SIXTH PLACE IN INTERCOLLEGIATES AND VICTORY OVER YALE HIGH POINTS OF 1922 TRACK SEASON

The 1921-1922 University track season which ended with the Intercollegiates last Saturday was one of the most remarkable that a Crimson team has had in recent years. Starting the season with a squad composed in the main of green material, Coaches Bingham and Farrell developed this "nondescript combination" into a group of fighting men who defeated Yale and later won sixth place in the I. C. A. A. A. A. games. The triumph over the Blue alone stamps the 1922 season as distinctive from others during the last seven years; for it was the first time since 1915 that a University track team had outscored the Elis.

The success of the Crimson against the New Haven runners was above all else due to the untiring efforts of Coaches Bingham and Farrell, who carried on the new system put into effect by them last year. The situation this season was much the same as last year and Coach Bingham used similar methods in bringing about ultimate victory. During both his years as coach of the University track men, his great achievement has been the wonderful development of the team from a comparatively low level to a high one, all in the space of a few months. It is a question as to whether the 1921 or 1922 season was the most striking success. Last year the victories in the Princeton and Oxford-Cambridge meets and the splendid showing in the Intercollegiates made up for the defeat by Yale. This year, with material below the standard of last season's, the win over the Blue has been counterbalanced by the overwhelming Tiger triumph and a mediocre sixth place in the Intercollegiates as compared with second in 1921.

Millrose Games Start Season

The 1922 season properly starts with the Millrose Athletic Association games held at Madison Square Garden, New York City, February 1. There the Crimson medley realy team composed of Burke, Eaton, Chute, and Merrill ran second to Princeton, while Whitney won first place in the 50-yard hurdles against an exceptionally strong field. This was merely a "feeler" of the University's strength.

Three days later Crimson track prospects received a momentary setback when both of the three University relay teams entered in the B. A. A. games at the Arena were defeated. The Eli victory in the two-mile relay was won by a margin of 50 yards, while M. I. T.'s one-mile combination triumphed by 40. In this same meet the Eli Freshmen outran the University yearlings. It was a defeat all around for the Crimson.

Triangular Contest Next

After the B. A. A. meet the magnitude of Coach Bingham's task became apparent. The efforts of the track men became redoubled; and when the supreme test of the winter season came a few weeks afterwards Coach Bingham's men were able to obtain second place to Cornell in the annual triangular meet between the Ithacans, Dartmouth, and the University at Mechanics Hall, Boston, February 27. The Crimson runners went into this meet a doubtful quantity and few expected them to display the ability they did: Cornell with special power in the distance runs won the struggle by ten points, rolling up a score of 48 1-2 points to the University's 38 1-2 and Dartmouth's 29. It was in this meet that the Crimson first showed the strength in the field events which has meant so much to them during the spring season. Here also Burke won his first mile run for the University, winning over Kirby and Strecker of Cornell, the former of whom revenged himself on Burke last Saturday when he captured third place from him in the Stadium race.

Perhaps the best part about the triangular meet from the Crimson point of view was the uncovering of several "dark horses", who before it had had no reputation as runners and had not been considered among the possible point-winners.

Relay Team Wins In K. of C. Games

The University again outdid the Green runners when in Knights of Columbus track meet March 4 the Crimson two mile relay team led the Hanover men to the tage by ten yards. Eaton, Quinn, McCarthy, and Burke ran for the University on this occasion.

The indoor season ended with the Intercollegiates March 13 in New York City. Cornell carried away the first honors here with Dartmouth second. The Crimson finished seventh behind Pennsylvania, Princeton, Penn State and Yale. This showing by the University was not encouraging; in fact it seemd to point to retrogradation rather than progress. For only three weeks before the Crimson had won over Dartmouth in the triangular meet; and the Green had a 16 1-2 point margin over Coach Bingham's men at the indoor Intercollegiates.

The spring season started officially on March 27 when Coach Bingham, Captain Brown, Dr. Parmenter, and Mr. W. A. Barron '14 addressed a meeting of all candidates for the team in the Locker Building. Intensive training started immediately, for the team had only two weeks in which to prepare for the spring trio. Coach Bingham picked 37 men to go south and the squad left at the start of the spring recess.

