Jenks is Oakland's sprinter, and holds the school record in both the
dashes. His figures are 10-4/5 sec. for the 100, and 24-3/5 sec. in the
220. He is a good quarter-miler besides, his best performance in that
line being the winning of the handicap a year ago last April from the
20-yard mark in 52-3/5 sec., coming in ahead of some of the best
quarter-milers on the Pacific coast. Dawson's specialty is hurdling. He
holds the school record of 29 sec. for the low hurdles, and his best
time for the high is 17-4/5 sec. He would doubtless have improved these
figures this spring if he had not had the responsibility of captaining
the team. It is much to be regretted that such scholastic athletic
talent as this could not be present at the National games last Saturday;
if they had, the results in many of the events would doubtless have been
different; for I feel confident that with better tracks and a more eager
competition they would be able to improve on their home figures.
In baseball the Oaklanders have as good a record as in track athletics.
Their nine this year won every game played, and the contests were not
only with academic teams, but also with some of the strongest nines in
that section. Two years ago the O.H.-S. had the reputation of possessing
the best team of amateur baseball-players on the Pacific coast. So great
is the interest in athletics there that the Grammar and Primary schools
of Oakland got up a field day on May 23. There was a great deal of
enthusiasm displayed by the colts, and their best performances were in
the high jump, 5 ft. 3 in.; and the quarter-mile run, 59 sec. The
season, however, is now pretty well closed, and not until next fall will
there be any great activity in any kind of sport among the schools of
California.
The activity in sport of the Californiana has acted as an incentive to
many schools in the middle West. I know this to be true from
correspondence I have had with many captains of teams in that section of
the country. Foremost among those who have been drawn into emulation of
the Oaklanders are the athletes of the University School of Cleveland,
Ohio. Comparatively little had been done in athletics there until about
a year ago, but since that time a great improvement has been noticeable,
and at the University School's field day a week or so ago some very good
figures were made. Alexander threw the hammer 123 ft. 6 in.; Hord
vaulted 9 ft. 9-1/2 in.; McBride jumped 5 ft. 5-1/2 in.; and Alexander
put the shot 36 ft. 6 in. It will not be long before the records in the
middle West will equal those of any of the scholastic associations of
the country.
Iowa H.-S.A.A. Games, Cedar Rapids, May 22, 1896.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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