Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-21
INTEREST IN RELAYS
Events at Penn Attracting At
tention of Colleges.
1900 ATHLETES ENTERED
Olympic Committee Hopes Colleges
Will Develop Splinter Who Can
Do Hundred in Ten Seconds.
BY EDWARD r. BUSHNELL.

The intercollegiate world will take the
keenest sort Of interest in the eighteenth
annual relay carnival Of the University
of Pennsylvania. to be held on Franklin
Field, Philadelphia, next Saturday. There
are three reasons for this very wide
spread interest. One Is that the meet will
bring together more than 1900 Of the
very best intercollegiate and scholastic
athletes OF this country. Another Is that
IL will be the first outdoor meet Of the
athletic year. third reason is that
great many of the competitors have as
paratfons TO make this years American
Olympic team and the fact that nearly
an the members Of the American Olympic
selection committee will be on Franklin
Field will be incentive enough for them
to perform to their highest ability.
Conservative estimates place the num-
her of competing athletes at fully 1000.
There are almost 800 relay teams entered.
Counting four men for each team and one
substitute, this would bring the total up
TO 100 men. In addition to the relays
there are seven special events which will
bring together more than 100 additional
men, so that the grand total will be fully
l.6O This is the largest number Of ath-
letes who ever competed in any single
meet in modern times, excepting Of
1908
II is quite certain that the athletes will
perform with the knowledge that the eyes
OF the American committee will be upon
them in the hope of finding material good
enough to score for this country at
stockholm. The American committee will
be particularly interested in the one. two
ana four mile relay races for the inter-
collegiate championship OF the United
States. With the exception of Cornell.
which university has not entered any
team. the men competing in these three
events Will represent the pick of collesi-
ate quarter. half and mile runners Some
OF the men who will compete have al
ready made their marks but there are
sure to be others who will be brought
out by this meet. They are the ones in
whom the American committee will be
most interested in.
Looking for Splinter.
without doubt the committee will be
most vitality interested to see whether or
not this country is to produce another
sprinter of the type Of Ralph Craig, the
former Michigan man and joint holder
of the worlds record for the 22O-yard
dash. AT this writing it is not known
whether or not Craig will compete at the
indicate that he has reconsidered his de-
termination not to try for this years
Olympic team. and will be candidate
With all due respect to the half dozen
In 10 seconds, those who are in closest
touch with the sprinting strength of this
country know that so far not one of
them has done anything to prove that
he can be depended upon to run in any
thing hike the time that Craig did last
year. The college world In particular IL
almost destitute of veteran sprintsrs Of
the ten-second type. The supporters q
the American team are hoping that the
trip to Sweden and the glory Of scoring
for the American team win DO incentive
enough to develop ere or two high-class
sprinters from the c@llege ranks, and the
performance of every man In the 1O0-yard
dash at next weeks relay carnival will
be watched most carefully.
The one-mile relay race will demon
strate whether or not the olympic COM
mittee can look to the colleges for any
high-class men for the 400 meters The
should be capable Of beating 40 seconds.
They are Davenport Of Chicago Univer-
sity, who has a record Of 48 4-0 seconds,
and Reidpath Of Syracuse, who is cred
tied with having done a fraction outside
of 40 seconds Reidpath won the inter-
collegiate quarter mile two years ago, but
last spring he was 'overworked so badly
in the sprints that he broke down and
was unable to compete at Cambridge.
Athletes who pull tendons, as Reidpath
did, seldom regain their form, and even
IL Reidpath gets through the relay carni-
val safely. he will be fortunate IL he can
finish the season without a repetition Of
his trouble. The intercollegiate world
contains q number OF other first-class
auarter-milers, among whom may be
named Sawyer Of Princeton, Young Of
Amherst and Han and Gamble, both OF
Michigan. OF the last-named group
Young. who is the intercollegiate quarter
mile champion. with a record of 4S 4-5
seconds. is undoubtedly the best man. but
he will not have a chance to perform at
the relays. because Amherst will not send
q one-mile team
Some Fast -Milers.
The kwo-mile event will demonstrate
whether or not the college world will pro-
duce any unusual half-milers. The alb