The first contest of the trip took place April 20 at Charlottesville, Virginia where the Crimson defeated the University of Virginia 69 to 57 in a close struggle. The Crimson cleaned up entirely in the 100-yard dash and low hurdles and showed good all-around strength.

At the end of the same week the University and Virginia teams were completely defeated by the Navy in a triangular meet at Annapolis. The midshipmen registered a total of 64 1-2 points more than equalling the combined points of both their opponents and just doubling the Crimson's 32 1-4 points. Virginia was last with 29 1-4. Burke won the mile from Curtis of the Navy in the best race of the day.

Brown Places at Penn Carnival

The next meet in which the University competed was the Penn Relay Carnival. Following the custom set up last year Coach Bingham decided to make entries only in the special events and accordingly did not send any relay teams to the games. Captain Brown and Marshall were chosen to represent the University in the hammer-throw. Marshall did not place, but Brown won second to Baker of Princeton, whom he subsequently defeated both in the Princeton and Intercollegiate meets.

On May 6 the Crimson smashed through to a complete victory over M. I. T. at Technology Field. The University men captured 11 out of 15 possible firsts, winning both sprints, both hurdles, the mile and half-mile, both weight events, the shot-put, and discus and javelin throws. Considered by many track followers before the struggle as exceedingly likely to be defeated, Coach Bingham's men rolled up a total of 84 points to the Engineers' 51. It was a surprising triumph, not because the Crimson won, but because in winning it showed an almost unbelievable improvement over its spring trip records and a latent power which only a few had dreamed it possessed.

It was a week later that Coach Bingham's runners swept over Yale for a 70 13-15 to 64 2-15 triumph, the first track victory over the Blue in seven years. The meet, held in the Stadium, was even closer than last year's. But this time the Crimson held the balance of power. Before the struggle metropolitan newspapers were running such headlines as, "Harvard has a chance, but it is a slim one". That was the general concensus of opinion previous to the meet.

"Green Material" Wins Out

Five men who had already won their "H's" and 16 otheres classed at the beginning of the season as "green material" turned the trick for the Crimson. As in the football game last fall the University went into the contest as the underdog and fighting as it had seldom fought before, emerged victorious. In the final analysis it was the wonderful driving finishes of the Crimson runners at the tape which sent the Elis down to defeat.

Burke was the outstanding performer for the Crimson, capturing both the mile and 880-yard runs from two of the best runners who ever were the Blue. In the mile he broke the University record of 4 minutes, 23 2-5 seconds and established a new one of 4 minutes, 19 4-5 seconds.

The final dual meet was that with the Tiger track team at the Palmer Stadium, Princeton, the following Saturday. The Orange and Black gave the University one of the worst beatings it has ever experienced, taking 11 first places and running up a score of 95 1-2 to 39 1-2. The Princeton team, said to be the best ever turned out at the New Jersey college, was not up against the same opposition Yale had met the week before. The Crimson team acted as if it had worn itself out completely against the Blue, Burke lost the mile and Hauers and Whitney the hurdles; and so it went all along the line. The Tigers, however, would have been victorious had Coach Bingham's men even more formidable than they were against Yale.

Captain Brown's Record With Hammer

The one redeeming feature of the meet was Captain Brown's 166 feet 4 inch winning heave in the hammer-throw. This broke the dual meet record and established a new University mark for the event, outdoing also by four feet the record throw of 162 feet 4 1-2 inches made by Theodore Cobb '12 in 1912.

The Intercollegiate meet, held last Saturday in the Stadium, is still recent history. California repeated its last year's victory and won with 40 1-2 points. But the University, lacking such stars as Gourdin, Harwood, Krogness, and O'Connell had to be content with sixth place with 14 points. Princeton was second with 31; but the Crimson outscored Yale, which came ninth with 8 1-2 points.

The winning of the high hurdles by Hauera was the feature of the meet from the Crimson standpoint. Miller also registered a surprise by taking third in the discus. He did not place in the Yale meet, but his work last Saturday entitles him to an "H"