The New York herald., 1922-05-27
Merchant Out in Front With
Record Breaking Toss of
the Hammer.
BY w. O. McGEEHAN.

Special Dispatch to THE Nrw York HERALD
CAMBRIDGE, Mass, May 26-Judging
from what transpired in the Harvard
Stadium to-day. the University of CAL
ifornia will win the intercollegiate
track and field meet here tomorrow.
with Cornell, Princeton, Stanford and
Pennsylvania fighting for second place.
In the preliminaries California with a
team of fifteen men qualified entrants
for fifteen events. BY a coincidence
Stanford. the rival California univer-
sity, with a ten man squad. qualified
ten athletes.
Johnny Merchant, the stocky Cali
fornian. with build and bulging mus
cles of a wrestler. qualified in four
events, and is counted on to win at
least ten points for the Blue and Gold
tomorrow. incidentally Merchant
broke the intercollegiate record for
throwing the sixteen pound hammer
with his first magnificent heave of Ill
feet inches. In addition he qualified
for the discus and the broad jump.
Some Of the heats of the dashes were
sensational. The fastest of these was
the first heat Of the hundred, where
AL LIE Coney of Lafayette, the ma
tional indoor champion, shot down the
straightaway against the tape in 4-5
seconds. This time equals that /of
Bernie Wefers, who made it in New
York in 1896.
The javelin discus events were added
to the meet for the first time Today, and
whatever top distances are reached DUR
ing this gathering will stand as inter-
collegiate records. These additional
events prolonged the events after the
time set to close.
Attendance Light.
Despite the fact that the field in the
preliminaries was made up Of the best
athletes in the country, the attendance
at Soldiers Field was poor. The Off
cials. the entrants and the correspon-
dents outnumbered the spectators by sew
eral hundred. The weather was clear
and warm and cool breeze blew down
the straightaway from the cast at the
backs of the runners in the hundred yard
dash. This same wind blew into tho
faces of the javelin throwers and carried
the flying poles off at tangents.
In all los men qualified in thirteen
events to-day. The mile and the two
mile runs were not run in heats, as the
entire field in both events will be started
to-day. Thirty colleges entered the meet
and twenty-one of them qualified en-
trants.
The colleges who qualified athletes to-
day are: California, Is; Cornell, 13;
Princeton, IL; Stanford 10; Pennsyl-
vania. 8; Harvard. Z; Yale, 6; Penn
State, 6; Dartmouth. s; Colgate. 8 /; CO.
lumbia. 8; Syracuse. 3: Boston, 2. La
fayette, 2; Rutgers, 2: Williams, 2;
Amherst, 1: Bowdoin. 1; Brown, 1. and
New York University, /.
The stocky Johnny Merchant Of Cali
fornia, who should be the highest point
winner, made his qualifications in most
prosaic and unobtrusive fashion, though
he was the busiest athlete on the field.
Most Of the events In which he partici-
pated were being run concurrently.
Johnny would heave the Javelin for a
few mighty heaves, then retire behind the
wall Of the stadium to toy with the six
teen pound hammer.
When he had completed his first throw
of the hammer he returned to the inner
field to do some broad jumping and then
rush about to daily with the shot and
the javeiin again. He was constantly
In and out Of a mouse colored bathrobe
and taking short runs across the grass
to keep those punches of muscles from
stiffening.
Merchant Great With Hammer.
1t is quite likely that his first heave
of the hammer will stand for the longest
fling of the meet, for his nearest COM
petitors are something like twenty feet
behind him. This means that California
starts tomorrow with a practical as
surance OF five points. and five points
give quite a start in a meet, has been
as hotly contested as the intercollegiate
track and field meets. Johnny is not
spectacular, though he Is as attractive
as a slightly sawed off Greek god.
Trainer Walter Christie of California
Is having those bulging muscles Of Mer-
chants massaged in a very tender and
particular fashion tonight. Merchant
potentially means twelve points to the
Golden Bear, which Is the totem OF the
Calhornians. To-day he was first in
the hammer throw. second in the shot
rut, fourth in the broad jump and fifth
in the javelin throw. There is no
reason to believe that he will not do
as well tomorrow and he may do better.
The Princeton athletes came here with
high hopes. but it looks now as though
they will only be In the battle for second
place. The Harvard team, which was
only half point behind the Californians
last year in thrilling struggle failed
badly at the trials. Cornell's great
showing upset the calculations of ex-
perts. who insist in trying to reduce
the human element to figures. Lawson
Robertson's Pennsylvanians made
great showing and refuse to count them
selves out of the fight to repel the in
vasion OF the Western athletes.
Following LIE Concys splendid per-
formance in the hundred, there were
two thrilling heats of the half mile. In
the first heat DAILY, pale and slender
Stanford University boy. took the lead
about half way and set a terrific pace,
passing Johnson of Princeton, the early
pacemaker, and Brown of Pennsylvania.
DAILY started to wilt near the finish and
Brown, with fine show OF reserve
speed. passed him by few yards before
the tape was reached.
CampbeII's Tight Squeeze.
There was hardly half a yard be-
tween the first three at the finish of the
second heat. Campbell of Yale just did
shoot in ahead OF Marsters of George
town. and Heiffrich of Penn state. This
trio fought II out from the quarter right
down TO the tape.
The 100 yard high hurdles furnished
some thrills and surprises. The fastest
heat was won by r. s. whitney of Yale.
The next fastest was taken handily by
Hal Barron of Penn State. The indica-
fionq are that these two sholld fnaka n