Cindermen Third In IC4A Meet; Benka, Nosal Win Weight Events

A sizable lead at the conclusion of the afternoon field events was not enough for Harvard against the running strength of Villanova and Maryland in Saturday's IC4A Indoor Track Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Villanova parlayed five running victories and some strong second-string performance into 46 points and a third straight IC4A team trophy. Maryland's well-balanced squad took second with 32 1/2 points, with Harvard third at 21.

A Short-Lived Lead

The Crimson tallied 18 points in the first three events to take a short-lived lead. Musclemen Dick Benka and Ed Nosal exploded for victories in the shot put and 35-pound weight respectively. Benka, hobbling for the past week from an ankle injury, uncorked a heave of 59'1" to outdistance George Allen of St. John's by more than a foot for his second consecutive IC4A championship.

Nosal, a 6-2, 220-pound sophomore, edged Ed Potts of Navy by a scant three inches with a distance of 69'9 1/4" in the weight. Steady Charlie Ajootian added three more points with third place. Skip Hare soared 23'7" for third place in the long jump to increase the Crimson margin. Despite a troublesome thigh injury, the husky junior has performed consistently in his event in recent meets.

The running events were a distinct disappointment for Harvard. Middle-distance ace Keith Colburn drew a slow heat in the 1000-yard trials and failed to make the finals. Colburn atoned with a stirring 1:51 anchor leg in the two-mile relay final to erase a forty-yard deficit and gain fourth place.

Doug Hardin managed a fifth place against stiff competition in the two-mile. In the mile, Royce Shaw gave up and dropped out on the seventh lap of the final after carding the fastest qualifying time. Jon Enscoe recovered too late from a mid-race lapse and finished sixth in 4:14.