It is not permissible in vaulting in America to move the upper hand on the pole. The lower hand may be brought up, and Hoyt, the Harvard athlete who won the vault at the Olympic games of 1895, usually does this. In England, "climbing the pole" is allowed, and athletes there frequently bring the lower hand up above the other. Some of them manage to make better records by this method too.
When training for this event the novice should not vault oftener than fifteen times a day, and he should never work with the pole more frequently than three times a week. On the intervening days he should do light work at sprinting. Take every height three times, and then raise the bar, for it is frequently possible for a man to clear a higher mark after failing at the point below. On one day each week try to see how high you can go.
Speaking of pole-vaulting, it is encouraging to record that at the Drisler games, a week ago Saturday, both Hurlburt of Berkeley and Paulding of Black Hall, Connecticut, broke the New York scholastic record for the pole vault. This was 9 ft. 10 in.; but on this occasion Hurlburt cleared 10 ft. 6 in., and Paulding took second with 10 ft. 4 in. Hipple lowered Meehan's scholastic record in the half-mile from 2 min. 9 sec. to 2 min. 7-4/5 sec. These were the only notable performances, except, perhaps, Moore's time of 10-2/5 sec. in the 100, which deserves mention. The Berkeley team carried off the honors of the day in points—an achievement which is somewhat prophetic for the Interscholastics next week.
Of the fifteen relay races held on Franklin Field, Saturday, April 25th, seven were competed in by scholastic runners. The contests were exciting, but not so much so as they would have been if the school athletes had been in any kind of condition. Hardly any of the runners were fit, and over half a dozen fainted outright at the relay mark. Many staggered along the last fifteen or twenty yards, as though they could barely lift one foot ahead of the other, plainly showing that they had not made proper preparation for the kind of work they were attempting to perform.
The races in their order, and the time made in each case, are given here for the sake of record:
First Race—Won by Adelphi Academy; second, De Lancey; third, Episcopal; fourth, Hamilton School. Time, 3 m. 49 sec.
Third Race—Won by Wilmington High-School; second, Norristown High-School; third, Camden High-School. Time, 3 m. 58-2/5 sec.
Fifth Race—Won by Friends' Central; second, Haverford Grammar School; third, Swarthmore Grammar; fourth, Cheltenham. Time, 3m. 54 sec.
Seventh Race—Won by Pennington; second, Hill School; third, Brown Preparatory; fourth, York Collegiate. Time, 3 m. 50-4/5 sec.
Ninth Race—Won by Germantown Academy; second, Penn Charter; third, Abington Friends' Central; fourth, Eastburn Academy. Time, 3 m. 50-1/5 sec.
Eleventh Race—Won by West Chester Normal School; second, South Jersey Institute; third, Drexel Institute; fourth, Temple College. Time, 3 m. 55-2/5 sec.
Thirteenth Race—Won by Central High-School; second, Roman Catholic High-School; third, Manual Training School. Time, 3 m. 44-1/5 sec.
The Adelphi team had an easy time of it for first place, the real contest being among the three other schools. A hot struggle was that between the Hill School and Pennington, in which the latter won. Kiefer, who ran the last lap for the Hill, had twenty yards to kill to get even with his opponent. He made a pretty fight, but Finnegan was too much for him, and defeated him in the last ten yards. In the ninth race Germantown met its old rival, Penn Charter, and took it into camp. Eastburn Academy took the lead at first, beating Penn Charter by three yards on the lap, with Germantown, Abington, and Friends' School puffing along in that order. But Eastburn's second man lost the advantage won, and soon dropped to the rear. Germantown then passed Penn Charter, finished first in the second relay, and kept the lead to the end. The last race—that between Central High, Catholic High, and Manual Training—was uninteresting, all three schools maintaining the order given from start to finish.
ACADEMIC ATHLETIC LEAGUE'S FIELD DAY, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 18, 1896.
| Event. | Winner. | Performance. | |||
| 100-yard dash | Drum, L.H.-S. | 11 | sec. | ||
| 220-yard dash | Drum, L.H.-S. | 24-2/5 | " | ||
| 440-yard dash | Woolsey, B.H.-S. | 56-1/5 | " | ||
| Half-mile run | Shaw, L.H.-S. | 2 | m. | 12-4/5 | " |
| Mile run | Cutler, L.H.-S. | 5 | " | 7¼ | " |
| 120-yard hurdles | Cheek, O.H.-S. | 17-4/5 | " | ||
| 220-yard hurdles | Warnick, B.H.-S. | 29-1/5 | " | ||
| Running high jump | Hoffmann, O.H.-S. | 5 | ft. | 5 | in. |
| Running broad jump | Parker, B.H.-S. | 20 | " | 7 | " |
| Pole vault | Hoffmann, O.H.-S. | 10 | " | ||
| Throwing 16-lb. hammer | Smith, Hoitt's. | 103 | " | 10½ | " |
| Putting 16-lb. shot | Cheek, O.H.-S. | 37 | " | 5¼ | " |
| Event. | Second. | Third. |
| 100-yard dash | Lippman, Hoitt's. | Jenks, O.H.-S. |
| 220-yard dash | Jenks, O.H.-S. | Switzer, St. M. |
| 440-yard dash | Osborn, St. M. | Smith, P.H.-S. |
| Half-mile run | Steele, O.H.-S. | Manley, St. M. |
| Mile run | Haseltine, B.H.-S. | Smith, O.H.-S. |
| 120-yard hurdles | Colby, B.H.-S. | ————- |
| 220-yard hurdles | Dawson, O.H.-S. | Parker, B-H.-S. |
| Running high jump | Grant, P.H.-S. | Man, P.H.-S. |
| Running broad jump | Cheek, O.H.-S. | Simonds, B.H.-S. |
| Pole vault | Cheek, O.H.-S. | Woolsey, B.H.-S. |
| Throwing 16-lb. hammer | Lynch, O.H.-S. | Johnson, St. M. |
| Putting 16-lb. shot | Woolsey, B.H.-S. | Goodale, B.H.-S. |
| Relay race, one mile | Lowell. | Oakland. |