Evening star., 1926-05-13


ever made by "a college man is that
of Tell Berna. another Cornellian. in
tercolleGiate champion of Is years
ago. but his best mark of 9.1T -
was not made in the I. c. y. y. y. n.
meet.
Record May BE Lowest
Il often have been asked whether
consider Berna's record to be with
in the reach of Tibbetts or any
other competitor in the forthcoming
struggle. Frankly, such an opinion
must be based on pure guesswork.
for the weather must be just right,
the track fast and the competition
keen. An adverse wind would mill
tate against a runner of TlbbettS
comparatively frail physique. but If
conditions are ideal it is within the
possibilities that the collegiate rec
ord will he lowered.
distance running in the American
colleges blossomed with the launch
ing of the Intercollegiate Cross
country Association III 1899. Eng
land led the world in distance rum
ming in those days. Yet it was only
4 matter of half a dozen years before
the performances of our athletes
were on a par with those of the
EngliShmen. one reason why Amer
lea has failed to hold its own in the
international distance classics is be-
cause college men give up distance
running after being graduated.
"Outstanding college distance men
drop from view just at the time they
begin to get an idea What ii Is
about. With the same incentive they
possess in college competition there
is no reason to suppose that they
l-an inn
ber of years after their college days
are over.
Occasionally the question Is
brought up as to why distance run
ners of the Far West have not seri-
ously threatened the supremacy Of
the East in the two-mile event as
they have done in other branches
Some are inclined TO the theory that
the climate in California is detrl-
mental to distance runners of hlgh
caliber | cannot subscribe TO this
view I believe that this backward
ness traces TO q general lack OF
schoolhoy interest and competition in
the distance events i'll that section.
Strength Is Needed.
"Athlctes who are strong and ma
ture are best fitted to become consist
ont distance runners. We nave an
exception to prove the RUE III tue Cd9c
of Tell Derna. which provides conclu-
Sive proof that speed can he obtained
bv an athlete with little more than
stick-to-it-ive- ness. Derna was an lth-
aca high school boy. He first report
ed for track in his senior year. lie
was one of the also rams on his school
team Tall and quite awkward, ne
was about the CrudeSt candidate that
ever reported for a Cornell track team.
1t was not until his senior year that
he developed anything like a decent
stride. Then he ran the fastest two
miles ever credited to an American
collegian. Furthermore, in the race IN
which he set the present collegiate
record of 9:l745. he ran five feet out
from the pole, which means that he
ran at least 80 yards over the two-mlle
distance. Had he continued running
another year he would. beyond queS-
tion. have lowered his best mark.
John Paul Jones never had an op-
portunity to concentrate on the two
mile event during any Spring cam
paign when he was an undergraduates
1t is my firm belief, however, that he
could have broken any American col
lege record existing today from SS0
yards to 10 miles.
In the 26 2-mile championship
races in |. G.. A. A. A. A. history the
titles have been won by athletes or
eight colleges. Cornell men have won
"a, Penn a. Harvard .. Johns Hopkins
>, and one each has gone to Yale, Co
Iumbia, Michigan and Williams. The
record has been lowered eight times,
exactly Al seconds having been sliced
off the original mark set by Alex
Grant of Pennsylvania in 1899"