Benka, Nosal Best Hope in ICAAAA; Runners to Test Villanova, Maryland

Harvard's league champion track team journeys to New York this weekend to challenge Villanova, Maryland and 60 other eastern colleges in the ICAAAA Indoor Meet.

Villanava, featuring four Olympians, is heavily favored to capture the team trophy for the third consecutive year. But the Crimson squad boasts top performers in weights and the long distance events and, with a few breaks, could upset the pre-meet forecasts.

Head coach Bill McCurdy lists Dick Benka, Ed Nosal, Keith Colburn, and Doug Hardin as his best bets for individual laurels.

Benka, the defending IC4A champion in the shot put, will face some stiff competition from Andy Kenney of Northeastern and George Allen of St. John's. The Harvard captain sustained a slight ankle sprain in last Saturday's Big Three Meet and may be somewhat hampered in his attempt to repeat last year's victory.

Sophomore Ed Nosal has recorded the East's top throw in the 35-pound weight, a toss of 62'2". Nosal combines with teammate Charlie Ajootian to form the most potent one-two punch in the IC4As; their chief threat will come from Ed Potts and Doug Backes of Navy.

Junior Keith Colburn broke his own university record in the 1000 with a 2:08.6 clocking last Saturday and is listed as a co-favorite in that event tonight. The fleet redhead has worked hard this week in anticipation of a tight race with Villanova's Frank Murphy, St. John's' Phil Tobin, and NYU's Byron Dyce.

Two-mile record-holder Doug Hardin is ranked third in his specialty behind Art Dulong of Holy Cross and Dick Buerkle of Villanova.

Coach McCurdy has entered four runners in the mile event in hopes of picking up a few extra points. Roy Shaw may be the only one with the speed to challenge Villanova's four-minute sophomore, Marty Liquori, but Harvard's Jon Enscoe, Tom Spengler, and John Heyburn could all make the finals and will gain valuable meet experience.