Crimson Harriers Upset Northeastern, Drop Huskies from Top Spot in N.E.

"By now those guys at Northeastern hate Harvard," John Powers, assistant director of sports information said. "For three years now, we've beaten them early and they've gone on to have an otherwise undefeated season."

And this year was no different as the Crimson harriers swept past the highly touted Huskies yesterday, 21-34.

Captain Ric Rojas led the Harvard squad past a powerful Northeastern team that had been ranked first in New England in a preseason poll. But even more important than Rojas's usual good race was the fine showing of Jim Keefe who finished yards ahead of Huskie strong man Ken Flanders. Rojas was timed at 26.36 with Keefe and Flanders coming in at 26.55 and 27.17 respectively.

Bunched Together

Mike Buckley of Northeastern and Crimson trackmen Andy Campbell and Dirk Skinner crossed the line bunched together at 27.21 and 27.25 for Campbell and Skinner to round out the top six finishers.

Keefe broke open early in the race about the one mile mark. Rojas joined him after a mile and then passed him to keep the lead throughout. Flanders hung close to the leaders but gradually faded to a not too impressive third.

"Keefe was what really won it for us," coach Bill McCurdy said after the race. "He burst past like a big bird after a mile and kept going. Skinner did well also. You know, he shouldn't be that good, but no one's told him that. He's had his heart in it a long time and it's paying off for him."

Heartening

Also heartening for the Crimson was the surprising performance of Jim Hughes and the promise shown by Jeff Brokaw and Jerry Hines. "These guys did real well today," McCurdy said, "and I know that they'll do better as the season goes on. I wasn't sure how well Hughes would do. He was one of those maybes. And Hines did real well in training camp."

In the junior varsity meet held earlier at Franklin Park, the Crimson's Jeff Campbell and Tom Phillips finished 1-2 in a 23-32 Harvard victory. Campbell negotiated the 3.1 mile course in 16.25 with Phillips coming in at 16.30. Brian Dunn of Harvard finished fifth in 16.53. James Vital and Don Duane of Northeastern closed a strong third and fourth.

Coming up Tuesday is the important meet with UMass and Providence. Providence is rated as a better team than Northeastern by many people--among them Bill McCurdy.

Hoopla

"While Northeastern was good, I think Providence is better. Northeastern called themselves good (referring to the Huskies P.R. hoopla which had predicted an undefeated season), but I was just handed the results of Providence's last race. I didn't really look at them so I could concentrate on this race, but the figures were really impressive," McCurdy said.

The strong men on the Providence team are two Irishmen, reported to be among the best in their nation. And Ireland, after all, has been stocking the Villanova powerhouse for years.

"Providence is loaded, a team to look out for," McCurdy said, "but today's win was real satisfying. After all, we knocked off number one."