At St. Helens last Saturday Wallasey athlete Kevin Mather ran the fastest mile ever recorded by a Wallasey runner when he was placed second to Lancashire's Brian Hall in the fast time of 4 minutes 11.4 secs.
In company with other Wallasey athletes Mather was representing Cheshire in a triangular match against Lancashire and Staffordshire and the field included many national class athletes such as Blackpool star Geoff North and National Junior cross-country champion Colin Robinson,
With recent times of 4-21 and 4-16 to his credit, Mather was not at all disconcerted by the calibre of the opposition and he moved up confidently with the leaders during the first lap, which was covered in 61 seconds.
During the second lap Mather showed a keen sense of pace judgement in easing back to a (64 second lap while Hall was asserting himself and taking a clear lead of about 10 yards. However, in the third lap Mather slipped through to third place with a spirited lap of 62 seconds, and with a final quarter in 64 seconds he finished a good second to a runner who has a best mile time of 4 mins. 5 secs.
Mather's performance was not entirely a, surprise, as he has been training hard and improving steadily over the past few months, but credit must certainly be given for a mile which reflected sound tactics and was also very well pieced together as regards lap times. Given more competition of this class, there seems a good chance of Mather reaching national ranking this summer, as training seems to have brought a matching stamina to his easy natural rhythm.
DISCUS WIN
Also outstanding for Cheshire was Wallasey track captain Carl Gee, who was on the top of his form for a win in the discus with a throw of 125 ft. 9½ ins. and a second place in the shot with a personal best performance of 39 ft. 8 ins,
With a discus throw of 120 ft. 11½ ins. in the inter-club meeting at Wavertree on Whit Monday, Gee has struck his rhythm early in the season and is now clearly showing the benefit of his assiduous study of the technical side of those difficult events over the past twelve months.
John Wright and Brian Woolford were engaged in the three miles (won by Lancashire runner Freary) and they recorded 14 mins. 38 secs. and 14 mins. 51 secs. respectively.
The match was won by Cheshire with 36½ points against 33 points by Lancashire and 14½ by Staffordshire, and it is perhaps worthy of comment that Gee contributed 9 points toward the Cheshire total with his discus and shot putting performances.
COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Today, Wallasey athletes will be competing in the Cheshire County Championships being held at Port Sunlight Oval, commencing 2.30 p.m. Next week they will be engaged in a six club contest organised by Warrington A.C. at their Warrington cinder track.
Applications for membership will be welcomed by either general secretary Matt Smith, of 29 Beechwood Avenue, or track captain Carl Gee, of 78 King Street (Tel New Brighton 1529).
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 03/06/1961 by R.M.C.
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