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■ ► : ■ . American Track, Field Artists Awaiting Olympic Team Trials To Be Held on West Coast * Next Month; Strong Squad Slated for Helsinki Games By HAL WOOD United Press Sports Writer MODESTO, Calif., May 20.— Americas stellar track and field artists went to work today on the all-important phase of any Olympic year— making the U. S. team. The preliminaries are over. With the National Collegiate Athletic Association meet, the National AAU and the Olympic trials all being held on the West Coast next month, most of the athletes have been pacing themselves to make sure that they dont go stale before making the American Olympic squad. But now the tuning up processes, completed in such places as the Pehn, Drake, West Coast, Texas, Coliseum and California relays, are over. After surveying the probable talent available and their records to date, U. S. Olympic team head coach Brutus Hamilton believes that America again will be "well represented." i "I think our squad will be just about as strong as usual," said the scholarly coach. "We have what should be good balance and we are going to score more points in some events than we ever have before." Javelin Prospects Bright He particularly liked the prospects in the javelin throw. For years the Finns have had a monoply on this feature. But they arent tossing the spear the 270 feet they used to — and at the same time a lot of American lads, including Cy Young, Bill Miller and Bud Held, are getting it out there around 240 feet. Young, for instance won the California relays Saturday with a heave of 232 feet, 9 inches. Miller was right behind him with 229 feet, 2 inches. The discus looks like a cinch for the Americans with Fortune Gordien, Dick Doyle and Sim Iness throwing around 170 feet in nearly every meet. There does not appear to be any 100-meter men of the Mel Pattbn calibre, but in the California relays here Saturday, Hamilton appeared well satisfied with what he saw in the way of sprinters. A Texas 440-yard relay team completed the distance in 40.7 seconds. All four men on the team, headed by Dean Smith, may have a good chance to make the U. S. Olympic squad. Sim Gathers of the U. S. Air Force won the 100-yard dash in 9.7 seconds, the same time in which Les Laing of Fresno State and John George of California registered in winning preliminary heats. In some of the other events, Hamilton was enthusiastic over the performances of Ollie Matson, who went the 440 in 46.9 seconds. The fastest time in America this year, and Mai Whitfield, the picture runner, who ran the anchor lap on two winning U. S. Air Force relay teams. Hamilton also was sure that George Brown of UCLA should win the Olympic board jump crown. He leaped 25 feet, 8% inches in the California relays here; and only a week ago went 26 feet, 2 inches in the West Coast relays. The coach also perked up as it was announced that Bob Simon of Stanford ran an unofficial 4:11 mile while anchoring the winning Stanford medley relay team.
