Harriers Fail Once Again, Finishing 29th in NCAA's

Harvard just didn't have it yesterday and finished a disappointing 29th in the NCAA cross country championships at Williamsburg, Va.

The Crimson's highest finisher was Tom Spengler, but he could do no better than 91st. Teammates behind him were John Quirk (133), Jeff Brokaw (194), Bob Seals (222), George Barker (245), and Mark Connolly, who dropped out of the chute since he didn't want to be counted.

The team winner yesterday was the University of Oregon, led by individual victor Steve Prefontaine. He and 79 others broke the course record of 29:40, Prefontaine by over a minute-and-a-half. The course is six miles long.

Villanova Second

Villanova, the IC4A champion, was only two points behind Oregon, while Texas at EI Paso, Indiana, and Western Michigan completed the top five. Penn was 22nd, and Cornell was 25th.

"It's a long season." Spengler sighed last night. "I just couldn't push myself that hard today."

This marks the second straight year in which a hopeful Harvard team has ended up 29th. "It's a lot different race than any other, even the IC4A's," Spengler asserted. There were about 350 entrants, and naturally the quality of the runners was exceptional.

The outlook for Harvard wasn't so grim after the first mile, when the team's top five were among the first 150. But the leaders' mile time was a phenomenal 4:15, and before long the Crimson's harriers began to fall back, never to recover.

Before going to Virginia, the Crimson had expressed optimism, even talking about being in the top five. But the "intense emotional desire to compete" just wasn't there, according to manager Ed Lincoln.

Spengler agreed. "It's easy to say you'd like to do well, but to actually get the adrenaline rolling is a different thing," he explained.

Seals had been one of the most optimistic, especially since the course is flatter than most. So he was one of the most depressed last night.

Seals could not be reached, but his roommate. Jim Bednark, said, "He was really deflated. He had nothing to say. All this build up and then everyone fell apart."