Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-18
By BOB WARDEN.

interscholastic track meets at Missoula,
the Great Falls high school won the
| state title last week. To this team of
seven athletes also is due the honor
of capturing the first Montana state
championship in any line of sport in
the history OF the school. Twice last
year, Blue and White teams have been
defeated by the narrowest margins in
football and basketball.
To Coach NJ. l.. Crouch is due the
ability of making the most of the track
material he had at the first of the
season. When it is considered that
weather conditions in this part of the
state discourage track work to such an
extent that it is rare when more than
10 days of the entire season are fit
for the best of training, not too much
praise and glory can be given Coach
Crouch and his worthy seven.
Perhaps one of the greatest assets
of a school is shown in the conduct of
a representative athletic team when it
is entered in such a meet and also on
any other kind of a trip to a neighbour
ing school. 1t is said that the best
athlete is not always the one who car
ries all the laurels and glory but often
be who bears defeat with a smile and
a word of congratulation for the win
ner.
Win Newspaper Praise
Great Falls has always had the repu-
tatiOn of sending clean. spOrtsmanlike
teams into competition and a year
never passes without favorable com
ment from many sources as the result
of the conduct of local teams. This is
one of the requirements of which
Coach Crouch is especially particular.
The following is an extract from the
Missoulian, printed the day after the
close of the meet:
Great Falls has a team Of gentle
men. good sportsmen and clean ath-
letes, deserving of the victory. While
we, knowing MissOula was denied the
honors. hoped that S~tevensville. our
neighbOr in the south. would overcome
the foes from the north. we are glad
that such a splendid squad of young
sters finished first. All of them tried
hard and gave their best, and the title
is theirs for another year. Congratu-
lations are due Gonser, J. Livers. c..
Livers. Levericb. Shaw, Cockrill. Char
teris and Coach VI. l.. Crouch.
The Great Falls team also walked
away from Fort Benton high in a dual
meet at Great Falls the week before
the state meet by a score of 90 to 80.
In this meet 10 Great Falls candidates
for the Mlssoula trip were entered.
Well Balanced Aggregation
The Great Falls team was made up
of Captain Joseph Livers. dashes and
distance: William Gonser, sprints:
hurdles; James Charters. Jr.. distance;
Robert Shaw, weights and Carlos Liv-
ers, high jumper. This team is one
of the most competent and well bal
anced aggregation that has ever enter
ed the state meet and it is due to this
fact alone. that II was able to compete
so successfully against the stronger
strings of the ,tate in the last meet.
OF the Great Falls team. five are
scheduled TO graduate in June of this
year. These are Joe LiverS. captain:
Go1ser. Leverich. Shaw and Cockrill
This leaves but Carlos Livers and
Charters for next year. but material
in the school will make up for this loss,
to a great extent. :
The local track men emerged from
the interscholastic with a total of 31h
points to it's credit and its nearest rival
was Stevensville, which team fought
to the 81 score level. Other teams
were much farther under the stand
ard. Manhattan finished third with
counters, Butte high. fourth, with !
90 counts and Coach Conrad Orr's
gardeners were able to garner but Ia
for fifth place.
In reward of such success. Great
Falls high has added TO its trophy and
prize chest, two large loving cups
which are the pride of the student
body. These are the championship
cup and an immense trophy, two feet
high, which will be given 10 the school
aggregating the greatest number of
points in five years of interscholastic
competition. three years of which have
expired and left Butte high with a
total of 101 and Great Falls with 91b
According to prospects in sight and
Coach Crouch. the five year cup will
IN the losal shelf for next year,
at least.
Gonser Smashed State Record
William Gonser, three year track
veteran Of Great Falls high, flashed
into further prominence the last day
of the meet when he smashed the state
record in the quarter mile, 440 yard
dash, by three-fourths of a second
the sprint in SO seconds flat.
The former record was established 10
years age by K. Hauser of Anaconda
and equaled by A. Metlan of Missoula
1915 and Tai Collins of Great Falls
in 1918.
Fans of Great Falls are now inter
in sending Gonser to the inter
scholastic Stagg track meet at Chicago,
May q. This series is conducted under
the auspices of the University of Chi