Crimson Harriers Try For Heptagonals Crown

The Harvard cross country team will be shooting for its second straight Heptagonal Championship when it lines up against seven Ivy League rivals plus Army and Navy in New York this afternoon.

With a 10-0 record in dual meets and the Greater Boston Crown to its credit, the Crimson harriers are rated solid favorites in today's five-mile jaunt.

Last Friday's victory over Yale and Princeton pointed up both the strengths and weaknesses of Coach Bill McCurdy's team. Captain Doug Hardin, Dave Pottetti, and Tim McLoone all performed ably to give the Crimson three solid slots in the top five. But behind them there were several sub-par showings.

After winning six previous meets, junior Royce Shaw found the pace too high to maintain and faded back to seventh place. Tom Spengler, a consistent front-runner all season, dropped to tenth behind three Princeton runners.

Keith Colburn, who gave hints of shaking persistent injuries with a second-place GBC finish, was a distant twelfth against Yale and Princeton.

McCurdy is counting on top performances from all three to wrap up the victory this afternoon. With only seven entries per team and five counting in the scoring, there is less margin for accidents and unpredictable injuries today.

Big Threats

The principal threats to Harvard predominance will be Princeton, Penn, and possibly Yale. All have been beaten in dual meets, but the large field of a championship meet and the scramble at the gun pose a different challenge.

Army and Navy are somewhat unknown quantities, and have been strong in recent years. Yet on the basis of comparative scores and times, McCurdy doubts that either service academy can combine the front-line strength with the depth necessary for victory.

The race for individual laurels will probably see a repeat of last year's dual between Harvard's Hardin and Yale captain Frank Shorter. A year ago Hardin outkicked Shorter over the last quartermile for the victory. But last week at Princeton, Shorter set a blistering pace from the outset and eased away from Hardin at the end.

Shaw, Pottetti, and Colburn rate as dark horses today, along with Princeton's Eamon Downey and Penn's George Lokken. McLoone, Spengler, and sophomore Jon Enscoe should be close behind.