Hewlett & Company Should Coast Against Tiger, Eli Runners Today

Harvard's cross-country team goes after its second consecutive Big Three title at 3:30 p.m. today in Franklin Park and Coach Bill McCurdy admits, "I'll be shocked if we lose."

The only conceivable threat to the Crimson is Princeton, a balanced squad of so-so runners who have managed four wins in seven meets thus far this year. Yale won't bother McCurdy's boys: the Elis are so bad that they lost to Dartmouth, a team the Crimson massacred 15-47.

The main excitement today should be watching Walt Hewlett win his second straight Big Three title and his seventh meet in seven tries this fall. Walt doesn't anticipate any problems. There shouldn't be any.

And as far as team scoring goes, the Crimson should coast. Hewlett and Captain Bill Crain have beaten all the Elis and Tigers returning from the 1963 meet. And two weeks ago Hewlett and Dave Allen topped a pair of Columbia runners who trounced everyone on the Princeton squad just last Friday.

There's only one statistic in the Tigers' favor and that's a small one. Captain Ross Odell owns a win over Hewlett in a one-mile race during track season and Chip Sweeny has besten Walt in the two-mile.

Rounding out the Princeton team are Larry Taylor, the first Tiger across the finish line in last week's victory over Penn, and Ritch Geisel, second for Princeton in that race. This pair has run about even with Odell and Sweeny during most of the season.

But balance isn't such a blessing if the quality isn't there to begin with. Teams that sweep sixth through tenth places finish second.

"Their hope must be that their four front runners can score heavily right behind Hewlett," McCurdy said. "But I don't think they can do it. It's that simple."

The only Yalie who should finish before the Crimson can place five men is Bill Mather. Mather took first place in the Elis' loss to Cornell last week.

The Crimson enters this meet near full strength. John Ogden is still suffering from a virus infection, but soccer player Keith Chiappa will be running to take up the slack.

Unlike the main feature, the freshman meet, scheduled for 2 p.m. should be a thriller." The Princeton yearlings a.m. undefeated this fall and the Crimson's record is blemished only by a one-point loss to Brown at Providence.