Seven Trackmen Going to NCAA's

Seven Harvard track stars will travel to the West Coast this week to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon. Representing one of the strongest teams in Crimson track annals, the seven-man contingent seems assured of scoring more points than any Harvard squad in history.

Competing at Eugene will be captain-elect Art Croasdale in the shot and hammer, junior John Bakkensen in the discus, sophomores Chris Pardee in the high jump and Tony Lynch in the 400 meter hurdles, senior Chris Ohiri in the triple jump, and juniors John Ogden in the 800 meter run and Aggrey Awori in the high hurdles.

To qualify for the NCAA championships, the Crimson stars had to equal or surpass standards set by the NCAA track committee. Sophomore distance ace Walt Hewlett also qualified for the meet with a 9:01.8 clocking in the two mile, but has decided not to compete. Captain Ed Meehan missed the 1:52.0 mark in the 800 meters by a second.

Among those competing, Ohiri stands the best chance of winning his event. His University record of 51 ft. 4 1/4 in. in the triple jump, set two weeks ago in the IC4A's, ranks him third in the nation, a bare 8 in. behind the leader.

Both Bakkensen and Lynch also seem sure to place. Bakkensen's University record toss of 177 ft. 6 in. places him about tenth in the country, but a throw in the 180's, which he seems ready to reach, would vault him well into the top six. Lynch has been improving consistently, and his time of 51.8 seconds in the IC4A's places him sixth in the nation.

Awori, Croasdale, and Pardee all need to improve to push their way onto the scoreboard, but all three could do it. Awori, in particular, has suddenly begun to click after a fitful season. He ran a smooth :14.3 race in the IC4A's and could possibly place if he could reach :14.0, a time he ran last year. Croasdale failed to place in the hammer in the IC4A's, but a throw in the middle 180's might give the Crimson some points.

Pardee has not been jumping at his best recently. If he could reach his University record of 6 ft. 9 in., set earlier this year, he too could figure prominently in the scoring.

No matter which of the Crimson entries pulls through, the team is very likely to surpass Harvard's previous high score in the meet, which came in 1961 here in Cambridge. If not, the scoring will still be better distributed, for Crimson points in past NCAA's have been remarkably concentrated in the hammer throw, a traditional Crimson speciality.

The team will leave Cambridge on Thursday morning, and will compete this weekend in an American Track Federation meet at Corvallis, Oregon. They will move onto Eugene to tune up for the NCAA's, which will be held on the 18th 19th and 20th.

The Crimson tracksters who place at Eugene will be eligible for the United States Olympic Trials to take place a Randall's Island, New York two weeks later. Although several of the contingent may make it to Randalls Island, none seems likely to reverse direction and head for Tokyo.