Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-01-17
Fine Season for Wilt
Is Seen After 2-MiIe
Win in Star Meet
By MerreII WhittIesey

Washington's casual track fans
probably were not fully appreciative
of Fred Willis performance in the
2-mile run in The Evening Star
AAU games Saturday night, but
the ex-Indiana University runners
600 time easily was the most
talked-about subject in the post
meet hospitality room"
Track Writers Joe Sheehan OF the
New York Times and Art Morrow
of the Philadelphia Inquirer were
of the opinion that Wits perform
ance might stand as the best time
of the indoor season and that Wilt,
and not Curtis Stone, will be the
2-miler of the year.
The visiting track writers almost
fell out of the press box in their
excitement when the incorrect
time of $3.50 first was announced
Only Greg Rice and Don Lash have
beaten nine minutes for the 2-mile
And although Wilt, an Olympic
contender in the 10000 meters, has
a lot of promise, he's hardly nine
minute man this early in the season
First Meet Errors Remedied.
The track coaches were talking
of an unbeaten season for Wilt,
despite the foreign competition he
meets in distance races starting
this week in the Inquirer Games
Friday in Philadelphia and the 23d
Massachusetts K. of C. Games Sat-
urday night in Boston.
Many of last years first meet
mistakes were corrected in the Sec
ond edition of the Districts major
meet last Saturday and there will be
further improvement next year. The
invitation events will be spaced
throughout the program and there
will be changes in the public address
system.
The Star also hopes to obtain a
later date in order to catch the for
eign stars, who seldom are ready to
run before the third or fourth week
in January. In addition, the Arm
ory's seating capacity probably will
be increased over this years maxi
mum of $500.
The crowd was less than 500
short of capacity. but if the number
of telephone calls received by The
Star Saturday night is an indica-
ton, hundreds remained away be-
cause they feared the meet would
be a sellout.
Other outstanding individual per-
formances were by Marcellus Bos-
ton in winning the 10 and 80 yard
dash sections of The Star sprint
series and George Wade in winning
the mile in Abb with his kick
finish over Browning Ross, plus
running the anchor for Yale's Ivy
League relay champion.
Villanova and Yale each Wor
three events.
Three New Meet Marks.
Jim Gehrdes in the 70-yard high
hurdles, George Guida in the 60t
and William Adams in the high
jump are the only new meet recore
holders in the major events. The 2.
mile was run as handicap las
year. Gehrdes beat Bill Mitchellt
time BY three seconds with his 8,5
while Guida knocked $40 Of Sec
ond off Herb McKenley's mark and
Adams bettered Dave Albritton S
1948 jump by an inch and half;
although Albritton did ST. unof-
ficially last year.
The indoor trackmen take to thu
banked tracks for this week end!
major meets: Most of the interest
will be centered around the debu
of the foreigners, Ingvar Bengt'
sson and Erik Ahlden of the Swedish
Olympic team. The following weel
CASTOR Reiff of Belgium and Willen
Slijkhuis of The Netherlands joil
the tour.
Wilt will face Ahlden. the Swede
Curtis Stone and Forest EfaW, thu
defending champion, in the In
quirer 2-mile ana the next nigh
will meet Bob Black, Ted Vogel
Ahlden and EfaW.