AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 222, 19 September 1928, Page 14

AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

TECHNICAL STEEPLECHASES. RUTLEDGE AND McGREGOR WINNERS. OVER FOUK HUNDRED RUNNERS. Big fields were a feature of the Seddon Memorial Technical" College steeplechases which were run- yesterday afternoon, over four hundred boys taking part. In the senior event the first man home was C. Rutledge, who started from.the limit mark (41m), while R, McGregor, another limit competitor, came in at the head of tne junior field.

In the past, the runners have finished in St. Paul's Street, but this year a new course was mapped out, ■ and will be adopted for future runs. The boys started in front of the grandstand at the Domain, and went across the oval and over the hill to Manukau Road. Thence they followed the Domain Drive down to Grafton Road. From the top of Grafton Road the runners came along Park Road past the Public Hospital, and doubled round the back of the Domain before finishing at the starting point, thus completing a course of approximately three miles.

About two hundred boys faced the starter for the senior event. The limit men, on 41m, got a good lead on the field, but Rutledge set a brisk pace from the etart, and soon showed the way. Cbeesman and Burk were in front of the 3m men, and tried hard to catch the leader. R. Darley. who made second fastest time last year, was the only competitor to start from scratch, and he had no chance of making up the leeway. When the hoys came in sight on the home run, Rutledge was well out in front, and won very comfortably. Darley, who scored fastest time,, ran well, but found the distance a little too long for him. Result: C Rutledge (4jm) ' i i T. Cbeesman (3m) ....;« » A. Burk (3m) V. Dunn (2Jm) ."!.".'.'.' 4 C. McNamara (2}m) .... """ k R. Watkins (2m) . . ". « R. Darley (scr) ..'.*.*.." 7 Winner's time, 22m 31s. Fastest time.i R. Darley, 19m 18 4.35. Two hundred and twenty youngsters, all under 15, lined up for the junior event, in this race the limit men had a etart of 3Jm on the scratch bunch, and thev made full use of it. McGregor took the lead soon after reaching the hill, and was never beaded, coming home a hundred' yards in front of th<? next man. The winner was suffering from an injured leg, the result of a football accident, and had been advised not to run. Result:

R. McGregor (3sm) .„......„ 1 B. Whale (3Jm) .' 2 S. Thompson (33m) ................ 3 J. Borrows dim) 4 J. Barratt (lm) 5 W. Parnell (2Jm) 6 Winner's time, 22m 575. ' Fastest time, J. Barratt, 21m 255. R. Speed led the scratch men. home, doing the distance in 22m 38 3-ss.