The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1910-04-28
HUGGINS BEATS
CALIFORNIANS
OREGON BOY SURPRISES SOUTH
In Field Of Twenty-One Local Lad Wins
Missing Record by a Fifth of a
Second.

Chester Higgins the sturdy, distance
runner, and the captain of the Hood
River high school track team added
another feather to his cap Saturday
when he won the mile race at the Stan
ford Interscholastic Track meet at
Stanford University against 20 other
entries and came within one fifth of
a second of equalling the interscholas-
tic record.
The meet was brilliant contest en-
tered by 40 preparatory schools of
California and Hood River was the
only school represented from outside
the state although other schools had
planned to send their athletes. IL was
a day of shattering records, eight of
the Stanford Interscholastic records
and four Of the Pacific Coast Academic
records being broken. Although Hug
gins went as the single entry from
outside California and was the sole
representative of his shcool, Hood
River tied with Los Angeles and
Healdsburg for eighth place with s
points. The meet was won by Chico
high school, which sent six athletes to
gather in II points.
\ The mile race in which Huggins was
entered was the first event in the day
and the local lad won in :39 and 1-5.
The morning following the meet the
San Francisco Chronicle contained a
good picture of Huggins winning the
race and in the view it is seen that the
second man, Shields, of San Jose was
not far behind The day was very
warm, the thermometer registering in
| Alo, s..t.l l,,,-bosN1 1f ~ Il
the hottest April day on record in the
San Francisco Bay region. The hard
trip to Stanford and the extreme heat
probably kept Huggins from lowering
his own record made in Portland a
week previous. The Chronicle thus
describes the mile run:
'The only aspirant for honors from
outside the State made good and sue
ceeded in winning the mile run, which
was captured by an Oregon boy last
year also. Huggins, entered from the
Hood River High School of Oregon,
won the event in :39 and 1-5, but
one fifth of second slower than the
record held by Lee of Harvard School.
Huggins showed the way to the tape
for the entire distance, although hard
pressed by Shields near the finish"
The Daily Palo Alto, the Stanford
student paper gives the following ac-
count of the race:
Hood River, as represented by their
sole entry, Higgins, was credited with
establishing new record in the mile
run, and furnished one of the many
surprises of the day. The sturdy
| fighter established lead in the back
stretch and steadily maintained his ad-
vantage. This new record is within
one fifth of a second of the time made
by X. F. Lee formerly of Harvard
Academy of :39:l."
The San Francicso Call said the
following of Huggins:
''The first race that was run, the
mile, had a surprise in store. No one
had ever heard of Huggins from Hood
River, Oregon, who was the only n an
entered by his school, and when he
forged into the lead in the first quar-
ter, no one expected that he could hold
the pace. The second and third laps
found his position unchanged, however,
in spite Of the efforts Of Shields, of
San Jose to pass him on the back
stretch. On the last lap SHE Ids
made one supreme effort to pass him,
but the boy from Hood River let out
just enough speed to keep ahead and
finished one yard in advance of
Shields. Schweitzer of Santa Far
bara, who fiished third, never he'd
chance. The time was a :39 one fifth,
within fifth of second of the inter-
scholastic record"
The San Francisco Examiner said:
"Oregon sent down another good
miller and the opening event on the
programme again went across the
State line. Last year Burns, of Port
land, took this event, and yesterday
the winner turned up in Huggins, who
halls from Hood River. Huggins
took the place at the end of the first
lap and he would not allow any Of the
others to take the lead away from him
at any stage of the balance of the
route. Shields, of Sna Jose, ran him
hard race all around the last lap, and
when the two were within twenty
yards of the finish they were breast to
breast. The Oregonian had some
thing left, for he let out link and
beat Shields to the tape by couple
of yards"
Huggins arrived on the Stanford
campus Thursday afternoon and enjoy
ed couple of days visit at the big
university before the meet came off.
He spent considerable time getting
acquainted with the track which is the
best on the coast and had the advan-
tage of advising with Dad" Moulton,
the veteran Stanford trainer, and
number of the crack University ath-
letes. Lee, the holder of the inter
scholastic record, who is now student
at Stanford gave Huggins good rub
down before and after his race, and
aided him in every way possible.
Huggins was fortunate in drawing
number Of the q entries in the mile
and with crouching start he shot
ahead of the crowd at the crack of the
gun and held his lead throughout race.
The local athlete was the first of
the prep school men to arrive at
Stanford, and he is high in the praises
of the entertainment he received at
the hands Of the college men. He
spent the first day as the guest of j.
E. Shelton, student body president, at
his quarters in Encina hall, the big
mems dormitory, and spent the re-
mainder of his time at the Sigma Chi
fraternity house. Huggins said that
many of the Stanford men were much
interested in Hood River and that ONE
of the students he met contemplated
visiting the valley during the corning
summer. He took along some Hood
River literature and apples and was
continually piled with questions ebout
the great apple section.
Huggins arrived home Tuesday tven-
ing and he was met at the train y an
enthusiastic crowd Of high school
students, who gave him reception
befitting hero Tuesday nigl 1t q
reception was given at the home Of
Mr.. and Mrs. E. J. Young, and large
crowd of young people met to corgratu.
late the runner and hear his account Of
his southern trip.