season or the year before and are fig
urlng on making a good showing in the
games at Lincoln. The Cornluskers. now
ever. are not worrying much about the
team contest and will not be keenly disap-
pointed II they fall below Chicago in II.
Their interest and greatest efforts will be
centered In the individual contest, TO the
winning Of which much honor is attached,
Local students and Coach DR.. Clapp be-
ieve this championship will come to the
Cornhusker school this year.
Mitchell Chief Hope.
For winning the all-round contest Ne
braska's hope are pinned to D. c. Mitchell,
who last year won second place at wis
consin, being next to the great Zeidlhack,
and who the year before that took third
place In the annual games. Mitchell is
now the holder of the title OF leading gym
mast at the state school. having won 1t by
making a big majority Of the points scored
in a contest OF five events with six other
athletes as his competitors. He is a star
performer on The horizontal and parallel
bars and on the sidehorse. DR.. Clapp says
the young gymnast has improved greatly
since last season and predicts that he VIII
win the most points in the ali-round con-
test. o. p. Osthoff of Wisconsin and ono
OF the representatives from Washington uni
versity are expected to be the chief con
tenders with Mitchell for the individual
title.
Each school will he allowed to have five
representatives In the games, and ali of
the universities, with the exception OF
Washington. will send the full number of
men. The 81. Louis school will have a
team OF three men entered, this number
lazrNn- 49,, ..ftr.a .,wg,v, lH sla AHnahFpn-
ton athletic authorities as being a large
enough representation for them to send TO
the first intercollegiate gynnastic contest
In which they have chosen to compete.
The list OF events for the contest includes
the following: Tumbling. wrestling. club
swinging and work on the flying rings, the
outside horse and the parallel and hori-
zontaI bars. Points won in the tumblng
and wrestling bouts will not be counted for
the team and individual championships.
First I'm Missouri valley.
Special preparations are being made at
tho state school for the contest. which will
be the first of its kind ever held at a Mis-
souri, valley university. The Nebraska
armory will be decorated with the colors
and pennants OF the various schools to
show the appreciation Of the Cornhusker
management and students for the four vis-
itng teams. URusuai interest is bcing man
ifssted in the approaching games and ii Is
expected the largest crowd that ever wit
messed an indoor athletic event al the Corn
husker school viii crowd the university
srmory Friday evening
During the Faster recess Dr. Clapp has
detained some Of his gymnasts in the city
IN order TO allow them to train In one or
Two events IN which they are now not
very strone. n q Mitchell aud MS brother